Shi'ites

SHI’ITES

          The loyal followers of Ali known as the Shi’at Ali, or “party of Ali” have continued to fight for what they consider to be divine rights in the rule of the Islamic world.  The Shi’ites can be seen lacerating themselves during the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of past leaders.
          The Shi’ite faction which became the state religion of Iran brought about new ideas regarding divine eligibility to the caliphate which is linked to the royal blood line of the prophet.[1]  Out of this conviction sprang an elite group of “Ismailites” who held a secret order similar to western Masonic mysticism in which members were led to believe they would hold the keys of the Talim or Secret Doctrine (that God is All) elevating them above every creed and law.  This required a somewhat more allegorical interpretation of the Qur’an.  It also required of course total obedience to the Dai-d-Duat, or Grand Master of the order.  Often times esoteric views have been put forth related to numerology and transmigration of the soul from the dead to certain living leaders or Imams.  Some of these ideas are most difficult for the western mind to grasp.  Their numerology ideas are possibly linked to ancient Jewish mysticism called the kabballa, or even numerical patterns in the Bible.  A group of twelve Imams, the “Twelvers,” in Iran claimed to direct the world’s future and around them developed a tradition of followers making pilgrimages to their tombs.  A considerable business is maintained around the burial of corpses of the faithful around the cities where these tombs are found.  They are carted here from considerable distances.  Imam Husain, the grandson of the prophet being an important focus of honor.  Husain is one of those martyrs for whom the faithful flail themselves with an assortment of blades during the Ashura, or traditional day of mourning at the memorial in Karbala, Iraq.  It is a frenzied form of mourning that few in the west can wrap their minds around.  Boys as young as five or six years old take part to show their bravery and devotion. 

A student of the Bible might have Old Testament scenes of the conflict with Elijah and the prophets of Baal come to mind.  The prophets of Baal used similar methods for getting the attention of their god.[2]  The mystical idea of the reappearance of a Hidden Imam as the Mahdi (Guided One), who will bring peace and justice has been promoted through various leaders who have preached Islamic reform.  This became the foundation of the Fatimid dynasty.
         One present day sect, the Druze, believes that God was incarnated in al-Hakim, the sixth Fatimid caliph in Cairo (1016).  The Druze religion is a somewhat underground belief system found in Lebanon and southern Syria.

   

    Abu al-Abbas, great-great-grandson of one of Mohammed’s uncles, proclaimed himself caliph in 749.  Embittered to see the liberal Umayyad, tribal enemies of the prophet carrying the caliph torch for Islam, he took on an addition to his name, al Saffah, the Bloodthirsty.  He announced a great feast for eighty Umayyad leaders during which his soldiers fell upon the unsuspecting dinner guests with their swords.

          Another rival caliphate, an Umayyad descendant who fled a Abbasid massacre brought about the Umayyad dynasty and caliphate of Spain with its capital in Cordoba until 1031.  Muslim Spain had rejected al-Saffah’s authority.  In the 10th century the Fatimid caliphates ruled much of north Africa and posed a serious threat to the Abbasids in Baghdad.  So went the ebb and flow of Arab politics and Muslim rule.  Had it not been for infighting among Muslim kingdoms, some say, Islam would have swept Christian Europe off the map.  Often the main cohesive glue that has held Islam together has been its view of their common enemy, or mission field; that is non-Muslims.  A common enemy has been at times a uniting force among religions of the western world as well.  In peace times they might argue over theological and historical differences, but in the fox hole they find themselves praying and dying together.
           In 1258 Baghdad had a major setback when it was disciplined by invading Mongols from the east.  The city was sacked and the caliphate came to an end.  This horde of invaders were stopped from spreading further west by Syrian troops.  Strangely enough, after a time these invaders embraced Islam.  Baghdad was hit again in 1393 by Tamerlane, another descendant of Chinggis Khan.  He posed a serious problem for the Muslim world until his death in 1405.
          After World War I under pressure from the west the Ottoman title of caliph was abolished by Turkish nationalists causing much consternation and frustration in the world of Islam. There have been efforts in Egypt to reestablish the caliphate with little success.