The Conflict Between Shias And Sunni

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

One of the most famous religious splits in human history is the well known Sunni-Shia split. The Sunni-Shia split is highly divisive throughout the world, and predominantly in the Middle East. These sects share similarities, such as they all believe that Allah is the one true god, and Muhammad is his messenger. They also believe in the same five religious pillars that Muslims follow. Although these sects are very similar, there is one big schismatic difference that separates the two. This difference lies with the question of: “Who is the rightful successor of the Prophet Muhammad?” Through this 1,400 year conflict Most sunnis believe that Abu Bakr the Prophet 's closest companion is the true successor. In contrast most Shias believe that Ali, who was the prophet 's cousin and son in law is the true successor. Abu bakr was the rightful heir to lead Muslims after the Prophet’s death. Abu Bakr was arguably his closest confidant throughout their lives, and Abu Bakr understood the Messenger teachings the best. It can also be argued that that Ali would be the fourth caliph instead of the first because choosing a successor to the Prophet based on bloodline could be seen as committing idolatry according to Islamic teaching.

    Did you know two groups of the same religion have been fighting for over 1,400 years? The two groups are known as Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims. They are fighting over a dispute over succession to Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community which spread across various parts of the world. The groups have different the succession of power after Muhammad died, and disagreements about marriage briefs on leadership, but are they so different? The groups are very different, because of

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

What I mean when I say totally different is that the Sunni branch is more optimistic while the Shia branch leans more towards pessimism. The Sunni branch is the largest and it takes up about eighty five percent of Muslims leaving the Shia branch with only fifteen percent. The main issue of the branches is that they didn't both agree on who should lead the community after Muhammad passed. The Sunni branch believed it should have been a group decision on who takes charge next, while the Shia did not agree with that and they thought that it should have went to Muhammad's cousin, Ali. The Shia is also all about free will and symbolism rather than determinism and literal attributes like Sunni. Its hard to believe groups like Al Qaeda that committed the nine eleven terrorism attacks are apart of the Sunni branch and not the Shia since we consider these attacks harshly negative and definitely not positive. Not all Muslims are terrorists though, that was just one example of the two different branches of Islam that I discussed. Above are the most important factors that influence the religion of Islam and the way of life of the Muslim

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)

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:

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.

The Sunni and Shiite split did the opposite of uniting the religion. The split started a war within the Muslim religion killing millions. According to Mike Shuster a professional writer for NPR“the violence and war split the small community of Muslims into two branches that would never reunite.” Seeing that these branches of Islam might not ever reunite how is that uniting society?

Conflicts within religions cause a division in society over time. In the early Islamic era, various conflicts occurred between Muslims. Early Islamic conflicts resulted in an ideological diverge after the death of the prophet, Muhammad PBUH. The most significant conflict, which occurred 1400 years ago and still reflects on Islamic society until this day, is the cleavage of Sunni and Shi'a. It's important to study the early Islamic history to understand the early Muslim division. The questions that will be researched on this subject are how and why the early division between Muslims occurred, and what the results of the division of Sunni and Shi'a were in Islamic history.

I enjoyed reading your group's report on Shia Islam and their differences with Sunni Islam. It suffices to state that Sunni and Shia Islams' major disagreement was a rightful leadership in the Islamic religions. I think Sunni Muslims believe that a hereditarily privileged succession was not a right way to choose a leader in the Islamic community because Prophet Muhammad was a great leader in both religion and political world. Sunni Muslims simply wanted to continue the true role of the leader based on their leadership skills and behavior, and Prophet Muhammad was an ideal model. I have noticed that your group mentioned how Shia Islam is not "a religion that expressed itself and its ideas through many fantastical and lavish festivals."

This article discussed the difference between Shia and Sunni Islam. The author discusses the differences and similarities of the two groups, as well as how this divide threatens to destroy the communities. The purpose of this article is to educate the reader of the origin of such, as well as the makeup of the groups and the history of how each is governed. The author shares information of the conflicts between the groups. The article uses maps of the regions to denote which group populates the major areas. The use of pictures of members, educational sites and religious rituals are also used to help the reader visualize. The article is helpful from an educational standpoint. The article does refer to recent events from January 2016, which

Throughout centuries, war in the Middle East has been on a rise. The main cause of war in most of these countries is religion. Everyone wants to fight for their religion and their Gods. The problem is in some religions such as Islamic, they believe when they kill they’re fighting for God, also they believe they will receive 100 virgins and go to heaven when they die. They are not the only religion fighting for their God, however, religions such as Judaism and others also fight. In the Middle East, if there is a war going on there is a 50/50 chance it is over religion. What the world ignores about these wars is they have been going on for centuries. People were brutally murdered every single day and still are today all over religion. The religious wars started from the beginning of time and go all the way to current times. As the way things look now, it does not seem like history is going to change. Starting in A.D with the Siege of Jerusalem and going all the way to current things such as the attacks on Paris, the phrase “history repeats itself” seems to be true.

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

that religion and politics have a long history in the Middle East does not mean that religion is always, or even most of the time, a crucial factor driving political conflicts. Most of the politics of the Middle East have been viewed by those inside and outside the region as driven by religious difference. From the Arab-Israeli conflict to the Iranian revolution to the emergence of