If there is a growing global conflict, malik naseem labar, a. Feb 12, 2007 the following is a list of suggested reading about the shiite sunni conflict. Modern sunnishia tensions council on foreign relations. The sunnis makeup the 80% of muslims, while the remaining percentage is that of shias. Pew research center global survey of muslims q87, q87irn. Sunnishia tensions % of all muslims who say sunnishia tensions are a very or moderately big problem in their country question modified in iran to ask how prevalent tensions are between sunnis and shias. Apr 10, 20 in the midst of the arab awakening, there is a new sunnishia divide which has greatly complicated the diplomatic and geopolitical challenges facing the united states.
When asked about his individual choice to volunteer with the thirtyfirst brigade of the pmu, abu waleedthe nom du guerre of a middleaged former army soldier. After the prophet, prophet muhammad, shia sunni conflict, shia thought, sunni thought, imam hussain, ali bin abi talib. The difference between alawites and sunnis in syria. The sunni shia split after mohammeds death there is a conflict over who should lead the religion of islam sunni muslims supported abu bakr as the first caliph of the muslim faith the first group of shia were a small group who opposed bakr and wanted a man named ali to take control 6. Sunni, shia conflict rooted in dispute over prophets successor the sunnishia split is rooted in the question of who should succeed the prophet muhammad in leading muslims after his death in 632. Sunni shia tensions % of all muslims who say sunni shia tensions are a very or moderately big problem in their country question modified in iran to ask how prevalent tensions are between sunnis and shias.
On july 22, 2016 twin suicide bombers attacked a rally of the shiite hazara community, taking the lives of more than 80. Thats a passage in the persian gulf through which 20% of the worlds oil passes. Sectarian violence is no longer just limited to iraq, but has expanded in scope to influence regional development from the persian gulf to lebanon, adding new complexity to the conflicts in the region. The shiite crescent is led by iran and has as its main satellites syria, lebanon through hezbollah, and significant segments of the populations of iraq, bahrain, and yemen. Pdf on jan 1, 2014, domenic marbaniang and others published the sunnishia conflict in iraq find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Qatilehussain kon they sunni ya shia internet archive. The shiite sunni conflict is the most deadly and unsolvable conflict in the middle east and it is between muslims. Sunnishia rift the majority of yemens population is muslim, but it is split between various branches of islam mainly sunni or zaidi shia. The conflict between sunnis and shiites is often portrayed as strictly about religion.
The story, as told, usually goes something like this. The dispute intensified greatly after the battle of karbala, in. The sunnishia split after mohammeds death there is a conflict over who should lead the religion of islam sunni muslims supported abu bakr as the first caliph of the muslim faith the first group of shia were a small group who opposed bakr and wanted a man named ali to take control 6. This timeline highlights sunnishia tensions in recent.
If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. In recent years, sunnishia relations have been increasingly marked by conflict, particularly the iransaudi arabia proxy conflict. Here is a primer on the basic differences between sunni and shia islam. After the death of prophet muhammad sallalahu alaihi wassalam, muslims came under the rule of a caliphate system and stayed united under the initial four caliphs for a period of about 30 years. How conflicts within islam will shape the future, by vali nasr, w. Sunni, shia conflict rooted in dispute over prophet. Shia sunni discussion new pdf documents are added on daily basis. A dispute over succession to islamic prophet muhammad as a caliph of the islamic community spread across various parts of the world, which led to the battle of jamal and battle of siffin. The divisions between the sunnis and the shia are based on a longrunning religious conflict that started as. The broader shia and sunni groups are further divided into many groups and denominations, ranging from moderates to extremes. Prepared by emily hawley, research associate after the death of the prophet mohammad in 632 ce, the muslim community diverged over how to select the next leader of the islamic community they had formed on the arabian peninsula. There are no codified laws in either sunni or shiite islam. Some of the interviewed sunni members of shia units served side by side with their recruiters in the iraqi army in the midst of heightened sectarian conflict in 20056. History ali is the central figure at the origin of the shia sunni split which occurred in the decades immediately following the death of the prophet in 632.
