The Making of Sunnism and Shiism
Toby Matthiesen
Oxford University Press, March 2023
In 632, soon after the prophet Muhammad died, a struggle broke out among his followers as to who would succeed him. The majority argued that the new leader of Islam should be elected by the community’s elite. Others believed only members of Muhammad’s family could lead. This dispute over who should guide Muslims, the appointed Caliph or the bloodline Imam, marks the origin of the Sunni-Shii split in Islam.
Toby Matthiesen explores this hugely significant division from its origins to the present day. Moving chronologically, his book sheds light on the many ways that it has shaped the Islamic world, outlining how over the centuries Sunnism and Shiism became Islams two main branches, particularly after the Muslim Empires embraced sectarian identity. It reveals how colonial rule institutionalised divisions between Sunnism and Shiism both on the Indian subcontinent and in the greater Middle East, giving rise to pan-Islamic resistance and Sunni and Shii revivalism. It then focuses on the fall-out from the 1979 revolution in Iran and the US-led military intervention in Iraq. As Matthiesen shows, however, though Sunnism and Shiism have had a long and antagonistic history, most Muslims have led lives characterised by confessional ambiguity and peaceful co-existence. Tensions arise when sectarian identity becomes linked to politics.
Based on a synthesis of decades of scholarship in numerous languages, The Caliph and the Imam will become the standard text for readers looking for a deeper understanding of contemporary sectarian conflict and its historical roots.
Table of Contents
Prologue: From Karbala to Damascus
PART I THE FORMATION OF SUNNISM AND SHIISM, 632-1500
Chapter 1 After the Prophet
Chapter 2 Sunni Reassertion and the Crusades
Chapter 3 Polemics and Confessional Ambiguity
PART II THE SHAPING OF MUSLIM EMPIRES, 1500-1800
Chapter 4 The Age of Confessionalisation
Chapter 5 Muslim Dynasties on the Indian Subcontinent
Chapter 6 Reform and Reinvention in the 18th Century
PART III EMPIRE AND THE STATE, 1800-1979
Chapter 7 British India and Orientalism
Chapter 8 Ottoman Reorganisation and European Intervention
Chapter 9 The Mandates
Chapter 10 The Muslim Response
PART IV REVOLUTION AND RIVALRY, 1979-
Chapter 11 The Religion of Martyrdom
Chapter 12 Export and Containment of Revolution
Chapter 13 Regime Change
Chapter 14 The Arab Uprisings
Conclusion: Every Place is Karbala
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ENDNOTES
Toby Matthiesen, Senior Lecturer in Global Religious Studies at the University of Bristol. He is the author of several award-winning books and a frequent commentator in the media. He has previously held fellowships at the Universities of Venice, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, and the LSE
