On the other hand, Shias relied on Imams as their spiritual leaders, whom they believed to be divinely appointed leaders from among the prophet’s family. Today, Sunnis comprise about 80-90 percent of the global Muslim population. To this day, these schools help Sunni Muslims decide on issues such as worship, criminal law, gender and family, banking and finance, and even bioethical and environmental concerns. Their theological foundations came from the four religious schools of Islamic jurisprudence that emerged over the seventh and eighth centuries. Sunni Muslims trusted the secular leadership of the caliphs during the Ummayad (based in Damascus from A.D. Sunnis and Shias adopted different approaches to these issues. This development demanded more codified forms of religious and political leadership. Over time, Islam continued to expand and develop into evermore complex and overlapping societies that spanned from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa to Asia. Held on the tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic lunar calendar, scores of pilgrims visit Hussein’s shrine in Karbala and many Shia communities participate in symbolic acts of flagellation and suffering. The day of the battle is commemorated every year on the Day of Ashura. For the Shia community, Hussein became a martyr. Hussein was killed and his forces defeated. An Iranian Shiite Muslim mourns after covering herself with mud during Ashura rituals in Iran. For the Shias, this battle, known as the Battle of Karbala, holds enormous historical and religious significance. Ali’s youngest son, Hussein – born of Fatima, the prophet’s daughter – led a group of partisans in Kufa, Iraq against Mu’awiya’s son Yazid. In the years that followed, Mu’awiya assumed the caliphate and founded the Ummayad Dynasty (A.D 670-750). Subsequently, Mu’awiya, the Muslim governor of Damascus, also went to battle against Ali, further exacerbating the divisions in the community. Aisha was defeated, but the roots of division were deepened. Aisha and Ali went to battle against each other near Basra, Iraq in the Battle of the Camel in A.D. However, Ali’s leadership was challenged by Aisha, the prophet’s wife and daughter of Abu Bakr. Subsequently, those Muslims who put their faith in Abu Bakr came to be called Sunni (“those who follow the Sunna,” the sayings, deeds and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) and those who trusted in Ali came to be known as Shia (a contraction of “Shiat Ali,” meaning “partisans of Ali”).Ību Bakr became the first caliph and Ali became the fourth caliph. Illustration courtesy of Creative Commons/Ghibar This map shows the distribution of the predominant Islamic madh’habs (school of law) followed in majority-Muslim countries and regions. This group held that Ali was appointed by the prophet to be the political and spiritual leader of the fledgling Muslim community. While the majority sided with Abu Bakr, one of the prophet’s closest companions, a minority opted for his son-in-law and cousin – Ali. The issue was who would be the caliph – the “deputy of God” – in the absence of the prophet. The first and central difference emerged after the death of Prophet Muhammad in A.D. The differences are related more to historical events, ideological heritage and issues of leadership. What exactly is the Shia-Sunni divide? And what is its history? History of divideīoth Sunnis and Shias – drawing their faith and practice from the Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad – agree on most of the fundamentals of Islam. These attacks are the latest chapter in the story of the centuries-long strained relationship between Sunnis and Shias.Īs a scholar of Islam and a public educator, I often field questions about Sunnis, Shias and the sects of Islam. Iran is a Shia Muslim majority state often in tension with Sunni states and extremist groups like the Islamic State or al-Qaeda. With this, the flaring tensions between Sunnis and Shias are once again in the news. (The Conversation) The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two attacks that claimed at least 12 lives in Iran on Wednesday (June 7).
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