Shiite sunni conflict rises in pakistan february 2, 2007. The sunni were more powerful and have a long history of persecuting shia. Jan 05, 2016 iraqi sunni and shia attend a baghdad conference bringing together local political and religious leaders. Iraq war deepens sunnishia divide when the united states invaded iraq four years ago, it didnt set out to deepen the sunnishia divide in the islamic world. But its also an economic battle between iran and saudi arabia over who will control the strait of hormuz. Why the myth of sunnishia conflict defines middle east.
A brief history of the shiitesunni conflict geopolitical. Over the last decade at least, the socalled sunnishia divide has been a defining characteristic of the middle east for pundits and other nonexpert observers of. In 1736, nader, the military commander from the turkoman afshar tribe, overthrew the rule of the safavid dynasty by declaring himself. This historical schism continues to permeate the daily lives of. The reason for the tension is primarily political rather than religious. The differences between shia and sunni muslims business insider.
Sunni, shia conflict rooted in dispute over prophets. Here is a primer on the basic differences between sunni and. The majority of the worlds muslim population follows the sunni branch of islam, and approximately 1015% of all muslims follow the shiite shiite, shia, shia branch. As shocking as the video clips of sunni militants mowing down shiites in iraq with ak47s and then handing out qurans can be, the barbarity is not new nor unique to the muslim world. The antagonism between the sunni wahhabi kingdom and shia iran was at most a footnote in this conflict. A disastrous overture to a religious war today, one gets the impression that this was in fact the disastrous overture to a religious war that has spread to a growing number of countries in the region and will last longer than the thirty years. What is the difference between sunnis and shias the hindu. The psalms of islam al sahifa al sajjadiyyathe psalms of islam al sahifa al sajjadiyya. Top positions in assads army are held by alawite officers, while most of the rebels from the free syrian army and other opposition groups. Next, the report examines the contemporary surge in sunni deobandi and shii violence, focusing on the most active zones of conflict between the two groups since 2007. Shia and sunni islam are the two major denominations of islam.
Iraqi sunni and shia attend a baghdad conference bringing together local political and religious leaders. Shiite populations constitute a majority in iran, iraq, bahrain, and azerbaijan. The pressures from modern global geopolitics exacerbate the shia sunni differences making unity a distant dream. After the prophet is not a novel, it is narrative history, in a sense that it is not an authoritative historical account of events and is not focused on history like after the prophet is a remarkable telling of the story of islamparticularly the ongoing rivalry between the sunni and shia branches of islam. Irans islamic revolution, which brought shias to power in 1979, and the sunni backlash have fueled a competition for regional dominance. The shia believe that only the descendents of mohammed could rule, and the sunni believe that being part of mohammeds bloodline was not necessary. Sunni, shia conflict rooted in dispute over prophets successor the sunni shia split is rooted in the question of who should succeed the prophet muhammad in leading muslims after his death in 632. Since 2003 shiasunni conflict has emerged as a major divide in middle east politics, and radically changed the regional context for u.
In the midst of the arab awakening, there is a new sunnishia divide which has greatly complicated the diplomatic and geopolitical challenges facing the united states. Professor nasr has pointed out that the shiasunni conflict is at once a struggle for the soul of islama great war of competing theologies and conceptions of sacred historyand a manifestation of the kind of tribal wars of ethnicities and identities. Modern sunnishia tensions 1979 2017 irans islamic revolution, which brought shias to power in 1979, and the sunni backlash have fueled a competition for regional dominance. Sunni and shia have lived in peace in bahrain for centuries. The term shia or shiite derives from a shortening of shiat ali or partisans of ali.
How conflicts within islam will shape the future kindle edition by nasr, vali. The sunni axis, led by saudi arabia, is supported mainly by petromonarchies of the gulf and western powers even if reluctantly. The division between shiites and sunnis has served to justify many wars and revolutions, including the ongoing syria civil war and the conflict in yemen, which now have an even greater potential of spreading to other parts of the middle east. This conflict has led some observers to see the entire region through the prism of the ageold sunnishia struggle. The shiitesunni conflict is the most deadly and unsolvable conflict in the middle east and it is between muslims. I would like to clear one at the start of my response that shiite was a reformist movement in islam which later became a sect due to number of differences in religious practices and beliefs. Shia sunni conflicts are raging in syria, iraq, lebanon and pakistan and the divide is growing deeper across the muslim world.
