Safavid conversion of iran to shia islam pakistan defence. They also differ in the role and overall definition of. The formative period of twelver shi ism teaches us a great deal both about hadith collections in general, and about shii hadith and the development of imami shi ism, in particular. Jul 01, 2019 yesterday, i introduced to you the idea that iran is completely insane. The book twelver shiism provides a historical account of the development of this sect, from the conflicts over the successors of the prophet muhammad following his death in 632 to the fall of the safavid dynasty in 1722. Central to the belief of twelver shiism was the idea that a. Large communities of twelver shia islam also live in lebanon, india, saudi arabia, and pakistan, with some in afghanistan, yemen, kuwait, oman, the uae, qatar, bangladesh, nigeria, tanzania and chad as well. Pdf conversion to twelver shiism among american and. The intellectual history of twelver shiism in the 20th century has. He who treads the path in search of knowledge, allah will make easy for him a path to paradise. Introduction in the polemical writings of the sunnis, it is asserted that sunni islam is the orthodox islam whereas shiism is a heretical sect that began with the purpose of subverting islam from within.
Syrias alawis and shiism 189 11 syrias alawis and shiism in their mountainous corner of syria, the alawis claim to represent the furthest extension of twelver shiism. Edinburgh university press has produced a large number of introductory surveys in middle eastern and islamic studies over the years that have varied. The various aspects of twelver shiism are carefully distinguished to satisfy both the general reader and the aspiring student. The islamic messiah, almahdi the twelver messianic imam, alqaim almahdi the occultation of the imamate mahdi the imamate of the hidden imam the return of the mahdi conclusion appendix.
The twelve imams, together with prophet mohammed and his daughter fatimah alzahra, make up. This was mainly due to the paucity of available texts but also to the misapprehension of shi. Andrew j newman, reader in islamic studies and persian, university of edinburgh, uk. Lebanons shiite community, who make up more than a quarter of the countrys population, also adhere to this sect. Twelvers share many tenets of shia with related sects, such as the belief in imams, but the ismaili shias believe in a different number of imams and, for the most part, a different path of succession regarding the imamate. January 12, 2020 on the justification for the imamate of the progeny of al. The twelvers are by far the largest group of shiite muslims, because the iranians are twelvers. Rainer weirauch rated it it was ok jun 14, recent events have, more than ever, brought the shiites to world wide. The formative period of twelver shicism culture and civilization in the middle east. Shia islam members research service page 4 of 8 the imamisation of iran and the ulamas rise to power today, twelver shiite scholars wield direct political power in the islamic republic of iran through the office of supreme leader. Shiism synonyms, shiism pronunciation, shiism translation, english dictionary definition of shiism. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies. Conversion to twelver shiism among american and canadian. Many shia muslims believe the last of these 12 successors to muhammad, muhammad ibn hasan almahdi, will rein in a new era of a righteous rule over the earth.
The twelver shia in modern times by werner ende, 9789004118034, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Iran is the only country where twelver shiism is the state religion. A member of the largest branch of shiism, venerating 12 imams as successors to muhammads religious authority and anticipating the 12th imams eventual. The writer appeals to a western, nonspecialist audience that will leave the reader with an understanding of the progression of twelver shiism as its followers learned. The question of succession to muhammad, the nature of the imamate, the status of the twelfth shia imam, and other areas in which shia islam differ from sunni islam have been criticized by sunni scholars, even though there is no disagreement between the two. Twelver shiite responses to the sunni legal system. Redemptive suffering in islam a study of the devotional aspects. Hamid mavanis religious authority and political thought in twelver shiism is a timely, judicious. Unity and diversity in the life of islam, 632 to 1722 december 11, 2017 books, library, publication the book twelver shiism provides a historical account of the development of this sect, from the conflicts over the successors of the prophet muhammad following his death in 632 to the fall of the safavid dynasty in 1722. Overall i found the book to be well worth the read, though i wished he wrote more on the historical development of twelver shiism outs provides a concise yet. This book is a general introduction to shii islamspecifically to twelver shiism, to which the majority of shiis belong today. Unity and diversity in the life of islam, 632 to 1722 by andrew j.
