After the prophet : the epic story of the Shia-Sunni split in Islam

by Lesley Hazleton

Paper Book, 2009

Status

Available

Publication

New York : Doubleday, c2009.

Description

Balancing past and present, Hazelton shows how 7th-century events are alive in Middle Eastern hearts and minds today as though they had just happened, shaping modern headlines from Iran's Islamic Revolution to the civil war in Iraq.

User reviews

LibraryThing member cmbohn
Themes: religion, family, community, civil war, holy war

I may just revise the rating and make this one the first 5 star read of the year.

Puzzled by some of the anger and infighting in the Middle East? Have a hard time keeping groups straight? Wonder why they can't all just work things out? Turns
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out the seeds of that anger go way back. all the way back to the 7th century AD.

This remarkably written book traces the conflict between the Sunni and the Shi'a Muslims, how it began, and what the consequences are for today. While her focus is on the history, the implications for today are clear. With every development, she draws the modern parallels and explains how it would shape the future.

I really recommend this one. I admit to being one who just skims through the developments in the Middle East, tired of the fighting and the violence, and resigned to the fact that I don't understand it at all. Well, this was a good place to start. I'm still confused about a lot of the current figures, but this gives the reader a solid underpinning on the motives behind it all.
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LibraryThing member LynnB
Journalist Lesley Hazleton describes, in this book, the origins of the Shia/Sunni split in Islam -- a rift that began when the prophet Muhammad died without sons and without naming a successor. The Shia interpreted his desires one way (favouring his cousin/adopted son/ son-in-law Ali); the Sunni
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saw things differently, settling on Muhammad's father-in law. As the author puts it, the Sunnis today accept the history of succession as it evolved; the Shia accept it as it should have been. But, that is a simplification; and Ms. Hazleton works hard to make this complex history simple and writes in an engaging style. The book taught me a lot about the origins of Islam, and reinforced the inherent problems when Western powers try to establish national boundaries and leaders in the rest of the world. The book is well researched, with many sources listed. It contains, like so many works today, extensive notes, but no indication in the main text that a note supports a specific statement. This made me wonder how much speculation is included in the narrative. Can't we go back to numbered footnotes? Am I just getting old?
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LibraryThing member Pondlife
A fascinating insight into the last days of Mohammed and the next few generations after his death.

Lots of politics, scheming and of course plenty of violence: few of the Islamic leaders that came after Mohammed died in their beds.

My only criticism is that this book seems to be a bit biased towards
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the Shia viewpoint. Lots of time is spent on Ali and Hussein, and almost everything they do seems to be seen in a positive way.
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LibraryThing member GennaC
After the Prophet is a brief yet comprehensive exploration of the Shia-Sunni split. Hazleton's writing is fresh and engaging as she leads us from the Prophet Muhammad's tenuous beginning in the seventh century through the birth and development of the Islamic nation, and finally to modern political
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and cultural conflicts. As a non-Muslim unfamiliar with this particular religious history, it is difficult to know if aspects of the story suffer from oversimplification. However, it stands regardless as a compelling introduction to the complex history of Islam of particular use to naive readers seeking a not-so-daunting starting point.
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