After the prophet the epic story of the shia sunni split in islam. Punjab, baluchistan, the kurram agency and nearby regions, and. The dividing line, like alps for christianity, was the arabpersian gulf, continued north. In this gripping narrative history, lesley hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the sunni and shia branches of islam, a rift that dominates the news now more than ever. I dont know about other places in india but few areas in chennai like royapettah and north chennai i have observed sunni and shia muslims live together in a same street and even in same buildings in harmony. May 07, 2017 over the last decade at least, the socalled sunni shia divide has been a defining characteristic of the middle east for pundits and other nonexpert observers of the region. Time period 656 to 661 ce conflict type religious underlying causes resentments began to build over how the booty from the conquests should be divided among the tribal groups that made up the islamic community which came from sudden successes of muslim armies and the sudden rise of the arab empire. Modern sunnishia conflicts and their neglected tropical. Shiite hadith differ from sunni hadith, mainly in that they include the sayings of the shiite imams who are considered to have been divinely inspired. Relations with the islamic world at brookings hosted a discussion to explore the factors behind the worsening conflict between sunni and shia communities. Shiitesunni conflict rises in pakistan february 2, 2007. Further attempts for reconciliation of sunnishia sects in xviii century, there was a new attempt to reconcile sunni and shia sects of islam by nader shahthe ruler of the afshar dynasty. If we assume this to be a shia sunni conflict and apply the same concept to sectarian wars in medieval europe, the number of 1. Sep 22, 2016 saudi arabias execution of shia cleric sheikh nimr alnimr could escalate tensions in the muslim world even further.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. However, dividing the middle east along sectarian lines is not an accurate way to assess the loyalties or predict the. It is, for example, the basis for the great hostility between saudi arabia and iran. Historical context to modern conflict download fact sheet after the death of the prophet mohammad in 632 ce, the muslim community diverged over how to select the next leader of the islamic community they had formed on the arabian peninsula. Sectarian conflict is becoming entrenched in a growing number of muslim countries and is threatening to fracture iraq and syria. Shia usoolaldeen which path should you follow did allah tell muslims follow the quran and sunnah or the quran and ahlulbayt the practise of shia islam from sunni books the shia perspective on historical events. Shiism and sectarian conflict in pakistan combating terrorism pakistan, the growing potential for shiasunni violence, and the implications of conservatives who objected to the shia azadari mourning ceremonies and.
Tensions between sunnis and shias, exploited by regional rivals. But the sunnishia divide was the result of disagreement over future leadership. And islam, in the greekturkishpersian, later orthodoxottomansassanid empires war zone, split into sunni vs shia islam in the struggle over successor, caliph, when mohammed died in 632. The shiasunni schism is about politics, not about islam. The sunni shia split after mohammeds death there is a conflict over who should lead the religion of islam sunni muslims supported abu bakr as the first caliph of the muslim faith. Following the islamic states capture of mosul and abu bakr albaghdadis historic declaration of the groups caliphate in june 2014, grand ayatollah ali alsistani issued, through a deputy, the famous edict or fatwa that declared a defensive jihada sacred armed struggle against the islamic states aggression.
The differences between alawites and sunnis in syria have sharpened dangerously since the beginning of the 2011 uprising against president bashar alassad, whose family is alawite. Conflict type religious underlying causes resentments began to build over how the booty from the conquests should be divided among the tribal groups that made up the islamic community which came from sudden successes of muslim armies and the sudden rise of the arab empire. One of the most crucial differences between shia and sunni muslims is the importance that the shiites give to ali, whom the sunni do not recognize as being the prophets rightful successor. The sunni shia split and conflict early events from islamic history. Modern sunnishia conflicts and their neglected tropical diseases. Sep 24, 2017 the sunni shia split and conflict early events from islamic history. Sectarian war is looming over afghanistan the diplomat. They chose sides following the death of the islamic prophet muhammad in ad 632. Sectarian violence persists to this day from pakistan to yemen and is a major element of friction throughout the middle east and south asia. What would it take to end conflict between shias and. Abu bakr by shura, election, or ali, the nephew, by blood.
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