Sectarianism in Pakistan

These disagreements led to the development of three rival sects in the Muslim community. The Shi’ites supported Ali’s claim to the caliphate and believed that the position of caliph rightly belonged to the descendants of Ali. Those known as the Sunnis believed that the first three caliphs had been correctly chosen and supported the Umayyad Caliphate. The most militant followers of Ali formed the Kharijite (rebel) sects. Most of the 800 million Muslims of today are either Sunnis or Shi’ites.

A change that occurred in the political life of Islamic civilization was the shift from the election of a Caliphate to a more dynastical system. Previously, the caliphates were elected by the Islamic community. Capable leaders were preferred over heirs who were not as qualified. Sunni Muslims were firm believers of this concept, while Shia muslims believed that Ali should’ve

Sectarian violence in the west was influenced by people that believed that there way of living was the only way to live. They shaped some parts of the west by causing problems with other people and religious people by intimidating them to not move there and killing and causing wars like they did with the massacre of bear river. The Mormons believed in one way of life, they tried to control the Native Americans and their rights to try and move and start new from where they once was. The Native Americans were treated poorly due to the fact they were different from others. They lived a different lifestyle and believed in a different type of religion from everyone else. Because they were different and was wanting to move away from Missouri to

division between Shia (followers of Ali) and Sunni (followers of the custom of the caliphate)

Ali shared the same blood as Muhammad. In their opinion, this made Ali holy. Shi’ites saw caliphs more as spiritual and temporal leaders rather than rulers. Each side had its rational notions, but since more people followed Bakr, he was appointed the next caliph. Shi’ite remained under his guidance, but felt it was an abomination.

I have always assumed that the Sunni and Shia conflict is similar to the war between the Catholic and Protestant, however it is much more complex and different. These two branches of Islam share the same Holy Book and all agree that Allah is there God. Sunni and Shia both believe that the last prophet was Muhammad. However, when Muhammad died, there was a disagreement of who would be Muhammad’s successor. There were two candidates to be the successor of Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Ali bin Abi Talib. Ali bin Abi Talib was Muhammad’s cousin and son-in law. Abu Bakr was Muhammad’s friend and senior companion. The Sunni Muslims believed that the leadership should be granted to the person with most experience. On the other hand, the Shi’a believed the decision should be based purely through Muhammad’s bloodline. The majority of Muslim ended up choosing Abu Bakr to be the Caliph (successor). However, Abu Bakr’s rule was shortlived when he died in 634 CE.

The second Part of Jonathan R. White’s ninth edition Terrorism and Homeland Security deals with the national and ethnic movements of international terrorism, their emergence as well as well as motifs. Ideological terrorist and ethnic separatists are hard to differentiate since they use the same procedures and tactics to get their demands. Although both fall under the definition of terrorism, there is a difference in the definition of their goals and demands. While separatists have defined, achievable goal, religious terrorists have a nihilistic ideology that are from a rational point of view not feasible. Therefore, it is impossible for satisfactorily negotiation

The history of the split of Shiites and Sunnis Muslims dates back thousands of years. It is not a new event, however the conflicts between Shi'ites and Sunnis still exist to this day and they have been increasing. Muslims were one interconnected group without divisions or conflicts. However, in 632, after the death of prophet Muhammad Muslims needed to caliph or successor to mastermind their affairs. Therefore, they divided into two groups; Sunni and Shia. Sunni claimed that prophet Muhammad did not choose caliph to him before his death, so they chose Abu-Bakr, who prophet Muhammad’s friend and the father of his wife. Then Umar, Othman and finally, Ali. The second group was Shia who believed that prophet Muhammad before

Christianity has numerous sects; in comparison, Islam has only two major branches. The main sects of Islam are Sunni and Shi'a. The partition between these two sects is the disagreement over authority. For example Sunni believes authority is political. On the other hand, Shi'a believes authority is political and religion.

