The Islamic State and the Rise of Sectarianism

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The Islamic State and the Rise of
Sectarianism
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How Muslim History is Written?

• Stories about the Prophet are transmitted,
  sometimes orally, sometimes in rough written
  form, until they are set down in books that
  survive until today.
• The stories about the life of the Prophet come
  from Ibn Ishaqs Sira (biography), but they
  represent lots of different stories told about
  the Prophet and then gathered together by Ibn
  Ishaq.

3
A Possible Hadith.
W reported from X, who reported from Y, who heard
from Z, who heard the Prophet say
The Isnad
The report
Dont put your feet on the table!
4
The Power of Context

• Abbas the Prophets uncle he never emigrates to
  Medina and doesnt announce his being Muslim
  until the eve of the Muslim conquest of Mecca.
• Abbas the ancestor of the Abbasid dynasty and
  their tie to the family of the Prophet

5
The Authority of the Prophet in Medina

• Religious absolute authority
• Muhammad defines Islam No god but God,
  Muhammad is the Prophet of God
• He defines Islam doctrinally and legally
• His person symbolizes the faith slander treason
• Political authority but absolute?
• Muhammad is Gods only legitimate representative
• Decisions are arrived at through council, but
  Muhammad decides.
• Instances of Quran agreeing with Umar

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How do we know any of this is true?

• Question if early Islamic history is written
  down in a time when Muslims are fighting amongst
  themselves and defining their position in terms
  of other religions what is true? Maybe the
  whole story is made up?

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Answer

• Who carried out this conspiracy?
• Even Christian sources tell us about Islam and
  Muhammad
• Doctrina Jacobi wr. 634 Arab prophet claims he
  has the keys to Paradise
• John of Phenak (wr. 687) says that Muhammad is
  guide and instructor who taught the Arabs to
  worship the One God in accordance with ancient
  law. they kept to the tradition of Muhammad to
  the extent that they killed people who brazenly
  broke with his law.
• Inscription by Umayyad al-Walid on Damascus
  mosque from 706 CE Our lord is One God, our
  religion is Islam and our Prophet Muhammad

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Who Inherits the Prophets Religious Authority?

• The community does? since the Prophet said
  (example of a hadith) that My community will
  never agree on an error. ? Sunni Answer
• The most pious? ? Kharijite answer.
• The family of the Prophet? ? The Shiite answer

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Who Inherits the Prophets Political Authority?

• The community does whomever the community
  accepts is acceptable ? Sunni Answer pragmatic,
  unity, injustice is better than chaos.
• The most pious? ? Kharijite answer great idea,
  but has auto-immune problem.
• - Ibadis modern Kharijites in Oman, Algeria
• The family of the Prophet? ? The Shiite answer
  repeated failures, then what?

10
Early Shiism and a Call for the Just Rule of Islam

• Umayyad Dynasty (r. 660-750) the old Meccan
  elite return in Muslim clothes!
• Rebellions led by pious Muslims (Ibn al-Zubayr
  and the 2nd Civil War) and then by descendents of
  Muhammad Husayn (d. 680), Zayd b. Ali (d. 740),
  Muhammad The Pure Soul (d. 762)
• The Abbasid Revolution (750CE) return to the
  Sunna of the Prophet rule by the family of the
  Prophet.

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Reality Sassanid Empire Strikes Back

• Caliph as Shadow of God on earth
• New imperial city of Baghdad, The City of
  Peace, built near old Sassanid capital of
  Ctesiphon a round city with caliphs palace at
  center.
• Apocalyptic and Pious Caliphal Names
• Al-Mahdi the Messianic rightly-guided etc.
• Circle of Justice ruler maintains justice above
  all, Near Eastern political advice literature
  translated into Arabic

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The Sunni Compromise

• Caliph must be from Quraysh and able not
  necessarily the best, the most pious, or selected
  by community
• The Caliphs chief objective is to maintain order
  and allow the scholars (ulama) to apply Islamic
  legal system (Shariah)
• Injustice is better than anarchy legitimizing
  order is better than demanding confusion

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Surviving vault of the Sassanid palace at
Ctesiphon near Baghdad
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Surviving vestiges of Abbasid Palace - Baghdad
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