Sunni-Shiite Conflict - 1583 Words

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 â€Å"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†¦show more content†¦The successor to Muhammad Ali was assassinated in the city of Najaf, Iraq in the year 661. The Shia put so much emphasis on the assassination death of Ali in 661 that the city in which he was killed has bec ome an important place of pilgrimage for some Shia Muslims. Another important figure in the eyes of the Shia Muslims is the grandson of Muhammad Husayn who was murdered in Karbala, Iraq in 680. The Shia recognize the event each year on Ashura, which is a day or mourning recognized throughout the Shia branch, with a number of Pilgrimages to the city of Karbala. (Patheos.com) In 2004 in the midst of the Iranian nuclear aspirations and the slow slide of Iraq into a civil war, there was talk publicly of a â€Å"Shia crescent† in the Middle East. The president in the country of Jordan who was a Sunni that proclaimed direct relation to the prophet Muhammad was the person that sounded the alarm about the â€Å"Shia crescent†, which started at the Mediterranean Sea and ended at the Persian Gulf. The crescent continued from the Caspian Sea to the Indian Ocean. Abdullah and Mubarak along with the Saudi officials suggested the threat of a divided Middle East along the sectarian lines. It would put the forever-downtrodden Shia against their Sunni rulers. They thought that the first battleground might be Iraq followed by the oil laden Persian Gulf region. If this were to occur then the Shiite leader of Iran could secure all of the oil and gas fields inShow MoreRelatedCultural Conflict Between Sunni And Shiite Factions2143 Words   |  9 PagesThis short paper serves to relate various themes inclusive to cultural conflict in modern day Iraq between Sunni and Shiite Factions as well as the emerging threat of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). This analysis will show how ISIS is utilizing ongoing cultural strife between predominately Sunni (Western Iraq; Al-Anbar Province), Shiite (Eastern Iraq, and Kurdish (Northern Iraq; Mosul) to further destabilize certain regions and attempt to gain influence over segments of the population. IraqRead MoreA Brief History of Iraq737 Words   |  3 Pagesdifferent ethnic backgrounds. The failures of the Cairo Conference along with the lack of understanding between Britain’s understanding of the Arab nationalist movement and the appointment of Faisal as King, have led to conflict and violence as unity has been disabled within the country. Conflict in Iraq can be contributed to early colonization/westernization and Al-Qaeda. Early colonization within Iraq and the British rule over Iraq created a lot of turmoil and uncertainty within the country. During theRead MoreThe Sectarian Divide Between The Sunni And Shiite1433 Words   |  6 PagesThe on-going Sunni and Shiite split has influenced not only the Middle East where it originated but also impacted the rest of the world. The divide between the the Sunni and Shiite which has existed for centuries is one of the most prevalent aspects of Islam. Members of the two sects have co-existed for centuries and share many fundamental beliefs and practices. However, they differ in doctrine, ritual, law, and religious organization. Their leaders also often seem to be at odds; from Lebanon andRead MoreThe Sunni Shia Conflict Essay1341 Words   |  6 PagesSunni Shia Conflict Syria is currently all over the news regarding what many have to come to see as a civil war. A term like civil war needs to identify the players and the reasons for the war. In this case the players are being identified as pro government or antigovernment with a Sunni or Shia overtone. Sunni and Shia are the two major sects of Islam and both have a historical based conflict going back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad and how Muslims should be governed. This conflict has causedRead MoreTerrorism Between Saudi Arabia And Iran1270 Words   |  6 PagesOn January 2nd, 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on terrorism charges, including prominent Shiite Saudi cleric Nimr al-Nimr . Protestors in predominantly Shiite Iran promptly set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran, while the Iranian foreign minister denounced Saudi Arabia’s actions. Saudi Arabia then severed all diplomatic ties with Iran, and many of their Sunni monarchist allies have done the same. Over the past week an d a half, the Gulf has rapidly become a battleground, with countries beingRead MoreSunni Shia Conflict Essay857 Words   |  4 PagesSaudi Arabia and Iran Saudi Arabia considers itself to be the Protector of Islam as they contain Mecca and Medina as well as oversee the Hajj. The Sunnis are the dominate form of Islam in Saudi and its main branch is called Wahhabism. It is a very strict form of Islam that is based on the literal interpretation of the Qur’an and allows for no other versions of Islam, like Shiism (StevenAU 2004). Iran has long been defined as the central power of Shiism especially following the 1979 Islamic revolutionRead MoreThe Leading Factions Within Islam860 Words   |  4 Pagescategorized system (Armojand Web). A similar form of classification was experienced by Iran during the 1970’s and the 1980’s which led to religious factions such as Sunni and the Shia resolving to violence in order to solve long-lasting cultural differences (Tibi Web). The facts assert that even minuscule neighborhoods were divided into Sunni and Shia territories with frequent emigration of a minority group to claim the r egion (Gosh Web). The historical trend of violent resolution is also eluded to byRead MoreIraq Essay1738 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough a civil war, but many kids and families in the country of Iraq know nothing else. Since 1918 Iraq has been in a civil war. You may be asking â€Å"how could a conflict endure for this long?†. The answer to that question is that the three general groups that Iraq is composed of remain in constant conflict. The Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites have never and will never get along. The Iraqi government uses its power to attack towns and villages of what they determine to be the â€Å"outgroups†. The ousting ofRead MoreThe Media And Its Impact On The World1280 Words   |  6 PagesIslamic culture; the Sunni’s and the Shiites. One group called the Shiites, represent the second largest denomination of Islam. Shi’a is the short form of the phrase Shi’atu ‘Ali, meaning, â€Å"followers† of Muhammad’s son-in- law and Cousin Ali. The Shia believe to be Muhammad’s successor in the Caliphate by blood. (Huda, n.d.) The other group makes up the largest sect of the Islamic religion and the world’s second largest religious body after Christianity. Sunni is short for the derivation of â€Å"SunnahRead MoreEffects Of Religion On The Northern Africa And Southern Asia1171 Words   |  5 Pagesgroups have been fighting to have control of the specific regional sites such as the Western Wall, Dome of Rock and the Church of Nativity (Rowntree et al., 2011). For example, there have  been conflicts between Israel versus Palestine for Jerusalem to protect their sacred grounds; and the Israeli-Iranian conflict that would spur trouble even to the US. Earlier in history, the religious trends involved the Judeo-Christian practices of monotheism until after A.D 622 when the advent of Islam saw the region