Overview

The 1400-year-old schism between Sunnis and Shi'is is currently reflected in the destructive struggle for hegemony between Saudi Arabia and Iran - with no apparent end in sight. But how did this conflict begin, and why is it now the focus of so much attention? In this definitive account, John McHugo charts the history of Islam from the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad to the present day. He describes the conflicts that raged over the succession to the Prophet, how Sunnism and Shi'ism evolved as different sects during the Abbasid caliphate, and how the rivalry between the empires of the Sunni Ottomans and Shi'i Safavids ensured that the split would continue into the modern age. In recent decades, this centuries-old divide has acquired a new toxicity resulting in violence across the Arab and Muslim world.

Full Product Details

Author:   John McHugo
Publisher:   Saqi Books
Imprint:   Saqi Books
Dimensions:   Width: 12.90cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 19.80cm
Weight:   0.325kg
ISBN:  

9780863569265

ISBN 10:   0863569269
Pages:   352
Publication Date:   21 January 2019
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE: In the Beginning - before there were Sunnis and Shi'is p.3; CHAPTER TWO: How Internal Strife came to Islam p.18; CHAPTER THREE: Of Umayyads and Abbasids - The Political Background to the Split between Sunnis and Shi'is p. 33; CHAPTER FOUR: The Split between Sunnis and Shi'is p. 48; CHAPTER FIVE: Of Ismailis, Asassins, Druze, Gnostic Shi'is, Alawis and Sufis p. 68; CHAPTER SIX: How Iran became Shi'i p. 80; CHAPTER SEVEN: The Ottoman Empire, India and the Muslim Reformation p.98; CHAPTER EIGHT: The long Nineteenth Century and the Coming of Western Dominance p.110; CHAPTER NINE: Between the two World Wars p.132; CHAPTER TEN: Tides ebb and flow p.158; CHAPTER ELEVEN: 1979 p. 183; CHAPTER TWELVE: From the Iranian Revolution to the Invasion of Iraq (2003) p. 198; CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Disaster with many Fathers p. 224

Reviews

'A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is is an important corrective ... provides the reader not just with all the historical background he or she could want, in an accessible and comprehensible fashion, but also employs this sound knowledge to a clear-headed appraisal of the modern Middle East.' Times Literary Supplement; 'In lucid and accessible prose, John McHugo shows that there is nothing inevitable about the so-called Sunni-Shi'i divide.' Madawi Al-Rasheed, author of A History of Saudi Arabia; This book will be widely read.' InterLib; 'John McHugo takes us through the Sunni-Shi`i divide over 1400 years of Islamic history with good judgement in balancing the various accounts, and a great clarity of expression.' Moojan Momen, author of Shi'i Islam: A Beginner's Guide; 'It is no mean feat to cover over 1400 years of history ... Masterful and fascinating' The Jordan Times

Author Information

John McHugo is an honorary Senior Fellow at the Centre for Syrian Studies at St Andrews, a board member of the Council for Arab-British Understanding and the British Egyptian Society, and a trustee of the Balfour Project. After reading Arabic and Islamic studies at Oxford University and the American University in Cairo in the early 1970s, McHugo's career as an international lawyer took him to a number of countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, Oman and Bahrain, over a period of more than a quarter of a century. His other publications include the acclaimed A Concise History of the Arabs and Syria: A Recent History. www.johnmchugo.com

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