The Kharijites in Early Islamic Historical Tradition

Analyses the narrative function of Kh?rijism in 9th- and 10th-century Islamic historiography

The first book-length literary study of Kh?rijism
Sheds new light on the creation of historical memory in early Islamic historiography
Emphasises the importance of literary approaches to early Islamic history
Calls for a reassessment of historical Kh?rijism based on the findings of this literary analysis

Why are stories told about the Kh?rijites purported rebels and heretics? From the Kh?rijites' origins at the Battle of ?iff?n in 657 CE until the death of the caliph ?Abd al-Malik b. Marw?n in 705 CE, this exhaustive literary analysis provides a fresh perspective on Kh?rijite history as depicted in early Islamic historiography.

The Islamic tradition portrays Kh?rijism as a heretical movement of militantly pious zealots, a notion largely reiterated by what little modern scholarship there is on the Kh?rijites. Hannah-Lena Hagemann moves away from the usual positivist reconstructions of Kh?rijite history 'as it really was' and instead examines its narrative function in early Islamic historiography. The results of this literary analysis highlight the need for a serious reassessment of the historical phenomenon of Kh?rijism as it is currently understood in scholarship.