[QUOTE=Brian Hanley;30548]You think that's what gave rise to the Sunni-Shia split? Check again. http://islamfortoday.com/shia.htm

You link adds nothing, other than to confirm that the split revolved around perhaps the most core issue of governance: the selection of leadership.

For Shia, a hereditary principle was to be applied from among the ahl al-bayt. For Sunni, Abu Bakr's role as prayer leader (and community consensus) were the initial operative principles.

The principle of the Caliphate was developed AFTER Prophet, and soon developed into a self-serving concept to support the claim to power of the individuals and the dynasts of the time. It has much support among traditional Sunni theorists--hardly surprising, given that medieval Christian theorists had no difficulty in justifying absolute monarchy either.

It is true that Bin Ladin has a particular view of the Caliphate, and that many radical islamists support its reestablishment based on the model of the rashidun. This is hardly a majority view among Muslims.

At various times Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan (under Zia al-Huq) and Afghanistan have all claimed to be "Islamic" systems of government. The ruling AKP in Turkey is an Islamist political party. The absence of any common thread among these highlights the absence of a single mode of governance.

Quote Originally Posted by Brian Hanley View Post
One can find many authors who discuss that and its roots in the "strong man" culture of the Bedu that Mohammed came from.
Actually, tribal leadership in Bedouin society is traditionally rather more complex and accountable than all this (although it grew less so with the impact of first Ottoman and British indirect mechanisms of local governance, and later oil revenues).

Thanks for the suggestion, however, that I go check out some library books. I somehow missed doing this while earning the PhD in Middle East politics

So far on SWC I've seen you pronounce on the trade in illegal US visas (until Stan and Jedburgh called you on it), your proximity to Bin Ladin, the need to convince Muslims that their core religious beliefs are wrong, your intimate knowledge of the CIA and the intel community, the value of dating foreign women as a military and intel community training method, and your efforts to warn the FBI about Hizb al-Tahrir and avert 9/11, and the secret Iranian plan to take white orphans from Georgia and train them as spies for insertion in the West.

'nuf said.