Dr. Vinay Khetia: What is Shīʾite Islam?
Shīʾite Islam is the second largest branch of Islam. It consists of 15-25% of the Muslim population. However, its small number does not at all reflect the impact it is had on the larger Muslim world. From its inception, Shīʾite Muslims have seen themselves as the defenders of the oppressed. Unlike other world religions, the question of divisions of Islam does not only have to do with issues of politics and anthropology. Instead, Shīʾite Islam is born out of theological dispute which occurred at the time of the death of the Prophet Muhammad. An essential question which Dr. Khetia will address is whether the first division of the Muslim community came out of the question of who should succeed the Prophet or what kind of entity should have succeeded the Prophet? Dr. Khetia traces the importance of this question back to the seventh century and addresses how this question still informs Shīʾite Muslims today. Khetia will address what kind of role Shīʾism plays in the larger Muslim world and wider religious discourses.