The Sunni-Shia Conflict

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.

The Shia Muslims believe that following the Prophet Muhammad's death, leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Ali. Throughout history, Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslim leaders, choosing instead to follow a line of Imams which they believe have been appointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself. The word "Shia" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. The commonly-known term is shortened from the historical "Shia-t-Ali," or "the Party of Ali." They are also known as followers of "Ahl-al-Bayt" or "People of the Household". The historical background of the differences of the two different Muslim faiths is important to recognize due to the significance of its effect on Afghan culture and lifestyle.

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

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

The discrepancies with the main ideas cause the split in Islam as we see it today.

While numerous countries remain established under the ideology of Islamic fundamentalism currently, the religious conflicts between differentiating Islamic sects has initiated massive political and religious warfare. The conflicts between Shia and Sunni Muslims have dates back to the 7th century, after the death of Prophet Muhammad. This great divide still exists today, according to a 2009 study by Pew Research Center, between 10-13% of the Muslims are Shia, while 87-90% are Sunni Muslims, comprising of over 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. While Islamic extremist may be viewed as separate from the mainstream Islamic groups, Muslim extremist groups have evolved alongside the Shia and Sunni sects. “Kharijites” were extreme doctrines which adopted

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:

Twelvers are a group in Shia Islam. Making up 12% of Shia Islam makes them the largest group within that section. Twelvers received their name from previous successors believing in twelve godlike leaders, or more commonly known as Imams. Twelve male descendants from the Muhammad family are believed to be Imams with religious and political power. Twelvers previously belonged to a group called Jafar Sadik. However, Jafar Sadik split into two groups, the Ismaili and the Musawite (later changed to the Twelvers). In most cases, the Twelvers are referred to as Shias since the two are so closely related. Although they do seem similar, they do have their differences.

According to Shia this date ritual was a symbolic transfer of knowledge and authority from Prophet to Ali and the second distinction regarding the declaration of Ali is the rightful successor was that, the Prophet Muhammad has raised Ali since his childhood. Furthermore the author describes other Shia narratives that state where the Prophet appointed Ali as his successor during the early stages of the Prophet’s life. Another important historical event Haider cover in this chapter is the tragedy in Karbala or the battle of Karbala. In 680, Umayyad army killed Imam Husayn b. Ali the grandson of the Prophet with his family and companions in present-day holy city of Karbala, Iraq. “This massacre highlights Umayyad oppression and greed”. Ismailis and the Twelvers “Shia considers Imam Husayn death as close to apocalyptic events while the Zaydis look at this event as “first in a series of failed Alid rebellions”. Nevertheless “the commemoration of Karbala is an important focal point for piety and central component of communal identity of all the three Shia

However, the cause of the schism between the two denominations of Islam can be traced back to its origin. After the death of the Prophet Mohammad, a great deliberation ascended over the right to succession. The Islamic empire nominated for three caliphs all in some way related to the Prophet. A young caliphate called Ali was the son in law of Prophet Mohammad and was the preferred successor of the prophet by many Muslims now recognised as Shiites. However, this notion was completely rejected by the Sunni group who acknowledged that Abu Bakr (second caliphate of the prophet Mohammad) should succeed. This dispute was further escalated with the assassination of Ali, his sons Hassan and Hussein subsequently triggering the Shi’a and Sunni split. Whilst the cause of the split resulted from the argument of who would succeed the Prophet, “the split might never have happened if Mohammad had a son, as the son would’ve automatically have inherited his father’s authority” said Lesley Hazleton writer of “The First Muslim: The Story of Mohammad”. Consequently, the difference in historical experiences, beliefs, and ethnic composition between these two factions of Islam has caused the escalation of sectarian violence that continues to progress in contemporary Middle

Conflicts soon arose between the two factions and segregation and discrimination ensued. After the Sunnis refused to allow Muhammad’s cousin into power, tensions arose between the two factions and both were unable to reconcile, leading to conflicts to occur (Qureshi, 2012). In Pakistan, after the death of the grandson of Muhammad, Imam Hussein, the Shias faced pat downs by security officials at both the entrance and exit of their congregational areas (Qureshi, 2012). Shia communities within Pakistan also face slaughter by suicide bombers, bombings, and targeted killings without any justice as the Sunni majority deem these deaths as justifiable as they mark the Shias as infidels and non-Muslims (“The widening Sunni-Shia,” 2016). Violent conflicts due to religious divides can lead to terrorism within a nation, resulting in the mass genocide of a group of people as well as the destruction of government buildings and infrastructure. The effects of terrorism leads to further religious divides within a nation further insinuating distrust between groups of people, causing less trade and economic activities to occur between these groups, resulting in low economic

Influence, political power and envy triggered the tensions between two groups that we know as the Sunni and the Shiites during ancient Muslim history. This major problem began in the mid 1600s and caused Islam to divide into two immensely large groups. The Islamic community had two different opinions on who they thought should be the supreme leader, or caliph. This caused a major division among the empire which caused a downfall for the empire.

Today, over eighty-five percent of Muslims are Sunni while less than twenty percent of Muslims are Shiite. Over thousands of years these two groups have been battling over who will be the next caliph. In the recent years this dispute has worsened, causing violent acts to be perpetrated by both sides. Discrimination, political disputes, and oppression have created a chasm between the two groups that will result in further bloodshed before its resolution.

Division within the Muslim world did not begin until after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. It arose in the form of political uncertainty about who would be the next leader of the Muslim community after the death of the Prophet. One group of thinkers, who came to be known as Shiites (Shia meaning "faction" in Arabic), believed that authority in the Muslim world should stay within the family of the Prophet, and so pointed to Ali and his son Husayn, Muhammad's close relatives. Another group, known as Sunnis, believed that the person most worthy to lead should become the caliph, no matter his bloodline (Strayer 423).

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.