Posted on 04/07/2004 12:29:07 PM PDT by my_pointy_head_is_sharp
Wed 7 Apr 2004
Sunnis and Shiites - Competing Strains of Islam
Bursting out of Arabia early in the 7th century, warriors inspired by the new religion of Islam spread the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad across a great swath stretching from Spain to Central Asia.
But this newly created Muslim world soon split into the rival strains of Sunni and Shiite Islam, a schism that has periodically exploded into violence and bitter antagonism like that seen in Iraq today.
Shiites account for fewer than 15% of the one billion Muslims around the world. But they make up an estimated 60% of Iraq’s 25 million people, although Sunnis dominated the country under Saddam Hussein and earlier regimes.
Shiites are also the majority in Iran and the Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain, and they comprise large minorities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria and Lebanon. There also are pockets of Shiism in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
The Shiite-Sunni divide came soon after the death in 632 AD of Muhammad, founder of Islam.
Sunnis believe Islam’s first four caliphs, or supreme religious leaders, were the rightful successors of Muhammad but have chosen subsequent leaders based on the political realities of the times.
Shiites, on the other hand, insist the true leaders of Islam must be descendants of Ali, the fourth caliph and Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law.
To Shiites, the word “shia” in Arabic refers to those who follow Ali. It is shortened from the historical “Shia-Ali” or “the party of Ali”.
Shiites venerate both Ali and his son Hussein, the prophet’s grandson, whose death at the hands of Sunnis in a 7th century battle on the plains of Karbala in what is now Iraq is still remembered in emotional annual rituals.
Shiites and Sunnis have some variations in their prayer services and other rituals, and Shiites have a more organised and hierarchical clerical system than Sunnis.
An austere form of Sunni Islam called Wahhabism arose in Saudi Arabia at the start of the 19th century and still flourishes there today while making some inroads with Muslims elsewhere.
Basing its teachings on a literal translation of the Koran, Wahhabism rejects mysticism and any veneration of saints or their tombs. Shiites, by contrast, believe their religious leaders – known as imams – are sinless by nature and their authority is infallible.
Wahhabism is also in contrast to a mystical Sunni strain practised by Sufi Muslims. Sufis emphasise personal devotion and often blend local practices into their worship.
©2004 Scotsman.com
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