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| The Middle East dossier A short guide to the Shias SHI’ISM: this is the main dissident branch of Islam. Yet its divergences from mainstream Sunni Islam are less important than what they have in common: belief in one God and in the teachings of Muhammad. The Shia schism happened over the succession to the prophet. The first “rightly-guided” caliphs after Muhammad’s death in 632 were chosen from among his close companions. The fourth and last of them, in office 656-661, was Ali, first cousin of Muhammed and husband of his favourite daughter Fatima, noted for his piety. He was killed during an uprising against his authority, after which the Shi’at Ali (party of Ali) supported his sons, Hassan and Hussein, but were not strong enough to prevent Muawiya from becoming caliph and founding the Ummayad dynasty. The imam: plays an important role in Shia Islam. The rightful leadership is held to have passed since Ali through a succession of imams who interpret the teachings of the Qur’an through divine guidance. The third imam, Hussein, son of Ali, plays a central role in Shia Islam. He was surrounded by Yazid, the Ummayid caliph, at Kerbala in 680; despite lack of water, he and his 72 companions resisted until his death. His martyrdom and resistance against the “unrightful” caliph have a crucial role in Shia mythology. Every year, during the month of muharram, there are commemorative passion plays and penitential processions. The Twelvers: these are the main branch of Shia Islam (in particular in Iran, but also Iraq and Lebanon). They trace the line of imams from Ali down to the twelfth imam, hence their name. Their imams provided spiritual guidance rather than claiming political power. The 12th imam is believed to be not dead but hidden, and will return as Mahdi to purify the world. The Zaidis: these survive today only in Yemen. They reject the doctrine of the hidden imam and the political quietism of the Twelvers. They take their name from Zaid, grandson of Hussein, who argued that a true imam must claim the title publicly. There have been various Zaidi dynasties, notably in Sanaa, Yemen, from 1592 to 1962. The Ismailis: these are followers of Ismail, the sixth imam, excluded from the succession by the Twelvers. Their elitist doctrine gave rise to successor movements: the Qarmatians (Iraq, ninth century); the Fatimids, who proclaimed themselves caliphs in north Africa and ruled Egypt 969-1171; the Nizaris, known as the Assassins (users of hashish, from which the word assassin derives), who conducted guerrilla warfare against the (Sunni) Abbasid dynasty in the late 11th century from the Persian mountain fortress of Alamut; the Alawis (followers of Ali) in Syria; the Druze in Lebanon. Today the Aga Khan is head of the main Ismaili community, which has a strong following in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Velayat-e faqih: Who should guide the community of believers while waiting for the return of the hidden imam who will restore a reign of justice to the world? For Ayatollah Khomeini, it was the mullah (theologian) and the faqih (expert in divine law), representatives of the hidden imam and of divine sovereignty. This doctrine of the guardianship of jurisprudence (velayat-e faqih), which gives enormous powers to the mullahs and guides Iranian politics, has been - and still is - contested by many other ayatollahs. From Alain Gresh and Dominique Vidal, The New A-Z of the Middle East, IB Tauris, 2004
See also Arab spring: late and cold, by Gilbert Achcar Constructive instability, by Walid Charara Palestine: the economy of despair, by Benjamin Barthe Syria: a monopoly on democracy, by Samir Aita Iran and Iraq: the limits on Shia power, by Ahmad Salamatian Translated by Wendy Kristianasen
English language editorial director: Wendy Kristianasen - all rights reserved © 1997-2005 Le Monde diplomatique.