ABSTRACT
This contribution examines the historical and theological construction of minority identity in Shiʿi Islam within the broader Muslim world. It traces how political marginalization, sectarian polemics, and cultural memory, especially the martyrdom of al-Ḥusayn at Karbala, shaped Shiʿi self-perception as both oppressed and spiritually distinct. The analysis explores doctrinal themes such as redemptive suffering, tribulation as divine favour, and exegetical exclusivity vested in the Ahl al-Bayt. It also interrogates Sunni polemics, particularly those rooted in Ibn Taymiyyah's writings, as mechanisms of exclusion and minoritization. While acknowledging episodes where Shiʿis reversed roles as majority oppressors, the contribution underscores Shiʿism's resilience, theological creativity, and ability to transform marginalization into a source of communal solidarity, moral virtue, and eschatological hope.
