I don't get it, aren't both of these groups Muslim? Why do they hate each other so much? Sunnis are constantly killing Shiites, this is the reason, I think that no matter what happens, the country will desolve into civil war. Time to pull our troops out and let them go at it. DD
from my understand the SHIITES are fundamentalist SUNNIs are more progressive The SHIITES are like theRight Wing Extremist that are killing abortion Dr. etc Sunni's are more moderate Rocket River I maybe being too hard on the SHIITES
Catholics and Protestants are both Christian as well. And they've been duking it out in Ireland for hundreds of years.
The origins are based on the succession of the Caliph (Leader) of the faith. The sunni's (majority) wished for a non-family member of the prophet to be the next caliph, and the eventual shia wanted Ali, a nephew of the prophet. There was split at this point over a small difference that has spun off to some pretty strong differences. Shia (shiites) believe that the Koran is open to interpretation, versus sunni's are more literal, and the Shia have different beliefs based on the struggle of Ali (who was killed). Similar to Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, this has been an issue for quite some time. As I've always felt its just silly that some minor differences can be used for so much hate. If one looks at Judaism, Christianity and Islam all three faiths believe in a one god and abraham. The jews believe in moses, christians in moses and jesus, and the muslims believe in moses, jesus and muhammad. I compare it to three roads that all lead to the same place but then there are idiots fighting about which road is 'better'. These people are usually just using the religion as a means for personal power and glory in my opinion.
Well put. I am a Shia and I think Shiites are usually more liberal then Sunnis. As FD pointed out, Shiites relate the Quran to the present times. We don't have to take it literally. Sunnis I think take it literally. Of course there are many more denomiations within Shiites and Sunnis. I am an Ismaili (Aga Khani). The majority of even Shiites believe that we are basically non-Muslim, due to our very liberal interpretation of the Quran.
Shia's basically think that everyone who was around the prophet pbuh(ie, is his friends, commanders, etc etc) were corrupt, and only the family was the righteous ones Sunni's feel the same love towards the family of the prophet pbuh, but they also have respect high as the sky for the companions of the prophet pbuh. Now the problem occurs when the shias make a remark at a member of the the ocmpanions of the prophet, or when a sunni makes a comment at an imam who is from the Lineage of the prophet pbuh, but in the opinions of the sunnis a person who has no special status in islam. other than that were the same side of a sword. well then theres ismaili's, ahmadi's, qadiyanis, wahhabis, etc etc etc... and tons of others which basically are deviated parts of those 2 major sects. and as for the hatred towards shias, its also because many sunni's feel that the ismailis, aga khani's, are giving em a bad name due to their liberal interpretation of Islam... just some theories that might answer your question.
I think pretty much all non-ismailis feel that way because it is an EXTREMELY liberal view of the Quran.
Sunnis kill Shia's & Shia's kill Sunni's......goes both ways.....these are the extremists...kill both these groups off and you won't have terrorism.
do most sunnis (or any muslims or non-muslims) even realize who ismailis are? We are a relatively small group within the shiite-subsect. 25 Million worldwide, which is not that much.
trust me, all sunnis know who ismailis are, there the ones with the jamat khaana's who say that u dont have to pray, fast, or do hajj... zakat is one thing they are awesome at (11% or so, that goes to the jamaat khana? i maybe wrong) but then again they dont speak much of their religion, and try to change the subject when questioned.
Ever hear of the Thirty Years War? Same deal. There's nothing so offensive to a strict and self sure religious mind as a heretic with slightly deviant beliefs. The thirty years war basically ended in a truce between Protestants and Catholics because everybody still alive was so tired of killing each other that they didn't care about what the other guy thought any more.
we do pray. have to say three times a day. we do fast. some people choose not to do it. we do hajj. some people choose not to do it. zakat of 12.5% goes to jamatkhanna thanks for saying that all 25 MILLION of us don't want to talk about our religion. ask me anything you wish to know. I don't know alot, but can always ask my wife.
you know i was talking about my general experiance with ismailis from school, and the ones i met in college. and as for your asking your wife thing... weve been over this in a different thread once...
Just to interject and get information What are your opinions of the Nation of Islam? 5% nation? Rocket River dunno overly much about either
Despite their name, the Nation of Islam is nothing more than a 'cult' IMO. Some of their 'beliefs' are completely contradictory to Islamic principles (Black supremacy, etc.) I guess you can consider them a 'spin-off' from Islam
NOI is full of what I assume would be considered blasphemous teachings by the majority of Islam. Chiefly among these is the idea that the founder, Wallace Fard Muhammad from 1930's Detroit, was the personification of God. - from Message to the Black Man by Elijah Muhammad
are you a muslim? Just curious .. . for a frame of reference They seem to have bits and peices of Islam and Christianity. I so ignorant of the overall teachings and the details. Rocket River
Yes, I am a Muslim. As for your other point, it's an interesting one and worthy of discussion. In my personal view, the Nation of Islam was more of a reactionary movement given the historical context, and is something that could only have 'made sense' as a reaction to a prevailing attitude in American society. Their basic premise was, as I said, 'Black supremacy' and basically a movement to 'cleanse' Black-Americans from White society, White 'behavior', White 'identity' (that's where the 'X' comes from in some black leaders' surnames) and attempt to resurrect 'African pride' and 'African unity' to be better positioned to response 'in kind' to the actions of White Americans. Obviously, a huge part of that 'White identity' was the religion of the 'oppressor', which happened to be Christianity. Add to that the fact that some Whites used Christianity as a way to reinforce racism, slavery, and just that overall 'Blacks are inferior' attitude among Blacks, and that gives you an idea as to why that whole movement caught fire and found so many willing converts; 'getting back at the White devil' was a message that resonated with many Blacks at the time (Scary thing is substitute 'Palestinians' for 'Blacks' and 'Jews' for 'Whites' and that might also explain the mindset of many Palestinians growing up under Israeli rule/occupation) Despite all the faults of the Nation of Islam, I am still not going to dismiss the vital role they played (and are still at the forefront of playing) in the Civil Rights movement. If nothing else, they played an important role in bringing about positive change at the end. And despite some of their faults, they do have a sincere positive message of Black self-empowerment through education, and have done and continue to do many positive things in the Black community (fighting crime, drugs, illiteracy, discrimination, etc.)
