The Caliph and the Imam: The Making of Sunnism and Shiism

Abstract

Toby Matthiesen's The Caliph and the Imam is an important contribution to the field of Twelver Shīʿī studies — a voluminous work of over 700 pages covering the Sunnī–Shīʿī divide from the death of the Prophet Muḥammad (d. 11/632) to the present day. He argues that the 1400-year conflict has been politically motivated by policies that Muslim leaders set throughout the centuries, and examines how intra-faith and interfaith debates were shaped by dialogue between tribes, nations, empires and modern states.