# The Struggle for Esoteric Authority in Early Islām: The Shī‘a and the Ghulāt

An episode of [Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1295957854), 9 Oct 2026, 1 h 17 min.

Audio: https://media.shwep.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/09230552/SHWEP-Episode-222-Early-Shiism-and-the-Ghulat.mp3

We explore some of the weird territory where extreme politics meet extreme theology in the pre-Umayyad and Umayyad periods. Includes case-studies of a representative selection of early shiite "extremists".

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