Shia vs sunni who is right

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. The story, as told, usually goes something like this: 1, years ago, during the seventh century, there was a schism among Muslims over who would succeed as leader of the faithful, and that schism led to a civil war.

The two sides became known as Sunni and Shia, and they hated one another, a people divided, ever since. This ancient sectarian hatred, simmering just beneath the surface for centuries, explains the Sunni-Shia violence today in places such as Syria and Iraq, as well as the worsening tension between Saudi Arabia, which is officially Sunni, and Iran, which is officially Shia.

But this narrative could not be more wrong. Yes, it is the case that a seventh-century succession dispute led to Islam's schism between Sunni and Shia.

But that is quite literally ancient history. Today's divide between Sunni and Shia isn't primarily about religion, and it's not ancient: It's quite recent, and much of it is driven by politics, not theology. Sunni-Shia sectarianism is indeed tearing apart the Middle East, but is largely driven by the very modern and very political rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

They have sought to fight one another on Sunni-Shia lines not out of religious hatred but rather because they see sectarianism as a tool they can use — thus making that religious division much more violent and fraught. The piece was widely circulated by Middle East experts as authoritative and insightful.

Some of the reasons Lynch discusses include: a desire to distract from Saudi foreign policy failures elsewhere, a fear that the United States is softening on Iran, and an effort to appease hard-line Islamist elements at home.

Noticeably absent from Lynch's list of factors: that Saudi Arabia hates the Shia due to theological disagreements or seventh-century succession disputes. That's not a mistake.

No one who seriously studies the Middle East considers Sunni-Shia sectarianism to be a primarily religious issue. Rather, it's a primarily political issue, which has manifested along lines that just so happen to line up with religious demographics that were historically much calmer and more peaceful. Al Jazeera's Mehdi Hasan put together a very nice video debunking the myth that Sunni-Shia sectarianism is all about ancient religious hatreds and explaining how modern-day power politics, beginning in , is actually driving much of the sectarianism we're seeing right now:.

RealityCheck : The myth of a Sunni-Shia war. Hasan's video is especially worth watching for his illustration of just how modern the Sunni-Shia political division really is.

Now here come the caveats: This is not to say that there was never any communal Sunni-Shia violence before Nor is this to say that Iran and Saudi Arabia were the first or only countries to cynically exploit Sunni-Shia lines for political gain: Saddam Hussein did it too, and so have some Islamist groups.

I want to be careful not to overstate this and give the impression that Sunni-Shia lines were completely and always peaceful before , nor to overstate the role Saudi Arabia and Iran played in turning Sunni and Shia against one another. But it is very much the case that Sunni and Shia differences have only quite recently become such a defining issue for the Middle East, and certainly that they have become so violent.

And it is very much the case that the Sunni-Shia divide has widened for mostly political reasons, due to the deliberate and cynical manipulations of Middle Eastern leaders, and not because Middle Easterners suddenly woke up one day and remembered that they hated one another over a seventh-century succession dispute. For much of the Middle East's modern history, the Sunni-Shia divide was just not that important for the region's politics. In the s and '60s, the leading political movement in the Middle East was Arab nationalism, for which Sunni-Shia distinctions were largely irrelevant.

And in the s, for example, the biggest conflict in the Middle East was between two Shia-majority countries — Iran and Iraq — with Sunni powers backing Iraq. Shia Iran has been a major supporter of Sunni Hamas though that has abated somewhat recently.

And so on. Sunnis also have a less elaborate religious hierarchy than Shiites have, and the two sects' interpretation of Islam's schools of law is different.

Shiites give human beings the exalted status that is given only to prophets in the Quran, often venerating clerics as saints, whereas Sunnis do not.

The great majority -- upwards of 85 to 90 percent -- of the world's more than 1. Shia constitute about 10 to 15 percent of all Muslims, and globally their population is estimated at less than million. Whereas Sunnis dominate the Muslim world, from West Africa to Indonesia, the Shiites are centrally located, with a vast majority in Iran, predominance in Iraq and sizable populations in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. Elizabeth Chuck is a reporter for NBC News who focuses on health and mental health, particularly issues that affect women and children.

Ali was assassinated in after a five-year caliphate that was marred by civil war. His sons, Hassan and Hussein, were denied what they thought was their legitimate right of accession to the caliphate. Hassan is believed to have been poisoned in by Muawiyah, the first caliph of the Sunni Umayyad dynasty, while Hussein was killed on the battlefield by the Umayyads in These events gave rise to the Shia concept of martyrdom and the rituals of grieving.

The Ithna Asharis are the largest group and believe that Muhammad's religious leadership, spiritual authority and divine guidance were passed on to 12 of his descendants, beginning with Ali, Hassan and Hussein. The 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, is said to have disappeared from a cave below a mosque in Ithna Asharis believe the so-called "awaited imam" did not die and will return at the end of time to restore justice on earth.

In countries which have been governed by Sunnis, Shia tend to make up the poorest sections of society. They often see themselves as victims of discrimination and oppression. Sunni extremists frequently denounce Shia as heretics who should be killed.

The Sunni bloc contains few Shia Muslims. You have a time machine, is the first thing you do go forward in time or backward.

Remember, As God says in Qoran, just a little guys will find the right guide and follow the right pass. Nessun commento. Ultime dal sito.