The origins of the Shīʻa: identity, ritual, and sacred space in eighth-century Kūfa

The Sunni-Shi'a schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Muhammad. In reality, however, this fracture only materialized a century later in the important southern Iraqi city of Kufa (present-day Najaf). This book explores the birth and development of Shi'i i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Haider, Najam Iftikhar 1974- (Author)
Format: Electronic Book
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2011.
In:Year: 2011
Series/Journal:Cambridge studies in Islamic civilization
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Kufa / Shi'ah / Geschichte Anfänge-800
B Shi'ah / Geschichte Anfänge-800
B Iraq / Shi'ah / Geschichte Anfänge-800
Further subjects:B Shīʿah History
B Shīʻah Iraq Kūfah History
B Kūfah (Iraq) Religion
B Shī'ah Iraq Kūfah History
B Shīʻah ; Iraq ; Kūfah ; History
B Kūfah (Iraq) Religion
B Shīʻah History
B Shīʻah (Iraq) (Kūfah) History
B Shīʻah ; History
B Kūfah (Iraq) ; Religion
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Print version: 9781107010710
Description
Summary:The Sunni-Shi'a schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Muhammad. In reality, however, this fracture only materialized a century later in the important southern Iraqi city of Kufa (present-day Najaf). This book explores the birth and development of Shi'i identity. Through a critical analysis of legal texts, whose provenance has only recently been confirmed, the study shows how the early Shi'a carved out independent religious and social identities through specific ritual practices and within separate sacred spaces. In this way, the book addresses two seminal controversies in the study of early Islam, namely the dating of Kufan Shi'i identity and the means by which the Shi'a differentiated themselves from mainstream Kufan society. This is an important, original and path-breaking book that marks a significant development in the study of early Islamic society.
Part one: Narratives and methods -- Kūfa and the classical narratives of early Shī'ism -- Confronting the source barrier: a new methodology -- Part two: Case studies -- In the name of God: the Basmala -- Curses and invocations: the Qunūt in the ritual prayer -- Drinking matters: the Islamic debate over prohibition -- Part three: The emergence of Shī'ism -- Dating sectarianism: eary Zaydism and the politics of perpetual revolution -- The problem of the ambiguous transmitter: ritual and the allocation of identity -- The mosque and the procession: sacred spaces and the construction of community -- Conclusion
Item Description:Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
ISBN:051186261X
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511862618