Written by: Anna Akasoy A prominent streak within the corpus of
Shiite sacred narratives is related to events in early Islamic
history. They are understood within a framework of salvation
history and are used at the same time as a prism for moral views
and emotional expressions in the present. These narratives
distinguish the Shiites within the larger community of Muslims.
Sunnis share the veneration of Ali and Husayn, albeit to a
lesser degree than Shiites. In particular during the second and
third centuries of Islamic history, Shiites often vilified the
first three caliphs as usurpers. It should be noted, however,
that a lot of the opposition against Uthman was only
retroactively ascribed to the first two caliphs. There are also
cases where Sunnis participate in rituals where the caliphs are
blamed and in more recent history Shiites have largely abandoned
the vilification of the first three caliphs. Apart from these
protagonists of the political struggles, legends also surround
the prophet's daughter, Fatim