Syriana

Today: The rise of Shi’ism, how it differs from Sunni Islam, and implications for today (including in places like Iraq). 

If time, we’ll start talking about how the West dealt with some of the issues that arose for Islam, namely a challenge within the faith, and response to rationalism and reason.

We’ll spend some time in class going over the story, because it’s pretty dramatic.  Important names, events, and concepts we’ll discuss:

Muawiyah:  Syrian Caliph, stationed in Damascus, who replaced Ali after Ali’s assassination.  He was a true Arab King, expanding power, and conquering most of the rest of the region.  He seemed more focused on power than faith, and was an absolutist leader.

Hasan:  Ali’s son, chosen to be Caliph by the supporters of Ali (based in Kufa, where Ali moved the center of the Caliphate – in modern Iraq), but unable to assume the position because of Muawiyah’s power.   Hasan and Muawiyah reach a deal whereby Hasan recognizes Muawiyah’s rule, but is promised that the Muslim community will reach a consensus on the next Caliph.  As Aslan notes, this suited the interests of both sides.

Yazid:  Muawiyah’s son.  His choice to replace Muawiyah split the Muslim community.  Yazid’s armies would ultimately defeat Husayn and his forces at the Battle of Karbala.

Husayn:  Ali’s second son, who replaced Hasan as leaders of the party of Ali (Shi’atu Ali)  when Hasan died.  He was on his way to Kufa from Medina to support an uprising against Yazid when his forces were slaughtered and he was killed.

Kufa:  Center of the party of Ali, had a short revolt against Yazid’s rule.

Battle of Karbala:  Historic battle where Yazid’s forces ultimately surrounded Husayn’s people, cut off water, and as his people were dying, Husayn made a final, futile attack alone into the heart of the Syrian army.  He was killed, of course, but his martyrdom sparked the Shi’ite sect of Islam.

Tawwabun:  In 684, four years after Husayn’s death, they gathered in Karbala to mourn Husayn’s martyrdom, and started rituals which would define Shi’ite Islam.

Impact on Shi’ite theology:

1.  Development of Husayn as a figure through which one can gain salvation.

2.  The development of Imams (sometimes meaning just a teacher, but in this case a specialized position of a person), described on page 182.  Mystical, infallible.  The Imam can know the implicit not just explicit message of the Koran.

3. Shi’ite profession of faith: “There is no god but God, Muhammad is God’s Messenger, and Ali is God’s Executor.”

4.  Shi’ite sects.  The Imams were Ali, Husan, Husayn, Ali (son of Husayn), Muhammad al-Baqir.  Here the Zaydis chose to follow a different one of Ali’s sons, Zayd ash-Shahid.

Then Jafar as-Sadiq, who developed Shia rituals and theology, Musa al Kazim.  This led to the “seveners,” Ishmalis.  Jafar was infallible, but chose a son who died as his successor, proving him fallible…unless the son went into hiding.  The seveners think his first son Ishmael is in “occultation,” and return as the Mahdi to save the world at the end of time.  Most Shi’ites are “12ers” who followed the line until the end (no surviving son), and believe the last Imam is in occultation until the end of times.

Khomeinism:  the rise of Khomeini and Shi’ite Theocracy in Iran after the fall of the Shah.

Mujtahid:  Shi’ite religious scholars who can practice ijtihad.

Move to the West: Reformation and Enlightenment

Luther: German monk, who changed Europe, altered Christianity, and set the stage for the future political and in many ways intellectual developments in the West, though he didn’t start out wanting to do that.

As a young man Luther had doubts about his salvation.   Had he really received grace? The teaching at that time is that grace leads to faith, but how do you get grace?   Augustine seemed to say we had to do “all that lies within us,” we must love god as much as we can, and then God, noticing that, will add by giving the gift of Grace. 

But just believing in God and asking for forgiveness wasn’t enough.  Even loving God wasn’t enough.  Augustine called a slavish obedience to God one where you simply wanted the reward of eternal life and happiness.  Having grace was like falling in love with god, what Augustine called filial obedience.  Luther thought perhaps he was just going through the motions to get salvation, he noticed every selfish thought, every possibility that joy he felt was unreal.  Think about a relationship: how do you know you love someone?  Maybe you’re deceiving yourself because you want money, affection, sex or attention?  Luther confessed numerous times a day, so worried was he about whether he truly was saved.

