The Origins of the Shi'a: Identity, Ritual, and Sacred Space in Eighth-Century K?fa [Paperback]

This path-breaking book challenges earlier scholarship in its examination of the origins and development of the Shi'a.The Sunni-Sh+'a schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Mu%ammad. In reality, however, this fracture only materialized a century later in the important southern Iraqi city of Kkfa (present-day Najaf). This book explores the birth and development of Sh+'i identity. Through a critical analysis of legal texts, whose provenance has only recently been confirmed, the study shows how the early Shi'a carved out independent religious and social identities through specific ritual practices and within separate sacred spaces. This is an important, original, and path-breaking book that marks a significant development in the study of early Islamic society.The Sunni-Sh+'a schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Mu%ammad. In reality, however, this fracture only materialized a century later in the important southern Iraqi city of Kkfa (present-day Najaf). This book explores the birth and development of Sh+'i identity. Through a critical analysis of legal texts, whose provenance has only recently been confirmed, the study shows how the early Shi'a carved out independent religious and social identities through specific ritual practices and within separate sacred spaces. This is an important, original, and path-breaking book that marks a significant development in the study of early Islamic society.The Sunn+-Shi'a schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Muhammad. In reality, however, this fracture only materialized a century later in the important southern Iraqi city of Kkfa (present-day Najaf). This book explores the birth and development of Sh+'i identity. Through a critical analysis of legal texts, whose provenance has only recently been confirmed, the study shows how the early Shi'a carved out independent religious and social identities through specific ritual plÓ+