The Muslims eventually split into two groups, the Sunnis ("tradition") and Shiites ("party of Ali"). Both sides had differing views on both who should be the leader of the Muslims and on the religion as a whole.…
Sunni, Shiite, and Sufi are three branches of Islam. The Shiite and Sunni’s were the first really major division of the Islamic religion. This division was the result of a political argument over who should precede Muhammed. Sunni’s name means tradition and they believed the legitimacy of the Orthodox caliphates, and based everything off those beliefs. Sunni’s believe that Muhammad did not designate a successor. Now Shiite’s get their name from the word Shia, which means faction. They believe that Muhammad did leave a successor and it was the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad named, Ali. They do not believe the same thing as Sunnis and disagree and do not get along with them. Now Sufi’s are” a contemplative school of Islam that aims to develop an individual 's consciousness of God though chanting, recitation of litanies, music and physical movement (SCRUGGS, 2010, para. )” Sufis find the importance by approaching the inner meaning of god through mysticism. They want to find the hidden meanings of the world they do not read or follow the Qur’an as strictly and as a result have closer relationships to other religions (SCRUGGS,…
However, the conflict can be viewed as a call for political dominance, where one political elite (Sunni) seeks to maintain its dominance overtaken by a new one (Shia). Also, the divide can be attributed to ethnic differences between a majority and minority ethnicity that attempts to overthrow the social primacy of the other. The events were eclipsed by the growing Sunni ascendancy for both religious and political power (Nasr, 2004). It would seem that the U.S. invasion of Iraq only benefited the Shi’as’ and this led to further division among the two predominant Muslim groups.…
One can safely argue that the Canadian government was solely trying to protect its economy and its citizens. An important foundation of the global and political economy of any country is, of course, its people. Politics is fundamentally about how society and its people are organised in and for public life. A people are better understood by their culture and that culture helps to define and be defined by politics. To understand the politics of a society therefore requires understanding its culture, that is, the ways of life of its people - their beliefs, practices and values - and how these impact on politics and the global economy. (1)…
The Sunni Shia conflict started 1,400 years ago, yet the magnitude of the conflicts have not necessarily lowered. In fact, the conflict between Sunnis and Shias continues to influence the many current events that impact the middle east today. This schism was a major cause of the Saudi Arabia and Iran Cold War, the conflict even even has got the US tied into things which has caused more tension than ever, and finally the split has started the well known terrorist organizations,ISIS.…
Culture. You often hear this word at home, in the news, or at school. Culture is something that defines you. Something that can describe you. It is what makes you similar to some people, and what can make you drastically different from others.…
The difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims is not Islamic beliefs or spiritual differences, but politics. The division of Sunni and Shia Muslims started after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims believed that the new leader of the Muslim nation should be elected out of those most capable of the job. Shia Muslims believed that leadership should be passed to his cousin or son-in-law. The leader was elected out of those most capable of the job. Abu Bakr was the first Caliph of the Islamic nation.…
Both of the branches of Islam had famous rulers. When Muhammad died, Abu Bakr was elected caliph. The three successors to Abu were elected in a similar fashion. The second caliph, Umar I, founded the early doctrines of political administration in the conquered populations. They did not force the Islamic religion upon their conquered peoples, so the hierarchy of the conqueror and the conquered stayed distinct. This incompetence of power led to a long series of civil wars in the Middle East. The next caliph elected was Ali, even though there was much opposition. The Shiites supported this election while the Sunnis did not. After Ali was assassinated, the Sunni leader, Mu’awiya declared himself caliph. Although there were many powerful caliphs, these would probably be the most well-known.…
Throughout history, most major religions have encountered splits into some forms of tangents, many due to social, political, or authoritarian unrest. Christianity was divided during the Protestant Reformation, and Judaism has split into various levels of practitioners who each favor a different level of historical development of their faith. Like its fellow Abrahamic faiths, Islam is not a “monolithic” (Smith, 259) religion; it too has been divided. But unlike Christianity and Judaism, who have split moreso over miniscule differences in their beliefs, Islam has diverged on account of how their faith should be worshipped and how their traditions should be practiced. Also unique to Islam is how it split; rather than dividing off into tangents,…
The first century from the inception of Islam, 622 CE – 719 CE, was marked by little political discord and social division as the community of believers constituted a non-Muslim group which drew on theists of various faiths and denominations beforehand. At the end of that century, the Islamic faith began to take on the form of its own distinct group. The period prior to the reign of Abd al-Malik, 685 CE -705 CE, was a tolerant and accepting model of the Islamic faith. Although, there is lack of historical evidence on the one hand and counter-arguments made in favor of a divisive and aggressive model of political discord and social division from the very inception of the Islamic religion. Evidence presented for the former view relies on the mention in the Quran, suggesting a diverse community in which Jews and Christians lived alongside Muslims.…
While in their earlier stages with smaller populations, it may have been appropriate for the community to have one multi-purpose' leader, it has become necessary to separate the fields of politics and faith as religious communities rapidly expanded and grew in power. This separation of church (in this context referring to any religious institution) and state has, over time resulted in gradual diminishing of the authority of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Sunni Caliphate. Stemming from corruption of authority, historical developments, and gradual deviation from founding principals, the decline of both of these institutions is seen in today's contexts as modernization', but whether or not this phenomenon is moving society in a positive direction has yet to be…
A growing concern to many is the possibility of a civil war across countries between Sunnis and Shiites, in which “countries are divided along sectarian lines” (International Business Times). This would lead to a crisis, weakening the borders between countries as a result of a collapse of existing nation-states. The implications of this would be terrible - “goods, people, and weapons will move more easily” between many countries in the Middle East. Religion can cause people, such as Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East, to do irrational things, from discrimination to murder, in order to assert their opinion that their specific beliefs are more correct and more right than the beliefs of others. Religion causes people to do this because…
During the 7th century, Islam was developed in Saudi Arabia and was founded on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. According to Islam’s teachings Muhammad was the last prophet sent by Allah, “the one and only true merciful God” with no partner or equal. Just as Islam taught, many other prophets that came before Muhammad which included: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, and additional prophets. Those who followed these prophets became followers of Islam, better known as Muslims. Islam has several branches but despite the varieties within the branches, there are a few things that all of the branches believe and…
FOR two sects united by their belief in one Maker, one Book and one Prophet, the amount of blood spilt in the name of their respective faiths by Shias and Sunnis is truly staggering. This is specially so when one considers the tiny differences that define and divide them.…
Kennedy (2012) The Influence of History and Puritanism on Young Goodman Brown Retrieved from http://sakridge.umwblogs.org/portfolio/the-influence-of-history-and-puritanism-on-young-goodman-brown/ on 14 February 2014…