The difference between Shi’a and Sunni explained

The Shia (sometimes written Shi’ite) movement within Islam has political origins; after the death of the Prophet Muhammed in AD 632, the founders of the Shia sect (who are collectively known as Shi’a) wanted power to pass to the Prophet’s son-in-law and cousin, Ali, and then to his male successors. Over the centuries that followed, religious differences developed between Shi’a and non-Shi’a Muslims alongside the initial political distinctions. The Shi’a – who account for around 10-13% of the world’s estimated 1,6 billion Muslim believers – acknowledge Ali as the divinely appointed Caliph (ruler of the nation of Islam) and his successors as Imams, who are blessed with divine knowledge.

Muhammad didn’t appoint his successor definitively and in the wake of his death the community of Arabic tribes he had converted to Islam a short time before, drifted to the edge of collapse.

Muhammad’s followers hastily appointed his successor as Caliph themselves, chosing his father- in-law, who also happened to be among his closest friends, Abu Bakr.

According to some Shia sources, many Muslims believed Muhammad had appointed Ali, the husband of his daughter, as his successor. The division started at around this moment of history- those who backed Ali against Abu Bakr became the Shi’a. The name itself comes from the Arabic word sía, which means ’party’ or ’successors’, referring to the first successors of Ali, namely the ’party of Ali’ or ’síat Ali’.

As it transpired Ali was selected to be the fourth Caliph, between AD 656 and AD 661. The division in Islam crystallised when Ali’s son, Hussein, was killed in AD 680 in Karbala, Iraq by the ruling Caliph’s troops. After Hussein’s killing, the Sunni Caliphs seized and consolidated their political power, leaving the Shi’a marginalised.

According to the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, in most countries in the Middle-East, at least 40% of Sunnis don’t consider Shi’a to be real Muslims; meanwhile, among Shi’a criticism of Sunnis is sometimes an accusation that Sunni dogmatism can be a fertile breeding ground for Islamic extremist.

Differences in the religion

At first glance there does not appear to be a big difference between Shi’a and Sunni perception of Islam: both are based on the teachings of the holy Quran, with the second most important source being the Sunnah, the exemplary way of life for Muslims as defined by the Quran and the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammed.

One of the most important differences between the ideology of the two sects is that the Shi’a consider the Ayatollah or Imam to be almost divine and in possession of spiritual authority, a mediator between Allah and the believers. For Shi’a, the Imam is not simply the deputy of the Prophet, but his representative on Earth.

Thus the Shi’a do not only make their pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, but also to the tombs of the 12 Imams who are considered saints. 

The five pillars of Islam – the declaration of faith, prayer, fasting, alms-giving and pilgrimage – are obligatory for every Muslim. In this regard, there is no big difference between the two sects: however, Shi’a pray three times a day and not five times, like Sunnis.

The Shia Crescent

Most of Shi’a populations are found in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Bahrain, and make up what’s called the ’Shia crescent’ because of the shape of these territories on a map.

Shia, Sunni and Syria

On our map we summarised the Sunni and Shia groups’ positions regarding support and opposition of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. This shows how Shi’a-governed countries such as Iran – and Shi’a groups like Hizbollah – support the government of Assad while states that are predominantly inhabited by Sunnis, tend to support the Syrian rebels trying to topple Assad, himself an Alawite, a sub-group of the Shi’a sect.

(euronews.com)