Luther taught Old Testament at the University of Wittenberg in eastern Germany.  The Catholic church raised funds at times by selling papal indulgences, or time off from purgatory (where you worked off punishment for earthly sins).  A guy named Tetzel was selling them at this time near Wittenberg, and Luther was horrified – obviously these people are focused on slavish obedience; if they had grace they wouldn’t want to be an indulgence.  This was leading the people down the wrong path, making it more likely that they would be damned!

He decided he wanted an academic debate on the issue and posted his ideas in the form of 95 theses on the door of the Schlosskirche in 1517, which also acted as a kind of university bulletin board.  These were in Latin, obviously meant for the academic crowd and clergy, not the masses.  But to his surprise (and against his will) they were translated to German and spread throughout Germany.

Luther had unleashed years, even centuries of German discontent with the church, and created a challenge to its authority that, thanks to the printing press, now created the possibility for a unified alternate set of ideas to be proclaimed.  The church reacts harshly, demands him to “take it back.”  He refuses, and soon a political uprising develops against the church, leading to the wars of reformation.  These would devastate Europe for 130 years, and only end with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. 

Ultimately he would change his theology (freed from church doctrine) to say that people were saved if they believed because God said so, it’s a promise from God.  To wonder if you are truly saved would be, said Luther, akin to calling God a liar.  Moreover, the Catholic church gives the Pope the power to ex-communicate you, and its priests are conduits to God for confession and intercession.  Luther argued that there should be nothing between God and humans, it was a loving relationship.   By this read, the Pope was going against God, and Luther called him the anti-Christ.

This led to the development of the Evangelische Kirche – territories in Germany would follow Luther, and the power of the Catholic church altered.  But note the price: war and devastation throughout Europe.  Another example:

John Calvin

In Switzerland there was another reform movement, one that would continue the break with the Roman Catholic church.

Calvin was Swiss, and came a generation after Luther.  He worked with Huldreich Zwingli, and built upon Luther.  His movement became labeled “Reformed” as distinct from “Lutheran” (another was Anabaptist, but we won’t get into that). 

Protestants have different spirituality: lose beatific vision of Plotinus and Augustine.  Replace it in various ways: a) personal relationship; b) emotional experience, etc.

Differences between Luther and Calvin:

1.  Calvinists thought Luther was still part Catholic, the scripture played a sacramental role in salvation.  For Calvinists it would require simply a belief that you are saved.  But, ironically, this sets the Calvinists up for anxiety – do I really believe, have I really received grace, or not?  For Lutherans it’s god’s promise, you are saved.

2.  Calvinists believe you are justified once through faith – and after that you are saved forever (if you really did believe).  For Lutherans you are justified whenever you admit your sins and as you live a Christian life.

Dichotomy: Lutherans can fall away and become damned after having been saved.  They must maintain justification by maintaining faith.  Not works, but faith.  Calvinists don’t have to.  This creates uncertainty.  Was the conversion real, or not?  Am I really one of God’s elect? 

Calvin: double pre-destination (unlike Catholic tradition).  Some are pre-destined to damnation.  If you feel that you aren’t changed or in God’s grace, despite professing faith and going through baptism, you might just be pre-destined to damnation.

This leads to revivalism, and the importance of a conversion experience, to be convincing.  Later revivalist theology would dump pre-destination and simply focus on a conversion experience.  Lutherans see baptism as a ritual, but to revivalists it is an emotional conversation experience.

What western thought gets from this:

1.  New ways to confront “the world.”  Aquinas brought this in via Aristotle and the marriage of faith and reason.  Calvinists start to believe that part of the sign that you are pre-destined for salvation is your experience on earth, which some would mean your ability to succeed in material terms.  Thus people become driven to succeed.  For Luther, who is more pure Augustinian in his notion of faith (and distrust of reason), the change is subtle, but real.  Luther moves religion away from a hierarchy and structure which reinforced political conservatism, and towards a mass appeal.   Ultimately this would break down existing political structures and make way for new ones which would have a dynamic of their own.

2.  Sets up modern capitalism: Calvin.

3.  Sets up the state system, and notions of sovereignty, monarchy, etc.

4.  Challenges authority.

5.  Shows impact of technology.