Shiism
(ˈʃiːɪz(ə)m)
[f. Shi- in Shiah or Shiite + -ism.]
The doctrines or principles of the Shiahs.
| 1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 592/2. 1915 P. M. Sykes Hist. Persia II. xlvii. 43 Persia, where Shiism is the official religion. 1964 W. Thesiger Marsh Arabs v. 43 Shiism had started as a political movement among Arabs to advance the claims of Ali and his descendants to the Caliphate... In time, Shiism split Islam as decisively as the Reformation divided the Catholic Church. 1982 Times 31 May 6/1 From the Gulf to the Levant, there are 2,000 miles of Shiism, broken only by the irritation of Iraq's survival. |