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

Matthiesen_Caliph_Imam copy

The authoritative account of Islam’s schism that for centuries has shaped events in the Middle East and the Islamic world.

In 632, soon after the Prophet Muhammad died, a struggle broke out among his followers as to who would succeed him. Most Muslims argued that the leader of Islam should be elected by the community’s elite and rule as Caliph. They would later become the Sunnis. Others —who would become known as the Shia — believed that Muhammad had designated his cousin and son-in-law Ali as his successor, and that henceforth Ali’s offspring should lead as Imams. This dispute over who should guide Muslims, the Caliph or the Imam, marks the origin of the Sunni-Shii split in Islam.

Toby Matthiesen explores this hugely significant division from its origins to the present day. Moving chronologically, his book sheds light on the many ways that it has shaped the Islamic world, outlining how over the centuries Sunnism and Shiism became Islam’s two main branches, and how Muslim Empires embraced specific sectarian identities. Focussing on connections between the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, it reveals how colonial rule and the modern state institutionalised sectarian divisions and at the same time led to pan-Islamic resistance and Sunni and Shii revivalism. It then focuses on the fall-out from the 1979 revolution in Iran and the US-led military intervention in Iraq. As Matthiesen shows, however, though Sunnism and Shiism have had a long and antagonistic history, most Muslims have led lives characterised by confessional ambiguity and peaceful co-existence. Tensions arise when sectarian identity becomes linked to politics.

Based on a synthesis of decades of scholarship in numerous languages, The Caliph and the Imam will become the standard text for readers looking for a deeper understanding of contemporary sectarian conflict and its historical roots.

Published in 2023 with Oxford University Press in the US and Oxford University Press in the UK.

Reviews and endorsements:

Reviews and endorsements:”Ambitious…undoubtedly an admirable study…an accessible introduction to the historical context that underpins the modern Middle East” — Tariq Mir, BBC History Magazine

“The Caliph and the Imam offers an authoritative and original survey that challenges readers to imagine a wholescale re-conceptualization of Islam itself .” — Eamonn Gearon, Times Literary Supplement

“a remarkable, ambitious and successful survey of Sunni-Shii relations that will be the definitive single-volume study of the subject for years to come.” — Eamonn Gearon, Times Literary Supplement

“clearly written, nuanced and meticulously documented” — Malise Ruthven, Literary Review

“a truly ambitious book in its historical and geographic scope…This book should be read by any expert who deals in the Middle East” — Francis Ghiles, Esglobal

“Matthiesen’s masterful survey of Sunni-Shiite relations in history is firmly grounded in the primary sources and ranges more widely geographically than is common in other works on the subject, including South Asia. The author avoids the glib truisms that have come to dominate discussion of this subject, while giving us thought-provoking, contextual insights into one of the key flash points within Islamic civilization.” — Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History and Director, Program in Arab and Muslim American Studies, University of Michigan

“Ambitious in its historical as well as geographical scope, this is the first truly global account of the intimate and sometimes also violent relationship of Sunni and Shia in the making and remaking of Islam.” — Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History, University of Oxford

“A remarkable book combining extensive first-hand experience across the Muslim world with profound scholarship to challenge all the preconceptions in the West about Sunnism and Shiism today.” — Professor Eugene Rogan, Professor of modern Middle Eastern History, Oxford University, and author of The Arabs: A History

“It is a dense history that fairly considers the various sides of this dispute, and attempts to sift out the propaganda from facts. There are extensive notes on all chapters that support the narrative with specific sources that it is based on. This is especially necessary for scholars in this complex field that want to research sub-topics further and need to follow the evidence to still deeper roots…Scholars of this topic will certainly benefit from reading this book cover-to-cover to benefit from Matthiesen’s scholarly thoroughness.” — Anna Faktorovich, Pennsylvania Literary Journal

Starred Review in Publishers Weekly

Review in TLS