'Ali's policy of changing the governors appointed by 'Uthman led to a lot of problems for him. Outline: (i) His reasons for making these changes; (ii) The effects of his policy.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2015). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] 'Ali, upon assuming the caliphate, dismissed all the governors appointed by 'Uthman despite the advice of some of his companions not to do so until he had established himself as the caliph and the political unrest of the time had settled down. Candidates, as the question asks, will need to say why 'Ali felt he had to change the previously appointed governors quickly and here they could say that one of the major charges levelled against 'Uthman was that he had appointed inefficient relatives as governors. Whether this allegation was true or false is another debate. The consequences of this action was however, that Mu'awiya who was the governor of Syria and a cousin of ‘Uthman, refused to leave his post and accept 'Ali as the caliph until 'Uthman's assassins were punished. This demand of Mu'awiya led to unrest and the formation of different groups even within 'Ali's core supporters, as Talha and Zubayr who had initially sided with 'Ali turned against him. The battles of Camel and Siffin ensued and the candidates could give a brief account of them and what their outcome meant for 'Ali. The above is a guidance of what could be expected in the answer.
2. [4] The candidates need to give their response to the question and back their view with reasons. They could say that agreeing to assume the caliphate in a crisis laden situation goes to show 'Ali's selfless motive and strength. More specifically, when caliph, he took some decisions despite the advice of his companions e.g. removing the governors which showed he was a strong caliph, ready to take unpopular decisions. At Siffin he wanted to carry on the battle but he was let down by a large number of his soldiers. A counter argument could be given by those who do not think he was a strong caliph but with due respect to the fourth righteously guided caliph of Islam. All valid answers need to be credited.