Zaydiyya in Brief: History, Theology, and Politics
Zaydism is one of Yemen’s three branches of Shi‘ism, together with Twelver Shi‘ism and the Ismailis. It is distinguished from the two other branches by being confined to Yemen, and it is closer to Sunni Islam than the other strands of Shi‘ism. Zaydism is so close to the Sunni strand that some Shi‘i groups refer to it as the fifth school of Sunni jurisprudence. The founder of the Zaydi madhhab (Islamic doctrine) is Imam Zayed bin Ali bin Zein al-Abdin bin al-Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib (695–740), an uncle of Jafar al-Sadiq, who was killed in Kufa while leading an unsuccessful revolt against the tenth Umayyad caliph, Hisham bin Abd al-Malik. Unlike most Shi‘is who regard Zayed’s half brother, Muhammad al-Baqir, as the fifth imam, Zaydis recognize Zayed as the rightful fifth imam.