That bit makes me think of an Enid Blyton book - "The Wife of the Prophet - 2nd Form at Malory Towers" Totally inappropriate for a 7th century Bedouin girl. That narrative includes projecting onto the young Aisha the sensibilities of an English boarding school girl. Hazleton has taken the Islamic equivalent of the "George Washington and the Cherry Tree" myth and then embellished it with an even more elaborate narrative of her own. But readers need to understand it is just that - a story. I'm still confused about a lot of the current figures, but this gives the reader a solid underpinning on the motives behind it all.As one who has translated many of the primary sources for this period (al-Waqidi, Ibn Hisham, etc.), I found this an engaging and entertaining story. I admit to being one who just skims through the developments in the Middle East, tired of the fighting and the violence, and resigned to the fact that I don't understand it at all.
With every development, she draws the modern parallels and explains how it would shape the future.I really recommend this one. While her focus is on the history, the implications for today are clear. all the way back to the 7th century AD.This remarkably written book traces the conflict between the Sunni and the Shi'a Muslims, how it began, and what the consequences are for today. Themes: religion, family, community, civil war, holy warI may just revise the rating and make this one the first 5 star read of the year.Puzzled by some of the anger and infighting in the Middle East? Have a hard time keeping groups straight? Wonder why they can't all just work things out? Turns out the seeds of that anger go way back. Can't we go back to numbered footnotes? Am I just getting old? Read more This made me wonder how much speculation is included in the narrative. It contains, like so many works today, extensive notes, but no indication in the main text that a note supports a specific statement. The book is well researched, with many sources listed.
The book taught me a lot about the origins of Islam, and reinforced the inherent problems when Western powers try to establish national boundaries and leaders in the rest of the world. Hazleton works hard to make this complex history simple and writes in an engaging style. As the author puts it, the Sunnis today accept the history of succession as it evolved the Shia accept it as it should have been.
The Shia interpreted his desires one way (favouring his cousin/adopted son/ son-in-law Ali) the Sunni saw things differently, settling on Muhammad's father-in law. Journalist Lesley Hazleton describes, in this book, the origins of the Shia/Sunni split in Islam - a rift that began when the prophet Muhammad died without sons and without naming a successor.
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