More handpicked essays just for you.
How religion affects political decisions
Religious conflicts today and their causes
The role of religion in foreign policy
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam have been feuding for hundreds of years dating back to the beginning of the Islamic religion. The deity or god of the Sunnis is Allah. The Sunni branch of Islam is the larger of the two branches with over 80% of the Muslim population. The Sunni are the majority in most of the countries that have Islamic followers. There are a few different translations of what Sunna stands for, one of which is “Habitual Practice.” The differences between the two branches can be traced all the back to the 7th century CE when the disagreements as to who should succeed Muhammad. Sunnis believe that the Muslim community should maintain the right to select who the successor to Muhammad is going to be. The Shiite branch maintains the belief that Muhammad has selected his son-in-law to be the successor. Even though the two branches agree on most matters, the Sunni put more power behind god and his determination of fate, and are more inclusive about their definition of being Muslim. The Sunni place heavy belief in the role of religion in some aspects of life and a lot of weight is put on the Islamic law known as Shariah as the standard for a vast range of social issues including marriage and divorce. (Patheos.com)
The Shia branch of the Muslim religion only accounts for about 15% of the total population of Muslims in the world. Shiism has the most influence in the contemporary world especially in Iran where the population is nearly 90% Muslim. The Shias revere a succession of Scholars known as Imams. The Imam has been regarded as both the political and spiritual leader. Although the two branches agree on many of the doctrinal and ritual matters, the Shia holds the Imams and saints in very high regard. The ones ...
... middle of paper ...
...e Eastern region, especially when describing the Arab political culture. (Nasr)
Works Cited
Library." Shi'a Islam Origins, Shi'a Islam History, Shi'a Islam Beliefs. Patheos, 24 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
“Library." Sunni Islam Origins, Sunni Islam History, Sunni Islam Beliefs. Patheos, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. .
"Iraq's Civil War." Foreign Affairs. 1 Mar. 2007. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
Nasr, Vali. "When the Shiites Rise." JSTOR. JSTOR, 12 Aug. 2006. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
Walker, Martin. "The Revenge of the Shia." JSTOR. JSTOR, Sept.-Oct. 2006. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
Ansary, Mir Tamim. Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. Print.
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
Laura Deeb’s An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi’i Lebanon seeks to rectify post-9/11 notions of political Islam as anti-modern and incongruous with Western formulations of secular modernity. Specifically, Deeb is writing in opposition to a Weberian characterization of modern secular Western societies as the development of bureaucracies through social rationalization and disenchantment. Within this Weberian framework Deeb asserts that Shia communities are in-part modern because of the development of beuorocratic institutions to govern and regulate religious practice. However, Deeb makes a stronger argument oriented towards dislodging the assumptions "that Islamism is static and monolithic, and that
The book begins with a detailed description of Qom, an Iranian city where Ali Hashemi, the main point of reference, in the book was born. Mottahedeh also describes the Shi’ite faction of the Islamic faith that entails learning and tradition, in Iran. Mottahedeh managed to introduce readers to political climate, history and tradition from the middle of the twentieth century. Mottahedeh recounts the life of Ali Hashemi from his childhood through his education into adulthood. Ali Hashemi is the contemporary mullah of Qom. The book portrays Ali Hashemi as an alias of a mullah in the University of Tehran. This presents Ali Hashemi as a scholar just like Parviz. However, Hashemi is still engrossed in Islamic religion unlike Parviz. Mottahedeh used Hashemi to bring a clear picture of culture and history in Iran, in different times. Mottahedeh used Hashemi to create a scenario that depicts trends and issues that i...
Kinzer, Stephen. All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons, 2003. Print.
Have you ever wondered about other religions that are out there and why they are out there? I have and that is why I chose to write my paper on the Sunnis and Shiites. Read on to learn more about a brief history and then I will break each of them into separate religions.
The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet's companions, that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, bec...
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
Tatchell, Peter. "Iran's War on Sunni Muslims." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 16 Oct. 2008. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Lafraie, Najibullah (2009). Revolutionary Ideology and Islamic Militancy : The Iranian Revolution and Interpretations of the Quran. Tauris Academic Studies. Retrieved March 23, 2012, from Ebook Library.
Similar to other monotheistic religions, such as Christianity, Islam is divided into two large sects, each made distinguishable by slight differences in beliefs and traditions. These two groups are Shi’a and Sunni. The division between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad, in the year 632 C.E. After his death, the question as to whom should take leadership of the Muslim people arose. Many Muslims agreed with the Prophet's companions, claiming that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. Eventually, it was decided that the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, would become the first Caliph of the Islamic people. All those who agreed with this decision were henceforth known as Sunni Muslims, ’Sunni’ being an abbreviation of the Arabic word meaning "one who follows the traditions of the Prophet." Those who refused to follow Abu Bakr instead followed Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, believing that the leadership should remain either within the Prophet's own family, among those specifically appointed by him, or among Imams (islamic holly leaders) appointed by God Himself. These Muslims titled themselves as Shi’a Muslims, ‘Shi’a’ being an abbreviation of Shiat Ali, meaning "followers of Ali."
Rippin A. 1990, Muslims, Their Religious Beliefs and Practices Volume 1: The Formative Period, Routledge, London and New York.
It has been estimated that Sunnis make up approximately 85 percent of the world’s Muslim population, with Shi’as accounting for much of the rest. When people talk of sectarianism in Islam, these two names, which are rooted in the earliest days of the Islamic caliphate, are the most often mentioned. It may be tempting to make a passing comparison here with the great Protestant-Catholic divide in Christianity. However, whereas that division didn’t occur until well over a thousand years into the life of the church, the great Sunni-Shi’a break came within the lifetime of the surviving companions of the Prophet Muhammad and was not centered on doctrinal disputes. The main reason for the existence of the Shi’a sect is directly related to the election of Abu Bakr as the first caliph of the Muslim community in the year 632. The Prophet had just passed away, and the leaders of Medina gathered to choose a political successor to keep the fledgling Muslim nation united. There was no question about doing this because the Prophet had spoken about it so often. After a heated debate, Abu Bakr was chosen to lead. Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad (he was married to Muhammad’s favorite daughter, Fatimah), was not present at that meeting, and he later protested that he should have been given a fair shot at being selected the caliph. Although Ali refused to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr for a few months, eventually he caved in and both he and his supporters took the oath. The stage was set for bad blood, however; and as each new caliph was elected, Ali’s friends stood by in anger, watching other men being given the nod while their beloved leader was passed over. Finally, in 656 when Ali was elected the fourth caliph, his group felt vindicated...
There is no set definition for the area known as the Middle East since shifts in global power over the years have affected the topography. Now, however, the region can expansively be said to contain “the area from Libya E to Afghanistan, usually including Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the other countries of the Arabian peninsula” (dictionary.com). This geographical definition can be said to contain both the ‘Near East’, ‘Middle East’, and even farther to the East and into Africa be described as the ‘Greater Middle East’, so the Middle East can only be loosely defined, and it is important to know that these countries are separate and do not truly form one cooperative unit.
G. Esposito, John L (2002) Islam; What Everyone Should Know. New York. Oxford University Press Inc.