You Sunnis and Shiites they are two groups of Muslims who have political differences and that is why they have been in conflict for a long time.
They are mostly located in Saudi Arabia (majority Sunni) and Iran (majority Shiite).
In addition to these countries, it is possible to find some Sunni and Shiite minorities in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Yemen, India, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and UAE United.
Differences between Sunnis and Shiites
Sunnis and Shiites share the same tenets of the Islamic faith. However, the big question is who would be the true prophet after the death of Mohammed (570-632).
Founder and foremost prophet of Islam, Muhammad (Muhammad) is the author of the Koran, the holy book of the Islamic religion.
Sunnis (about 90% of Muslims) believe that the caliph (head of state and successor to Muhammad) should be elected by Muslims themselves.
As for the Shiites, the prophet and legitimate successor should be Ali (601-661), Muhammad's son-in-law, who was ultimately murdered.
In his place, Caliph Muhawya, responsible for the power of Syria, was elected. It was in this context that he decided to transfer the capital of the Caliphate, which was in the city of Medina (Saudi Arabia) to Damascus (now the capital of Syria). Even today, Medina is a holy place for Muslims, in addition to Mecca.
Shiites are considered more traditionalists. They keep more the traditions of the holy book and follow to the letter the old interpretations of the Qur'an and Sharia (Islamic Law).
Sunnis, in turn, are considered more orthodox. In addition to following the precepts of the Islamic religion according to the Koran and Sharia, they also base their beliefs on the Sunna, a book that recounts the deeds of Muhammad.
For this group, religion and the state should be a single force.
Conflicts
Conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites have existed for centuries, ie since 632 AD. C., year of the death of Mohammed. This fact was propelled to trigger disagreements between these peoples that until the present day commit acts of violence among them.
As stated above, after the death of Ali, who for the Shiites was supposed to be Muhammad's successor, the Islamic religion was segmented into two large groups.
Besides him, his sons were murdered: Hassan and Hussein. From there, many conflicts and civil wars developed.
Before the prophet Mohammed, polytheism (belief in various gods) was practiced by different groups. It was, therefore, he who united Arab society in the monotheistic belief, where Allah would be the supreme God.
The prophet's actions were essential to unite Arab groups in a single religion: Islam.
Many countries were the scene of these conflicts, especially Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Pakistan. Among members of Shiite and Sunni groups, they cultivate hatred and aversion.
In this way, the Sunni majority discriminates against the Shiite minority. Therefore, the Shiites are marginalized and oppressed, in addition to having the worst economic conditions in the Arab world.
Every year, it is possible to corroborate this hatred with the violence and executions that frequently take place, for example, of the cleric Nimr Al-Nimr in 2015, the Iranian Shiite.
This fact further increased tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. It is difficult to confirm which group is more extreme, however, Sunnis are more neutral.
Although there is controversy as many extremist groups are Sunnis, for example: al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Boko Haram.
The Civil War in Lebanon, the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the current conflicts in Syria and Iran confirm that the history of violence between these groups is unfortunately far from resolved.
Read too:
- Characteristics of Muslim Culture
- arab culture
- Saudi Arabia
- Middle East
- War in Syria
- osama bin laden
