Posted on 04/02/2011 7:41:16 PM PDT by george76
Tensions and violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims are often in the news in countries like Iraq, Pakistan and Bahrain, but why are they at daggers drawn?
swissinfo.ch: How did it come about that a Sunni minority should rule over a Shiite majority, as for example in Bahrain, where there are currently popular protests?
Arnold Hottinger: This is a matter of power which has historical roots. Bahrain has a Sunni government but the majority of the population – 70 per cent - is Shiite. The example of Iraq, which also has a Shiite majority, can be easily explained in the same way.
Iraq belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The Turks were Sunnis and installed a Sunni governor in Baghdad. Later, when the British were in power in Iraq, they kept the Shiites down and promoted the Sunnis.
There were no direct descendants left by around the ninth century. The Shiites believe that the last Imam has disappeared into eternity and will return. This is a kind of Messianic belief...
Iran is the only Shiite state. There the belief has developed that each of the faithful should choose a spiritual leader. If a cleric has many followers he may be called an Ayatollah.
It is important to point out that the Iranian Shiites are very different from the Arabic-speaking Shiites.
The Persian Shia Islam is strongly mixed with the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. The Persians, today’s Iranians, have a different language, history and culture.
(Excerpt) Read more at swissinfo.ch ...
There’s a book called “The Closing of The Muslim Mind” (haven’t read it, but heard the author interviewed) that I think sheds much light on this. One group or the other rejected reason and became fundamentalist slaves.
Hottinger glosses over the division forgetting to mention its origins literally with the death of Mohamed, himself. And his equating of American evangelicals with fundamentalists in Pakistan is academic bigotry, or pompous bigotry.
There are better sources for those interested in the origins of the divisions among Muslims, and the differences between Persians and Arabs.
Ok Got it.
Thank you.
No, insanity is one attribute that Sunni and Shia share in common.
A preference for billy or nanny goats?
A well wielded sabre?
“....until they are exhausted enough to be easily defeated?”
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Hell, they could be defeated right now without any problem.
But instead, we invite them into our country, treat them like honored guests hoping they won’t pull another 9/11.
It’s not Islam that is the problem — the problem lies with us and our deepseated politically correct attitude.
Comparison of Shia, Sunni and Sufi Factions of Islam
http://staff.jccc.net/jbacon/readings/world_religions/Sunni-Shia.htm
It’s not even us. It’s the kamakazi pilots who have grabbed the control yoke of the United States who are really to blame.
Is there such a huge difference? Given their behavior, I figure they’re nearly all Sh*tites..
“why doesn’t the western world exploit the deep differences between the major flavors of islam”
Because they all are united in their hatred of the infidels. Only when the infidels are subjected in their own lands, and they are too weak to attack elsewhere, do they really get to work killing each other.
They consider the Koran perfect, so the Sunni should defer to the Shiite. After all, the entire Koran is full of Shiite.
On a much more serious note than most of the responses here, exactly why doesn’t the western world exploit the deep differences ...
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Exploit their differencees with 5 Mt warheads - much cheaper and quicker ...
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Strickly forbidden by Mohammad. Potential reformers have an automatic fatwa of death placed on them - every muslim is obligated to kill them. (Reformers you see on TV are practicing taqyyia - sanctioned lying in defense of the movement to deceive infidels).
Christianity can be reformed - Islam cannot. There are many variations of the Bible, but only one version of the koran.
Christ killed no one. Mohammad killed 400 by his own hand - all Jews (beheading, a technique he popularized).
The uprisings aren’t about Freedom....they are about establishing islam sahria over every ME country....looks like Egypt will be going that way already.
There is no such thing as moderate Islam. It’s either you are Islamic or you are marked for death.
Never forget that whether sunni or shiite, both know that only the second given half of the koran is valid. The first given half was abrogated by Mohammed himself.
The second given half of the koran is the last revealed words of allah wherein the faithful are OBLIGATED to kill all non-believers.
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I think that the Shiites under the Mahidi are not only obligated to bring all humanity to Paradise (human extinction), but the last two are obligated to kill each other ...
As you can see, they are natural allies of the voluntary human extinction movement mentioned on FR this weekend.
There is no such thing as moderate Islam. It’s either you are Islamic or you are marked for death.
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Knew that when the whole thing began. Obvious. Egypt is now firmly in the Iranian camp, gearing up to help Hamas bring more advanced missiles and weapons into Gaza ... and perhaps all or some of the chemical warheads and arty shells looted from Libya.
All our heartfelt thanks goes out to Our Dear Leader and his minions at Google, Facebook, Code Pink, and the CIA for making all this possible.
Wrong. -- FR discussion - #16 plus
Exactly. Tho, the dispute eventually led to major wars between the shi'ites & sunnis. -- Comparison of Sunni and Shia Islam (provides a concise & accurate backgrd & overview of key similarities & differences)
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