The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam (Suny Series in Islam) [Paperback]

Maria Massi Dakake (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0791470342 | ISBN-13: 978-0791470343 | Publication Date: January 2008

Looks at the emergence of Shiism as a distinct communal identity within Islam.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Charismatic Community examines the rise and development of Shiite religious identity in early Islamic history, analyzing the complex historical and intellectual processes that shaped the sense of individual and communal religious vocation. The book reveals the profound and continually evolving connection between the spiritual ideals of the Shiite movement and the practical processes of community formation. Author Maria Massi Dakake traces the Quranic origins and early religious connotations of the concept of walayah and the role it played in shaping the sense of communal solidarity among followers of the first Shiite Imam, Ali b. Abi Talib. Dakake argues that walayah pertains not only to the charisma of the Shiite leadership and devotion to them, but also to solidarity and loyalty among the members of the community itself. She also looks at the ways in which doctrinal developments reflected and served the practical needs of the Shiite community, the establishment of identifiable boundaries and minimum requirements of communal membership, the meaning of women's affiliation and identification with the Shiite movement, and Shiite efforts to engender a more normative and less confrontational attitude toward the non-Shiite Muslim community.

"The author admirably manages to highlight the major developments of early Shiite events and ideas within the general development of Islamic thought and history. This book enriches our knowledge and discussion of one of the most crucial periods of Muslim history." -- Mahmoud M. Ayoub, author of The Quran and Its Interpreters, Volume II: The House of Imran --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Maria Massi Dakake is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at George Mason University. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (January 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791470342
• ISBN-13: 978-0791470343
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,505,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Shi'ism

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars though provoking, March 6, 2008

By 

Howitzer (WI USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam (Suny Series in Islam) (Paperback)

I was rather intrigued by this book intially , great concept about which there is not much out there in english.Author spends a great deal on time defining words like wilayah and its implications on early shiite thought.
Totally agree with her perception that early shias did not have such a big problem with the first 2 caliphs and their condemnation was a much later development.And that early sunnis scholars were generally sympathetic to the cause of Ali and his shias.
Wish she had written more about the events of the first civil war in this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on a topic not often discussed, May 5, 2009

By 

Khalil Ali Abdul-Mujeeb Menzies - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam (Suny Series in Islam) (Paperback)

I personally have had the pleasure of having Dr. Dakake be my main advisor for my graduate studies and work on my dissertation. She is by far one of the best professors I have ever had. She is an amazing source of inspiration and knowledge. Her work on the early Shi'i community is vast and highly informative. She focused on the original Shi'a within the Sahaba rather then the Islamic civil war for a specific reason. By reading the book, one sees that the beliefs of Shi'i Islam are not based on political rivalries through the battle of Camel or the massacre at Karbala but were inherent beliefs within a select group of Sahaba, whom Prophet Muhammad himself, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, coined the Shi'a and the Shi'at Ali.
This book is a defense of the spiritual implications and origins of the Shi'i and proving the Shi'i were found at the very beginnings of Islam, long before the Islamic civil war and the massacre at Karbala.