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Mohammed's death at an early age caused the splintering of his religion into new sects, over the question of succession.  The groups called themselves the [[Sunnis]] and the [[Shiite|Shi'as]].  Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Mohammed himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.<ref>Bernard Lewis, ''What Went Wrong''</ref>

Mohammed's death at an early age caused the splintering of his religion into new sects, over the question of succession.  The groups called themselves the [[Sunnis]] and the [[Shiite|Shi'as]].  Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Mohammed himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.<ref>Bernard Lewis, ''What Went Wrong''</ref>

The failure or splintering of movements built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the [[routinization of charisma]].  [[Christianity]] faced the same problem, and many attribute the conquest of this problem to the leadership of the apostle [[Paul]].<ref>Maximillian Weber, ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' in the chapter "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization," see also Len Oakes, "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities"</ref>.

The failure or splintering of movements built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the [[routinization of charisma]].  [[Christianity]] faced the same problem, and many attribute the conquest of this problem to the leadership of the apostle [[Paul]].<ref>Maximillian Weber, ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' in the chapter "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization," see also Len Oakes, "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities"</ref>. Without the Grace of God given to Paul on the road to Damascus, Christians would also be a bunch of diaper-headed terrorists.

==See Also==

==See Also==