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THE SUCCESSION TO MUHAMMAD Caliphate and Imamate
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The Modern Middle East
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A New Order of Things: from a tribal coalition in the borderlands to a world empire
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Two Crises –The Death of Muhammad (632): Can the Umma survive without a prophet at its head? –The Arab-Muslim Conquests (632-715): How can a tribal coalition in the Arabian borderlands become a Middle Eastern Empire?
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The succession to Muhammad: Questions 1. Should there be a successor at all? 2. If so, one or several? 3. Who has the right to choose a successor? 4. Who has the standing to act in place of the Prophet? 5. What is the nature of this person’s authority? In what sense can he claim to be the Prophet’s successor?
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The succession to Muhammad: Solutions 1. The Umma cannot endure without a head. 2. The unity of the Umma is paramount; the legacy of Muhammad must be preserved. So: one Umma, one head. Now the problems arise: 3. Who can take this role? Muhammad had no living sons. Then someone from among Muhammad’s earliest and most loyal followers--but there are many candidates…. 4. Criteria: charisma or competence? An issue never resolved. 5. Who shall choose, by what right? Another unresolved issue.
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The first five heads of the Umma: What do they teach us? Abu Bakr and Umar: very early converts, not related to Muhammad. Umar assassinated by a Persian slave Uthman: an early convert, same age as Muhammad, but from a clan hostile to Muhammad. Killed in a mutiny by Muslim troops Ali: first male convert, but as a boy; Muhammad’s first cousin and a son-in-law. Assassinated. Mu’awiya: a late convert, same hostile clan as Uthman. Died peacefully in his bed at age 80+. ALL THE ABOVE ARE IN-LAWS OF MUHAMMAD The myth of the four Rashidun (“Rightly-guided”)
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From “Companions of the Prophet” to dynastic succession The Medina Caliphate (632-656) First Civil War: Ali and Mu’awiya (656-61) The Damascus (Umayyad) Caliphate (660-750) Second Civil War (680-692) Third Civil War (747-750) The Baghdad (Abbasid) Caliphate (750-1258)
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Khalifa and Imam: two words that mean the same thing, but not really… Khalifa: deputy, successor, one who acts in place of another. (English: CALIPH). Political chief of the Umma. Imam: one who stands in front. Many meanings: –prayer leader –authoritative religious teacher –political chief of the Umma –infallible and divinely elected head of Umma whether or not he actually rules.
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From faction to sect 1. Partisans of Ali -- the Shi’a, Shi’ites: –By ca 750 they have fully developed the doctrine of the Infallible Imam, who is always true head of the Umma even if he does not rule. –The Imam MUST be a lineal descendant of Ali and the Prophet’s daughter Fatima. (Only child to leave descendants).
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From faction to sect-2 “Caliphal loyalists” -- Sunnis (ca. 800) –The critical thing: the unity and unbroken historical continuity of the Umma. –The crucial criterion: competence, not lineage –Caliph is anything but infallible. But can he do the job?
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The Arab-Muslim Conquests
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THE ISLAMIC EMPIRE The Umayyad Caliphate (660-750) The Abbasid Caliphate (750-900)
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The Conquests: Triumph and Trauma Demonstrate the truth of the new religious dispensation Create layers of tension and conflict
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The Dream of Unity One God One Community (Umma) united in belief and practice, created through the revelation vouchsafed to Muhammad One Ruler (caliph, imam), whose task is to defend and maintain the legacy of Muhammad
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A dream striven for, never fulfilled Requires solid, widely shared consensus among the Muslims as to who really has the right to wear the mantle of the Prophet, to act in his stead, No such consensus: every caliphate from Abu Bakr (632) to Mongol catastrophe (1258) is illegitimate in the eyes of some major group.
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Assertions of power and Islamic legitimacy Claiming religious leadership--the authority to define and defend the faith: –Sunni caliphs: advocates for the doctrines agreed upon by the religious scholars –Shi’ite imams: the sole, authoritative, infallible source of religious truth
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Ideology in visual form The Umayyad Caliphs of Damascus (660-750): two religious monuments The Abbasid Caliphs (750-1258): two imperial cities
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The Umayyads: Symbolic Appropriation of the Land: Jerusalem
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Dome of the Rock
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Dome of the Rock: Interior
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The Umayyads: Symbolic Appropriation of the Land: Damascus
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Damascus: The Umayyad Mosque and the Byzantine Imperial Palace
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The Abbasids: Building an Imperial City
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The Abbasids and Samarra: Far from the Madding Crowd
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Samarra Look on my works, ye mighty
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