The differences between the Sunnis and Shi'ites are founded on their disagreement over who was to be their Prophet Mohammad’s successor. On one side, there were those who believed that the next leader should come from Mohammed’s bloodline; on the other side, there were those who subscribed to their next leader being a highly qualified leader who would follow the teachings of Mohammed (Blanchard, 1). At first, the leaders of the community agreed to elect Abu Bakr to be the first successor or caliph of Mohammed. Most Muslims at that time seemed to be supportive of such decision. However, others supported another successor – Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed (Blanchard, 1). Ali was not considered in the election by the Muslim leaders because he did not have seniority in the Muslim community. The Muslims who adhered to Ali’s right (and those who followed his line)

From this initial split other divisions and changes occurred within the religious practices and laws of Islam. While both share a belief in the Qur’an and the sunna (sayings or actions) of the Prophet Muhammad there are religious and legal differences. Imams are by the Shia definition the divinely guided ones but the Sunni defines Imaans as saints (Diffen n.d.). The Shia declared Ali and his descendants Imams with a special connection to the will of God with religious and legal authorities. The number of Imams and who were truly the divinely guided Imams would split Shias. There arose many branches but it came down to three main ones the Twelvers, the Seveners, and Zayids (Goldschmidt Jr. 2013). The Imams were mystical beings and the Twelvers believe that the 12th Imam disappeared and will one day return to set thing right for Muslims. Within the Sunni sect there are four branches of Islamic Law:

Back when the religion began and Muhammad had just died, the divide was over who the next caliph should be, but now, it is a struggle over political power. The different views between the different parts of Muslim communities was the start of the separation. The divide escalated from different viewpoints, to violence and extreme prejudice. “The Iraq conflict plays out on several levels between Sunnis and Shiites. First and foremost, it’s about how to share power in a 21st century state”(How the Sunni-Shia Conflict Frames the Current Crisis in Iraq). When the Shiites are in power over a country, the Sunnis are being discriminated and attacked. When the Sunnis are in power over a country, the Shiites are being victimized. “Maliki, a Shiite allied with Iran, became the country’s new leader. Rather than seeking peace between the two groups, critics say he oppressed the Sunnis both inside government and by squashing protests in the street”(How the Sunni-Shia Conflict Frames the Current Crisis in Iraq). Maliki did not try to ease the tensions, but instead, did the exact opposite. If the protesters were Shiites, they would not have been ‘squashed’. The tug-of-war between these two sects over who gains control in government has terminated the other branch of Islam. The political struggle between the Sunni and Shia has come to the point at which the two sects

As a political tactic, rulers often portray themselves in a certain way in order to stabilize their reign and rule more effectively. Some take the approach of uniqueness by setting themselves apart from their subject population while others take the approach of sameness by emphasizing the similarities in which they share with the people. Not exclusively limited to apartness or sameness, some rulers have shown to employ a mix of both ruling styles. It is these versatile rulers who have experienced more successes in their reign because they are not compelled to only one ruling style, allowing them to better adapt to the needs of their ruling population. The apartness ruling style is best seen in the Safavid Empire under the rule of Shah Ismail. Shah Ismail uses religion as a political tool to control his state and does so by declaring Shi’ism, a smaller branch of Islam, as the state religion (#). After separating himself & his people from those who are not willing to abide to his ideologies, Shah Ismail can now demand the absolute loyalties from his subjects and persecute those who are deviant. This radical act further creates a deep chasm between Shi’ite Muslims and nearby Sunni Muslims neighbors. As a result, cultural flow and the exchange of beliefs between Sunni & Shi’ite states are essentially hindered. Ismail’s apartness ruling approach is taken to the extreme with social, religious, and legal systems being strictly confined to Shi’ite doctrines (@). It is noted that

The differences between Shia and Sunni’s took place after the death of Prophet Muhammad. “There are 1.6 billion Muslims across the world. Roughly 85%-90% of them are Sunnis”. (Ward) Sunni’s decided that the person/leader to guide the Islamic

The Safavids were the first the first to declare Shia Islam the official religion of Iran, and their interest in Iraq lay in the Shia holy places in central Iraq, and also the fact that Baghdad held significant symbolic value as the seat of the ancient Abbasid Empire. The Ottoman Empire on the other hand was afraid that Shia Islam would spread to Asia Minor, and thus looked to control Iraq as a Sunni-dominated buffer state. During the Ottoman period, the Sunnis were placed in political positions, while the Shias were then shut out of the political process. This divide between the Sunnis and the Shias continued to be more and more of an important element in the Iraqi social structure, and remains an issue even today. It was also during this time period that the Kurdish Baban Dynasty emerged and began to organize resistance to the Ottoman rule in Northern Iraq.