Zaydism: A Theological and Political Survey

Abstract

Zaydism, one of the three major branches of Sh?‘ism, emerged in the early 2nd/8th century in the southern Iraqi city of Kūfa around the claims of the ‘Alid rebel, Zayd b. ‘Al? (d. 122/740). The sect initially consisted of a range of Sh?‘? groups that shared a common political agenda but differed in their opinions of the first two caliphs. The next three centuries witnessed the development of a cohesive Zayd? theology constructed primarily on the Mu‘tazil? belief in a just and rational God. Specifically, the Zayd?s affirmed free will and a theory of the imāmate that required armed uprising against tyrants under the leadership of a learned descendant of ‘Al? and Fātima. Zayd? Imāms established a number of long-standing political states, the most important of which was centered in northern Yemen around the city of . Intellectually, Yemen? Zaydism was challenged by a gradual Sunnification that began in the 9th/15th century (as epitomized by al-Shawkān? in the 19th century) and the intensification of Wahhāb? missionary activities in the 14th/20th century (epitomized by Muqbil ). These tensions persist into the modern period and have given rise to a new wave of political activism reflected in (a) the armed resistance of the ‘Youthful Believers’ led by the family and (b) the emergence of a new generation of Zayd? scholars such as Sālim ‘Izzān who do not trace their descent to ‘Al? and .