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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
Joukowsky_Institute@brown.edu
This Arabic word generally refers to sedition and often means “civil war or dispute within the Muslim Community.” (Kennedy) The so-called First Fitna (656–661) was the conflict between ‘Ali and Mu’āwiya over claim to the caliphate after the death of Uthman I. The Second Fitna refers to the internal strife following the death of Mu’āwiya, which led to the cementation of the rival factions, Qays/Mudar and Yaman.
Posted at Feb 19/2009 10:42AM:
ian: What does this suggest about the nature of the early Islamic polity? What are the tensions that lead to this kind of strife?