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After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Sunni-Shia Split in Islam by Lesley Hazleton
What is it about sectarian differences, whether between Protestants and Catholics or Sunnis and Shias, that seems to rouse passions more suited to previous centuries than this "post-historical" one? It seems incredible that differences of opinion about the interpretation of scripture or events of well over a millennium ago can lead to massacres and bombings: one is left with a suspicion that there must be something else with more immediate and contemporary consequences -- economics, politics, power -- ultimately behind them.
AFTER THE PROPHET: THE EPIC STORY OF THE SUNNI-SHIA SPLIT IN ISLAM is a lively and animated recounting of the period between the death of the Prophet Muhammad and the battle of Karbala, explaining the origins of the current Sunni-Shia divide in the struggle for succession to the leadership (secular as well as spiritual) of the Muslim community and its aftermath. Shias believe that Ali, Prophet's son-in-law, should have been succeeded to Caliph; instead, a shura (a consultative meeting) selected Abu-Bakr, the Prophet's father-in-law. Ali eventually became the fourth Caliph, after having been passed over twice more, but his tenure was brief and fatal; the story culminates in the death -- many would say martyrdom -- of Ali's son Hussein at the battle Karbala in present-day Iraq.
This is not the place to discuss the various ways these events have been interpreted; needless to say, Sunnis and Shias see them differently, the former as the proper establishment of orthodoxy and latter as an injustice.
LESLEY HAZLETON has evidently chosen, on the whole, to tell a story -- and it is a fascinating and significant story -- rather than engage in much deep historical analysis. If the purpose is to introduce this period and the broad issues to a wider audience, she succeeds admirably, writing with verve and engaging with her subject and the historical personages, asking (sometimes rhetorical) questions about their state of mind and giving them actual dialogue: as a result, they come across as real people facing real-life dilemmas and decisions.
From a purely historical point-of-view, however, this approach carries some risks: for although the historical record is relatively rich for a period so distant, this was well before the advent of recording devices or even on-the-spot reporting. The truth, and an exclusive interpretation of it, remain elusive, personalities and emotions even more so. Perhaps inevitably, Hazleton appears to end up taking sides: Ali, and his sons Hasan and Hussein, come off rather better as honorable underdogs than do Aisha, the Prophet's last wife, her father Abu-Bakr and the line of Sunni orthodoxy that stemmed from it.
But the underlying question remains: regardless of the depth of the perceived injustices, they took place some fourteen centuries ago, before the Norman Conquest of England, before the Viking raids into Europe, before the Mongol conquest of China. Why then do they continue to -- nor why do they now -- inspire fatal violence? In her last chapter, more of an epilogue, Hazleton points to the political consequences of the First World War, the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire and the role of Western powers. One is left with the question whether the current sectarian distrust and bloodshed is really based in the events of the seventh century or are instead the way in which other, more contemporary, divisions over politics and power manifest themselves.
Peter Gordon
12/12/2009
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Peter Gordon is editor of The Asian Review of Books. |
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