Zero hedge on a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. Andrew j newman as many as 40 different shii groups existed in the 9th and 10th centuries yet only 3 forms have survived. The largest and most dominant sect is twelver shiism. Criticism of twelver shia islam dates from the initial rift between the two primary denominations of islam, the sunni and the shia. The history and doctrines of twelver shiism new edition. The second part treats internal debates and the activities of shiite dissidents, showing that shiism is far from being uniform. Mavanis contribution is an excellent, most welcome and very timely reminder of the complexity of past and, especially, contemporary twelver shii discourse in general and twelver discourse on political authority in particular. He made twelver shiism the official religion of the empire and imposed it upon his sunni subjects and his followers became known as qizilbash. Ideological and political developments in the 20th century and especially the islamic revolution in iran have shaped the image of modern shiism more than any other tendencies and are therefore also discussed in greater. The result was a syncretic blend of shiism and traditional persian beliefs. The formative period of twelver shicism culture and. Twelver theology, which mainly consists of five principles, has formed over the course of history on the basis of the teachings of quran, and hadiths from muhammad and the twelve imams especially jafar alsadiq, and in response to the intellectual movements in the muslim world and major events of the twelver history, such as the battle of karbala and the occultation of the twelfth imam. Momens book fills an important gap in the general literature in english on twelver shiism, and should be carefully studied by anyone who wants to know more.
Twelver shiism provides a historical account of the development of this sect, from the conflicts over the successors of the prophet muhammad following his death in 632 to the fall of the safavid dynasty in 1722. Twelvers are the followers of the 12 imams they consider to be the only rightful successors of the prophet muhammad, beginning with ali ibn abu talib 600661 ce, muhammads cousin and soninlaw, and ending with muhammad ibn alhasan born 869 ce, the 12th imam whoaccording to twelver beliefwill emerge and bring peace and justice to the world, becoming the ultimate savior of humankind. Paradoxically, its place in the shiite world was reinforced by one other great eruption and success of a form of radical political shiism. Religious authority and political thought in twelver shiism. The alawis number perhaps a million personsabout 12 percent of syrias populationand are concentrated in the northwestern region around latakia and tartus. Twelver definition of twelver by the free dictionary. It holds that the islamic prophet muhammad designated ali ibn abi talib as his successor and the imam leader after him, most notably at the event of ghadir khumm, but was prevented from the caliphate as a result of the incident of saqifah.
Cash crops such as sugar and tobacco were grown primarily on plantations with coerced labor and were exported mostly to europe and the middle east in this period. Although it is not uncommon to find sunni muslims who are wary of shiis, generally shiites are accepted as being authentic muslims by sunnis. Oct 16, 2019 shiism heinz halm snippet view mar 23, greg rated it it was ok shelves. A study of the devotional aspects of ashura in twelver shiism. Conversion to twelver shiism among american and canadian women. The political demise of ismaili shiism left, on balance, twelver shiism as the dominant form of shiism. This form of shiism is currently the reigning doctrine of the islamic republic of iran. Safavid conversion of iran to shia islam wikipedia. Twelver shiite iran is completely insane the details confirm it. The twelver shiism it is a majority sect in iran where it is the state religion, azerbaijan, iraq, and bahrain. The term twelver refers to its adherents belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the twelve imams, and their belief. Redemptive suffering in islam a study of the devotional aspects of ashura in twelver shiism. The term twelver is based on the belief that twelve male descendants from the family of muhammad, starting with ali ibn abitalib and ending with muhammad almahdi.
Shia islam, shiite, the reappearance, twelver shiism, twelver shiite, twelvers, yamani. Shah abbas took the safavid empire into its golden age, created an empire that took the best out of all neighboring cultures including ottomans and persians. Bulletin of the royal institute for interfaith studies. It also ensured the dominance of the twelver sect within shiism over the zaidiyyah and sects of ismailism each of whom had previously experienced their own eras of. This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the theses at. However, despite unifying iran persia, much of the population did not accept their authority. Twelver shiites are the majority in iran, iraq, azerbaijan and also have. It deals with the history and development of this important religion, giving an account of shii doctrines and focusing in particular on those areas in which it differs from sunni islam. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. In recent decades considerable progress has been made in the study of twelver shi. A reconsideration of the sunnishia divide in early islam tigerprints. It also ensured the dominance of the twelver sect within shiism over the zaidiyyah and sects of ismailism each of whom had previously experienced their own eras of dominance. Newman appeals to a western, nonspecialist audience that will leave the reader with an understanding of the progression of twelver shiism as its followers learned to cope with. Momens book fills an important gap in the general literature in english on twelver shi ism, and should be carefully studied by anyone who wants to know more.
