Muslim Factions in the Civil War of 655-661 C.E.

The title of the book is the first clue to Mahmood's analysis. He presents a clear, comprehensive and compelling argument that because of their greater experience with capital accumulation, and with the exercise of the different forms of power which come from that possession of capital (social, political, institutional, bureaucratic), the Traditional Segment now appears to have been destined to win the war.

In theory, as the author points out, the members of the Muslim community had equal access to capital, its accumulation, and the power it allowed those who possessed it. The reality, however, was quite different before the war and before the split between the two segments became serious enough that only war could bring a solution:

[A]s it turned out, distribution [of wealth and the opportunity to accumulate it] favored the merchants, who made up the bulk of the Traditional Segment. Several factors tilted distribution in their favor. Their experience in finan

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e, was seen as the cause of a land distribution program which heavily favored the Traditional Segment. Confronted with these charges by the New Segment, the caliph held steady and refused to change his policy. That policy, after all, was merely the latest expression of the same system which had favored the Traditional Segment since Islam took root and spread. The revolutionaries responded by eventually killing the caliph and "the murder of Uthman tore the Muslim community apart" (156). Not only was the Traditional Segment's leader killed, the New Segment's first leader Ali was appointed, based on qualifications established by Islamic tradition, which in this case favored the New Segment. However, just as the New Segment entered the world of capital at a disadvantage in relation to the Traditional Segment, so did the new leader of the New Segment enter the world of political power at a disadvantage, "inexperienced and weakened by factionalism" (156). The inexperience of Ali was met with great experience on the part of the Traditional Segment, which quickly undermined Ali's power and authority. Ali's inexperience led him to refuse to compromise with the leaders of the Traditional Segment, which drove those leaders to consider co
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Traditional Segment, Islam Arab, Segment Islam, Traditional Segment's, traditional segment, Segment Mu'awaiya, Finally Ali, Segment Mahmood, Segment Confronted, Segment Segment, CE Muslim, civil war, political power, favored traditional segment, favored traditional, traditional segment's, merchant capital, status quo, economic political, segment traditional, mahmood notes, segment traditional segment, traditional segment islam, merchant capital islam, experience traditional segment,
Approximate Word count = 2225
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)