Soldier and Son-in-law, Spreader of the Faith and Scribe: Representations of 'Ali in Javanese Literature

The question of Shi'ism in Muslim Southeast Asia is a thorny and complicated one, encompassing broad religious and political implications. Did Shi'ism, for example, exert an influence on a particular writer? Should a certain book be classified as Shi'i or not? Such inquiries , important as they may be, are often too dichotomous or simplistic to answer in the context of our current state of knowledge. This is certainly the case when Javanese manuscript literature, which is the focus of this chapter, is considered.