Shiite Conflict

By definition, Islam is a religion of those who obey the doctrines of the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad, who in the 7th century lived in Arabia, initiated a religious movement that throughout the Middle East was supported by the Arabs. Today, not only in Middle East origins, Islam has adherents, where it is the dominant religion in all countries (Non-Arab, and Arab), but also in other parts of Africa, Asia and, of course, as well as in the United States. Those who are loyal to Islam are called Muslims. The Sunni, Shiite conflict in Iraq started long before the ruling of Saddam Hussein, but when Hussein became Prime Minister of the country the conflict between the two religious sects was taken to a new level. Right when Hussein gained full power, under his control, began years of persecution of the Shiite Muslims in the country. But, before this happened, the conflict was based upon Muhammad and who was to rule after he had died. When Muhammad had died there were many disputes on who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad after his death in 632. Shiites believed that the prophet’s son-in-law, Ali, was to be the successor. Both consider the Koran the word of God. But, devoutness and religious practice distinguish between the two sects. However, Islam teaches that all Islam is equal so Sunni and Shiite sects fight with each other not only because of “hatred” but, also because of religious

Saudi Arabia and Iran are two countries that sit on opposite sides of the Sunni/Shiite divide, which can be argued as being the most prominent issue the Middle East faces today. Saudi Arabia is predominantly known to be a Sunni state, while Iran is largely inhabited by Shia Muslims. Both countries aspire to be the hegemonic powers of the region. Ethnically, Iran is known to be a Persian land, unlike Saudi Arabia that is known to be in the heart of the Arab world. These two countries are separated by the Arabian Gulf and throughout the twentieth century and up until today, the relationship between the two countries has been notoriously contentious. Within the past few years especially relationships between the two states have been very fragile with Saudi Arabia ending diplomatic ties early in 2016. The two states are strained over many issues of which are, interpretations of Islam, oil export policy and hegemonic regional leadership.

To start off, even though Sunni and Shia Muslims share the same religion, they disagree who should lead after Muhammad death. Sunni Muslims take up 85 to 90 percent of Muslims. Sunni Muslims believe Muhammad did not clearly

Many non-Muslims believe the cause of the Shi’ite and Sunni violence originated from their religious differences. However the differences in tradition, education, law, and religious practices are a small factor in this escalating problem. The core of their faith is practically identical. Both factions believe that Muhammad, their prophet, was the messenger of Allah. They also believe that all Muslims must abide by Muhammad’s teachings as outlined in their

Shi’ite Islam was, and still is, the prominent ideology for Iran’s citizens, and its deep history suggests how their government should be run differently from that of the Shah. Shi’ite Islam places the legitimacy of power on the Imam, totally independent of state (Elwell-Sutton, 393). The religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini should take charge of the country instead of the Shah because Khomeini’s authority would be based off of religion. Shi’ite thinking says that religious power (true justice) will always be in conflict with the

Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was one that was based upon secular ideals. After the Iranian Revolution, revolutionary Shi’a Islam started to have a large

Another major disagreement between the Shi'a and Sunni was over the idea of salvation. The Islamic community, it was believed, would only win G-d's mercy on the Day of Judgment if the community as a whole lived according to G-d's law.(66)

Losing a leader can be very chaotic when they retire or pass on. Questions occur about the next leader, arguments begin, and relationships divide. Islam is a prime example of these events when the founder of the religion, Muhammad, passed on and left the Muslims without a leader. Thus started the separation of Islam into the factions the Shiites and Sunnis because of a disagreement of who will succeed Muhammad as his predecessor.

Instead of fostering cooperation, efforts to bring Sunni and Shiite elites together have only rubbed at raw wounds, exacerbated tensions and accelerated the slide toward a regional confrontation. ISIS is now targeting Shiite pilgrims in Saudi Arabia in order to enflame that country and widen the religious war that is brewing across the region. Iran is sponsoring terror armies across the region and trying to turn Shiite Iraq into a satellite state. A brutalizing dynamic is now firmly in place: Sectarian tension radicalizes the leaderships on both the Sunni and Shiite sides.

Their continued disagreement is about the prophet Muhammad. Both factions have similarities but are distinguished in its differences and system of beliefs. The Sunni, also known as Sunnah, make up more than a half of all Muslims throughout the world. This particular faction is considered to be the more traditional and orthodox of the two factions.

It is an indisputable fact that every culture around the world has seen discrimination and unequal treatment towards a specific class, religion, or group of people. Each region of the world has identifying characteristics that make it different from other places, which causes cultural conflict internationally. More importantly, though, almost all countries across the globe have experienced social inequality within its own boarders, and many continue to see it today. In Afghanistan, the main conflict that has existed and continues to present itself is between the two main sects of Islam: Sunnis, the majority, and Shia, the minority .

Disagreement between Shias and Sunni have been the most important splits in Islamic religion, which are ongoing problems since the 7th century to present-day, conflict in Islamic history has initiated blood spills from generations to generations and is still taking life’s while differences in social and equal opportunities that have taken deep roots in the minds of future leaders.

Briefly identify the main features of the 3 main variations among the leading Shiite ideologies with regard to Iranian culture and the Shah's regime? What were the main issues Ayatollah Khomeini had with the Shah's regime?

Another source of conflict as reported by Sørli et. al stems from the religious differences. As a whole, the Middle East is comprised of followers of Islam. But within the Islamic religion are the Sunni (which account for the majority), and the Shia. Tension lies between the two sects, especially given the fact that the Shia often hold the positions of power (Sørli, 147). Another major

Persians are Iran 's biggest ethnic group, however almost twelve different ethnicities represent well over 33% of the seventy nine million population. The biggest ethnic groups, which are main considerations for Iranian governmental issues are Azeris, Turkish, Kurds, Arabs, Baluchis, Armenians, Lors, and Turkomen. Other smaller ethnic groups are Qashqai, Mazandarani, Talysh and Gilaki. They hold many of the seats in the current parliament. Ethnic minorities are a delicate political issue, which is one reason precise numbers in legislative issues and the military are not effortlessly