V. Conclusion

In this brief survey, I have shown that the event of GhadirKhum is a historical fact which cannot be rejected, and that instudying Shi'ism, the precommitment to the Judeo-Christiantradition of the orientalists was compounded with the Sunnibias against Shi'ism. Consequently, the event of Ghadir Khumwas ignored by most western scholars and emerged fromoblivion only to be handled with scepticism and reinterpretation.

I hope this one example will convince at least some westernscholars to reexamine their methodology in studying Shi'ism,and instead of approaching it largely through the works ofheresiographers like Ash-Sharistani, Ibn Hazm, Al-Maqrizi andAl-Baghdadi who present the Shi'as as a heretical sect of Islam,they should turn to more objective works of both the Shi'as aswell as the Sunnis.The Shi'as are tired, and rightfully so, of being portrayed as aheretical sect that emerged because of the political and economiccircumstances of the early Islamic period. They demand torepresent themselves instead of being represented by theiradversaries.