After the Prophet: A Book Review

After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam

By Lesley Hazleton

I will forever look at the feuding between Shia and Sunni in a different light. I used to think of it as conservatives vs. liberals or democrats vs. republicans. I see now that this feud has its roots in power, wealth, and politics.

Ms. Hazleton is a good storyteller. She writes narrative history from the personal perspective of the major players. Aisha, Muhammad’s “favorite” wife, was a spoiled teenager who did stupid teenager things. The old rift between Mecca and Medina cracked wide open after the Prophet’s death. Son-in-law Ali was too proud to assert himself until it was too late. It took fifty years of excess and corruption until he stepped in and got himself killed. (They did a lot of killing to “solve” disputes back then!) Ali’s son Hussein, grandson of the Prophet, walked into a trap in Karbala (now Iraq) and became a symbol of all the injustices experienced over the years.

Ms. Hazleton definitely shows the Shia as the offended ones. Many Sunni will find this offensive.

I especially enjoyed the way she equated the sacrifices of Hussein at Karbala to the Passion of Jesus on Jerusalem. The similarities are remarkable.

The book publishers stated it well: Hazleton’s vivid, gripping prose provides extraordinary insight into the origins of the world’s most volatile blend of politics and religion. Balancing past and present, she shows how these seventh-century events are as alive in Middle Eastern hearts and minds today as though they had just happened, shaping modern headlines from Iran’s Islamic Revolution to the civil war in Iraq.

This book’s a keeper.