This episode discusses the rule of Ali ibn Abi Talib (656-661), which is also the time of the First Civil War, a traumatic event in the life of the early Muslim community. 

Sources and Further Reading:

The History of al-Tabari
The Venture of Islam         by Marshall G.S. Hodgson
The Early Islamic Conquests       by  Fred M. Donner

This week marks the anniversary of the passing of Mohammed Arkoun (1928-2010) who was a professor of the history of Islamic thought at the Sorbonne in Paris. This is a tribute to this unique thinker and scholar. 

This episode discusses what could be described with some reservations as the first sectarian group to rise within Islam. The Kharijites are often presented as a radical and violent group that terrorized the early community. What do we make of this image? This short introduction to the Kharijites gives some initial guidance in trying to answer this question.