Political+Denominations+of+Islam

=Political Denominations of Islam= =toc= By Jim Gehrig

History of Sunni and Shiites:
The religion of Islam has two main political religious sects. These sects are the Sunni and the Shiite. At one time these sects were one, but after the death of Muhammad they divided. The focal point for this split was the issue on who should be the new leader of the Islamic Empire. The Sunni's believed that the next leader should be the most capable leader chosen by the people. The Shiites on the other hand believed that the next leader should be a relative of Muhammad and that future leaders should also be relatives of Muhammad. This disagreement would be the starting point for a divide in beliefs for generations to come. After the death of Muhammad, four caliphs were decided by the people. The Sunni would consider these caliphs the first four legitimate religious leaders. The Shiites however were against three of these caliphs. They believed a caliph should be a relative of Muhammad and therefore only supported Ali. The heirs of these 4 rulers would continue to control various states of Islam until the end of World War I. The Sunni only supported those caliphs who were heirs of Ali, because all of his heirs were descendants of Muhammad. This was the first of a long history of disagreements. Many of these disagreements escalated to civil war between the Sunni and Shiites. For example, when the third caliph Umah was assassinated Ali took over as the fourth caliph. Ali meant strong resistance from the Sunni population, which eventually erupted into a civil war. This war was called the First Fatna or first civil war, which was won by the Shiites. Another civil war would break out after the man, who killed Ali was assassinated. The Ummayad dynasty was able to stop the usurpers and maintain control. After this civil war, the Islamic empire was conquered multiple time and weakened, but not during this period a there were no civil wars. Although this does not mean that there were no disagreements or violence. The Shiites were often persecuted by the Sunni, which has continued up until today.

The Sunni are the largest political group in Islam, they make up around 85% of the Muslims in the world. They are called Ahlus Sunnah wa Al-Jama'ah or Ahlus Sunnah for short. When translated into English, this phrase means the people of the tradition and community. Sunnis share the same basic beliefs as Muslims. Unlike some Muslims they believe that all the stories in the Hadith and Sunnah are of equal worth. that believe that even the stories told by average people or those not related to the prophet Muhammad are valid and useful. Sunnis even have four schools devoted to the study of Islamic. Sunni's believe in the Mahdi or rightly guided one. Sunnis believe that the Mahdi will come to this earth and "bring a just global caliphate into being". The Sunnis believe that the Mahdi has yet to com to this earth, but will come when the time is right. The Sunni are in political control in most countries where the state religion is Islam. The Sunni extremist are often cruel and hurtful to the Shiites. Today in Iraq and Iran in particular, Sunnis persecute Shiites for fear that they will take over the government.

Shiites are the second biggest political group in Islam, they make up 10%-15% of the total Muslim population. Shiites are also known as Shias, because they are follower of Shia Islam.Shia is the shortened name of Shia'tu Ali, which means followers of Ali in English. The Shiites consider Ali the second most important person in Islam after Muhammad. Shiites share the same basic beliefs as all Muslims. Shiites however only believe the stories and lessons in the Hadith and Sunnah that were written or told by Muhammad's descendants. This means that the Shiites do not follow many of the practices and ethics in the Hadith and Sunnah, because many were not written by descendants of Muhammad. Even though Shiites do not follow as many practices from the Hadith and Sunnah they have many rituals and practices of their own. Many of these practices are centered around important caliphs of the Shiites. One example is to celebrate the life of one of their leaders Husayn grandson of Muhammad, who was murdered by the Sunni. The Shiites gather together and beat themselves with bags and sticks to mourn HusaynThe murder of brutal murder of Husayn can also show the ways that the Sunni persecuted the Shiites. In order to fight the Sunni Shiites would us martyrs to attack them. This use of martyrs is what would go on to inspire the suicide bombers that attack people around the world.

Modern Day Relations Between Shiites and Sunnis:
Relations between Sunni and Shiites vary at every location you go to. In some place Shiites and Sunnis live in harmony side by side. In other places Sunni and Shiites are at war with each other. One of the most well know places where these wars are going on is in Iraq. In Iraq Sunnis and Shiites are in constant battle, killing those who have killed their own or those important to their enemies. This began when the U.S. firs invaded Iraq. Before the U.s. invaded Iraq the government was controlled by the Sunni even though they were the minority. At that time the leader of the government Saddam Hussein was repressing the traditions of the Shiites. So when the U.S. invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam, the Shiites were eager to express their beliefs and practices and immediately began to do so. The Shiites began to gain power over the government. This aggravated the Sunnis who wished to suppress the Shiites and control the government. They began to attack Shiites. The Shiites were enraged by this, they began to retaliate against Sunnis and attacked them. This conflict has gone on for years, without much hope of ending soon. Many people worried in 2006 that this violence will eventual escalate into a civil war. Leaders are also worried about the violence spreading to Iran,where Shiites are the majority as well. The Sunnis worry about what will happen if the Shiite controlled Iraq develops nuclear weapons against Shiites. However, this is one of the few extreme causes of violence in the world and by no means classifies all interactions between Sunni and Shiites.

A short video on the ongoing conflict in Iraq media type="youtube" key="U-MsKcyngGQ?fs=1" height="385" width="640"

A video on the conflicts between the Sunni and Shiite in Iraq: []

A variety of pictures related to the Religious Sects of Islam media type="custom" key="8112338" align="right"

Bibliography:
HNN Staff. “What is the differnece between Sunni and Shiite Muslims--and Why does it matter?” //History News Network//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. . This website was an unbiased source that provide useful information on the ways that Sunni Muslims are different than Shiite Muslims. It also provided useful information on why these differences are so important, Huda. “What’s the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims?” //About.com, Islam//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. . This site was an unbiased source that provide basic information on the major difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Nasr, Vali. “Battle for the Middle East.” Interview by Lucky Severson. //PBS//. N.p., 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. . This source provided detailed information on the situation with Sunnis and Shiites around the world. This source expanded on the information in a previous interview with the same person. - - -. “Shia-Sunni Conflict.” Interview by Lucky Sevrson. //Pbs//. N.p., 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. . This site was an unbiased source. It was an interview of a professor on the violence going on in Iraq during 2006 and where he believed it would go. This source provided useful information on the situation going on in Iraq and what caused it. Otterman, Sharon. “Iraq:Shiites.” //Council on Foreign relations//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. . This source is an unbiased that answered key questions about what is happening and what will happen