Twelver definition is a member of a major shiite sect which acknowledges 12 imams and holds that the 12th will reappear as the mahdi before the last day and of which the tenets and organization have been the state religion of persia since the 16th century called also imami. Twelver synonyms, twelver pronunciation, twelver translation, english dictionary definition of twelver. Within twelver shia islam there are three major legal schools, the usuli, the akhbari and the shayki. Twelver shiism is the largest branch of shia islam, with about 85% of all shias, or approximately 150 to 200 million twelver shias. Specialist and nonspecialist alike will benefit from its lucid exposition of both elite and popular shiism. In addition, twelver shiism holds that the external teachings of the quran, which are the injunctions and regulations of the shariah and include the principles of a complete spiritual life, are valid and applicable for everyone at all times, and are not to be abrogated until the day of judgment. Twelver shiism a sense of center which has ever eluded farflung sunni.
To fill this gap, this study was conducted on american and canadian women who have converted to shii islam. Article information, pdf download for conversion to twelver. Subsequently, however, shiism in syria began to wane due to the animosity of the ayyubid dynasty 11711250 ce and later of the ottomans 15171798 ce. Shiism definition of shiism by the free dictionary. Overall i found the book to be well worth the read, though i wished he wrote more on the historical development of twelver shiism outs provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of shiism in its myriad forms. The safavid conversion of iran from sunnism to shiism took place roughly over the 16th through 18th centuries and made iran the spiritual bastion of shia islam against the onslaughts of sunni islam. Shia islam, shiite, the reappearance, twelver shiism, twelver shiite, twelvers, yamani, yemen. Depiction of the twelve imams seated together left and the mahdis triumphant return right. Twelver theology, which mainly consists of five principles, has formed over the course of history on the basis of the teachings of quran, and hadiths from muhammad and the twelve imams especially jafar alsadiq, and in response to the intellectual movements in the muslim world and major events of the twelver history, such as the battle of. Criticism of twelver shia islam wikipedia republished wiki 2. Pdf this research paper surveys the history, theology, and. This idea is sometimes expressed by saying that shiism began as a political movement and later on acquired religious emphasis. Media in category twelvers the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. Ali had betrayed the prophet muhammad and therefore his descendants could not rule.
Shia islam or shiism is one of the two main branches of islam. Other possible names include radical shiism or political shiism. The safavid conversion of iran to shia islam was a process that took place roughly over the 16th through 18th centuries and turned iran, which previously had a sunni majority, into the spiritual bastion of shia islam. Download pdf islamic legal orthodoxy twelver shiite. Shiism has the greatest influence in the contemporary world in iran where nearly 90 percent of muslims are shiite, but shia are also the majority in iraq, bahrain, and yemen. Stewart points to an underlying tension in shiite intellectual history between assimilationist and nativist impulses in the debate over consensus, dissimulation, and in the lives of certain shiite scholars who lived and studied among. The three major legal schools of twelver shia islam today include the usuli the most liberal of the three, the akhbari who rely on traditional religious knowledge, and the shayki at one time absolutely apolitical, the shaykis have since become active in the basra, iraq, government as its own political party. The topic of this book is vital to the understanding of contemporary developments in iran and other areas of the islamic world in which shiism is a significant social and religious force.
By early modern times the adherents of twelver shiism in syria had become a small minority. Hostagetaking, terrorism, proxy conflicts and suicide attacks iran has done all of that and more for incomprehensible reasons. After converting to shia islam, safavid leaders sought to install shiism as the state religion so as to command the loyalty of the population. And, the last 40 years has demonstrated that they did lose their minds. The vast majority of shiites are the twelve imam or twelver shiites ithna ashari and live today primarily in iran, iraq, and lebanon. B american foods such as potatoes, maize and manioc became staple crops in various parts of europe, asia and africa. The teams goal is to provide the authentic alternative to the islamic history that is propagated online through various shia websites and media hubs. The focus of this issue of current trends in islamist ideology is on contemporary shiism, and especially its diverse radical expressions, which might collectively be termed shiite islamism. Most of the research subjects in this study reported a. Shiism, resistance, and revolution scholars at harvard. Twelver shia is the largest branch of shia islam, with 2012 estimates saying that 85% of shias were twelvers. I would recommend this book for readers already familiar with some of the basics of shii islam who are wanting finer details on its historical development in the middle late period of iranian and middle eastern history.
Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. The first comprehensive study of the idea of the mahdi, or divinely guided messianic leader. Newman appeals to a western, nonspecialist audience that will leave the reader with an understanding of the progression of twelver. Prices do not include postage and handling if applicable.
1384 665 403 391 53 195 24 15 1099 740 1067 1130 211 1285 517 1420 207 833 1586 1297 400 951 1358 823 1348 618 731 487 1585 1290 536 389 140 1469 79 605 222