Charts the history and development of Twelver Shi'ism. As many as 40 different Shi'i groups existed in the ninth and tenth centuries yet only 3 forms have survived. Why is Twelver Shi'ism one of them? As the established faith in modern Iran, the majority faith in Iraq and areas in the Gulf and with its adherents forming sizeable minorities elsewhere in the region, it is arguably the most successful branch of Shi'ism. This book charts its history and the development of the key distinctive doctrines and practices which ensured its survival in the face of repeated challenges. It argues that the key to the faith's endurance has been its ability to institutionalise responses to the changing, often localised circumstances in which the community has found itself, thereby remaining remarkably resilient in the face of both internal disagreements and external opposition.

About the Author
Andrew Newman is Reader in Islamic Studies and Persian at the University of Edinburgh. He is author of Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire (2006) and The Formative Period of Shi'i Law: Hadith as Discourse Between Qum and Baghdad (2000) and editor of Society and Culture in the Early Modern Middle East, Studies on Iran in the Safavid Period (2003).


Book Information
ISBN 9780748633319
Author Andrew J. Newman
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Edinburgh University Press
Publisher Edinburgh University Press
Weight(grams) 433g