Iran is the heart of Shia Islam. The divide is traced to A. Both sides agreed that Allah is the one true God and that Muhammad was his messenger, but one group which eventually became the Shiites felt Muhammad's successor should be someone in his bloodline, while the other which became the Sunnis felt a pious individual who would follow the Prophet's customs was acceptable.
It was over political leadership," Robin Wright, a joint fellow at the non-partisan U. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson Center, said. Both Sunnis and Shiites read the Quran, the sayings of the Prophet. Radical Sunni Muslim movements in countries such as Egypt and Algeria have also engaged in violence against government and western targets. This article will furnish background information on Sunni and Shiite Islam, highlighting their historical, religious, and ideological differences, and pointing out what both have in common as well as what divides them.
It will also outline some of the reasons for the recent strength of Islamic political movements. All Muslims believe that Allah chose a man named Muhammad as the Prophet of Islam, and that, with Allah's blessings and continuous revelations, Muhammad guided the Muslims to lead life according to the Koran, a collection of divine revelations, and the "Hadith" the sayings, teachings, and practices of the Prophet Muhammad, which serve as a supplement to the Koran.
In a short period of 22 years, from to A. All Muslims believe that piety, righteous observance of the principles of the Koran, and striving for goodness in daily life are the greatest virtues of human beings.
Both Sunni and Shiite Muslims agree on the need for a strong ethical and moral code to regulate human behavior in all its manifestations. Social justice is also believed to be a fundamental right.
Sunnis and Shiites share the belief that there are five pillars of Islam: 1 the unity of Allah and the prophethood of Muhammad, 2 the five obligatory prayers, 3 fasting, 4 charity, and 5 the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Both groups also believe that the Koran has a Divine source, and that Allah's prophetic missions concluded with Muhammad. On Muhammad's death in A. Abu Bakr was one of the close companions of Muhammad, and the father of Muhammad's second wife.
This action by the assembly indicated that leaders were to be selected by Muslims on the basis of their piety and merit, and ruled out the idea of a bloodline succession to the Prophet in the religious and political governance of Islam.
Most Muslims accepted the selection of Abu Bakr as the first legitimate Caliph, who would rule according to the practices established by the Prophet. On major worldly issues concerning which there was no direct reference in the Koran, the Prophet had taken advice from the assembly of advisors, so it seemed the appropriate body to decide the issue of the succession.
The first Shiites were a small group of Muslims who opposed the selection of Abu Bakr as the first Caliph. They rallied around the person of Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, who had married the Prophet's daughter, Fatima. They supported Ali and the concept of a legitimate bloodline succession to the Prophet Muhammad in both religious and temporal matters.
Ali had, in fact, been one of the prominent members of the consulting body which selected Abu Bakr as the first Caliph of Islam.
But given the tribal traditions of the Arabian Peninsula, the selection of Abu Bakr was regarded by some Muslims as denying the right of Ali to succeed the Prophet and serve as a leader or Imam in religious and political matters.
Who Is a Shiite? The schism led to the creation of two major branches of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shiites. The supporters of Ali were called Shiites. Distinguished authorities on the Arabic language define the word "Shiite" as meaning a group of people that develops consensus on an issue. Etymologically, the word's meaning is confined to the helpers, supporters, and partisans of a person but, by and large, the word is applied to the followers of Ali and his eleven male descendants.
The word "Sunni," which means "orthodox," is applied to Muslims who are part of the main branch of Islam and belong to one of the four schools of jurisprudence, Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shaf'i.
Although Ali is highly regarded by Sunni Muslims, they reject the Shiite conception of the succession to Muhammad. After the selection of Abu Bakr as the first Caliph, the Shiites grew in number and became a political group supporting Ali as the successor of the Prophet. They vehemently rejected the Caliphate, and instead advocated the concept of the "Imamate,"3 a religious and political ideology based on guidance by Imams.
Etymologically, the word "Imam" means "he who stands before," a guide and a leader. It is used to describe men of religion today, as well as to refer to the Twelve Imams who followed Muhammad. The Imamate concept reflects a belief that humanity is at all time in need of a divinely ordained leader, an authoritative teacher in all religious matters, who is endowed with full immunity from sin and error.
The predominant trend in Shiism is that described as "Twelver Shiism,"4 which is centered in Iran and is the principal form of Shiism in Iraq, Lebanon, and Bahrain. This Shiism holds that Muhammad was succeeded by twelve divinely ordained Imams directly descended from him through Ali and his wife Fatima, and that rejection of and disobedience to any of the twelve Imams constitutes infidelity equal to rejection of the Prophet Muhammad Donaldson , Shiites consider Ali and his descendants the rightful successors of the Prophet, entitled to lead the Muslims by divine and infallible inspiration.
This issue is not, of course, simply a genealogical matter, because it raises the vital issue of knowing from which authority to obtain guidance as to the will of Allah and its exercise on earth. In support of this belief, Shiites refer to certain sayings of Muhammad debated by the Sunnis, such as: "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is my gate" Bayat , 4.
The distinctiveness of Twelver Shiism lies in its belief that the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, disappeared and will reappear one day to inaugurate a reign of justice that will presage the final judgment. Those Shiites who are not Twelver Shiites also believe that Ali was the rightful Imam, in succession to Muhammad, but differ on the importance of some of the succeeding Imams.
Kim Knott , Ben Lee. Understanding the differences between the two most populous branches of Islam is essential for comprehending many of the geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East as well as community tensions in diasporic communities in the West.
Kim Knott and Matthew Francis put a few of the key issues in context. Close menu. Although Sunni and Shiite Muslims are both sects of the Islamic faith, the differences between these two groups stem from conflicting religious beliefs.
Political conflict separates the groups as well Saudi Arabia, a Sunni nation, and Shiite Iran continue to compete for regional influence in the Arab world. Amidst anti-government protests and car bombings, Sunni leaders in Saudi Arabia have accused their Shiite populations of loyalty to Iran.
One thing that Sunnis and Shiites have in common is that they are the two largest denominations of the Islamic faith.
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