Description
Temporarily out of stock
Title: Shi’i Islam: An Introduction
Author: HAIDER NAJAM
Format: PAPERBACK
Publication date: 31/08/2014
Imprint: CAMBRIDGE UNI PRESS
Price: $47.95
Publishing status: Active
During the formative period of Islam, in the first centuries after Muhammad’s death, different ideas and beliefs abounded. During this period two particular intellectual traditions emerged, Sunnism and Shi’ism. Sunni Muslims endorsed the historical caliphate, while Shi’i Muslims, supporters of ‘Ali, cousin of the Prophet and the fourth caliph, articulated their own distinctive doctrines. The Sunni-Shi’i schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Muhammad, whereas in reality, Sunni and Shi’i Muslims also differ on a number of seminal theological doctrines concerning the nature of God and legitimate political and religious authority. This book examines the development of Shi’i Islam through the lenses of belief, narrative, and memory. This book also covers, for the first time in English, a wide range of Shi’i communities from the demographically predominant Twelvers to the transnational Isma’ilis to the scholar-activist Zaydis. The portrait of Shi’ism that emerges is that of a distinctive and vibrant community of Muslims with a remarkable capacity for reinvention and adaptation, grounded in a unique theological interpretation of Islam.
Series: Introduction to Religion
ISBN: 9781107625785
Weight: 363g
Dimension: 228mm X 152mm
Pages: 264