Najam Haider: 2 books
Shi'i Islam
An Introduction
Language: English
Release Date: August 11, 2014
During the formative period of Islam, in the first centuries after Muhammad's death, 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...
The Origins of the Shī'a
Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century Kūfa
Language: English
Release Date: September 26, 2011
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....