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Article: Part 1 - The Origins.
- Article from:
- APS Diplomat Redrawing the Islamic Map
- Article date:
- October 13, 2003
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Shiism emerged in the years immediately after the death of the Prophet Mohammed on June 8, 632 AD, leaving behind no male child. During Mohammed's two-week long illness just prior to his death, intense rivalry broke out between his closest aides as to who would succeed him. It is important to note that the seed for the emergence of Shiism was sown as a result of the fact that there was disagreement about succession. The problem of an orderly succession has plagued the Islamic World ever since.
The central figure in the Shiite narrative is Imam Ali, cousin of the Prophet, husband of his daughter Fatima, and father of Imams Hassan and Hussein. Ali is regarded as ...