Shiite and Sunni: What are the differences? (CS Monitor) [View all]

[pinto]

Found this primer, of sorts, interesting - especially in light of recent events in Iraq. ~ pinto

Sectarian tensions are flaring in Iraq with the suicide bombing of a Shiite religious procession Saturday that killed at least 53 people and a ruling by an Iraqi court today that the country's Sunni vice president must stand trial in the capital. The procession was commemorating Arbaeen, one of the major holidays in the Shiite calendar. The festival comes at a time of stridently sectarian politics in Iraq, with the Shiite-led government of Nouri al-Maliki at loggerheads with the Sunni-backed minority in the parliament.

We take a look at the differences – and similarities – between Sunni and Shiite below.

- Dan Murphy, Staff Writer

1. What are the origins of the Sunni and Shiite sects?

Both sects are Muslim. They believe the Koran is the direct word of God, passed down to the prophet Muhammad in a series of revelations before his death. They pray in the direction of Mecca, and share the same dietary and general social restrictions.

Their schism lies in disputes over who would succeed Muhammad as leader of the faithful after his death in 632. The Shiites thought the prophet’s son-in-law and cousin should lead as caliph, particularly given his blood relationship to Muhammad. Their opponents, the Sunnis, thought Abu Bakr, one of Mohammad’s first converts, should be their leader.

The Shiites lost a series of wars for power in the early years of Islam and today are the clear minority in global Islam, making up about 15 percent of adherents. They are in the majority in Iraq and Iran.

2. What are the religious differences?

Shiite Islam is far more hierarchical than Sunni Islam. Shiites venerate the ancestors of Muhammad in a way that Sunnis do not. Almost all religious Shiites follow an Ayatollah, a senior Islamic scholar, as an “object of emulation.” They follow their Ayatollah’s edicts on how to square the facts of modern life with Islamic doctrine. Sunni Islam is far “flatter” in its organization, with less of a formal process needed to become a preacher and far less centralization of clerical power. In this respect, the differences between Shiite and Sunni Islam superficially approach the differences between the Catholic Church and most Protestant denominations.


The Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, in Mecca. (Hassan Ammar/AP/File)

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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0115/Shiite-and-Sunni-What-are-the-differences/What-are-the-origins-of-the-Sunni-and-Shiite-sects