The Schism In Islam - Origins of the Nizari Isma'ilis - The Assassins

Since I've been studying Islamic cultures for years, I thought it time to write a little about the actual history of Islam. I began by scanning my three volume set of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night. I was looking for The Tale of the Old Man and the Mountain. As usual, once I left the contents page and began googling the net I was side-tracked (I told you I was easily distracted.) So for now here it is: The Origins of the Nizari Isma'ilis, the Assassins of Islam.

Origins of the Nizari Isma'ilis

(1) The Schism in Islam

"...in the year the Christian calendar calls AD 632, a schism even greater than the Reformation was to produce engulfed Islam. Its two great forces, the Sunnis and the Shi'ites, became irrevocably divided. The Shi'ites insisted that the leadership of Islam should have remained in the Prophet's family and, upon his death, they had pledged their support to Mohammed's cousin, Ali, who became Caliph or successor to the Prophet."

- Gordon Thomas, Journey into Madness
"...Legend has it that Mohammed's son-in-law Sidina 'Ali, the ideal warrior, once became so caught up in the frenzy of killing that he began to kill his own people after finishing off the enemy. His frenzy had to be cooled down before he could stop."

- An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism
"Ali was murdered in AD 661. But, in the Shi'ite theology, Ali and his descendants were Imams - divinely guided leaders and mediators between God and Man, Christ-like figures on earth. There were twelve Imams before the last disappeared in AD 940. It is a fundamental Shi'ite belief that he is hiding in one of the vast Arabian deserts, awaiting the right moment to re-emerge and establish a purified Islamic government of justice...The Imam, on his return, would launch a jihad, a holy war, more violent than any before fought over the centuries by his Shi'ite disciples."

- Gordon Thomas, Journey into Madness
"One of the most successful secret societies which the Shi'as founded was centered around the Abode of Learning in Cairo, which was the training-ground for fanatics who were conditioned by the most cunning methods to believe in a special divine mission. In order to do this, the original democratic Islamic ideas had to be overcome by skilled teachers, acting under the orders of the Caliph of the Fatimites, who ruled Egypt at that time."

- Arkon Daraul, Secret Societies
"The fundamental doctrine of the Shi'a is based upon the ta'lim, or authorized teaching. The imam was responsible for this teaching, from which no deviation at all was possible. This is the basis of the authority of the Shi'ite imams, and informs their role as descendants of Ali..." "The essential division between Shi'a and Sunni is based upon the dispute between the mutually exclusive notions that authority may be explained by ta'lim or that it may be explained by means of reason and analogy."

- Edward Burman, The Assassins - Holy Killers of Islam
"Much of the well-known mystical symbolism of Sufism, often best known through the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, was taken over by the Isma'ilis. They joined Sufism and Shiism in a peculiar and unique blend, often appearing as a particular group of Sufis with their own Shaykh....It would not..be surprising if the use of hashish and other drugs for achieving mystical ecstasy was also carried over from the Sufis."

- Edward Burman, The Assassins - Holy Killers of Islam