Although he had not connived at Uthman’s death, Ali quickly became a polarizing figure rather than a soothing one. The umma’s unity now quickly fractured, and a civil war known as the First Fitna blazed into life. In the short four and a half years Ali’s caliphate lasted he was sucked into a ceaseless struggle against disaffected Uthmanites whose leaders included such venerable Muslims as Muhammad’s widow Aisha (who on one occasion personally led troops into battle while she was mounted on a camel)* and the worldly, hard-bitten governor of Syria, Muawiya. Because of all the fighting, Ali was
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