Shias and Sunnis

As Ramadan draws to a close, and sunrise gets later and later, I just get more and more tired. I have to get up at 5.50am to eat and then go back to sleep only to get up again at 7am. Needless to say, I don't get back to sleep straightaway, so effectively only sleep till 5.50am. Sleeping at midnight means I am suffering from a severe lack of sleep. I came across an article titled "How to Sleep Less and Have More Energy" on the net, I haven't yet read it, but it sounds interesting, maybe it'll help!

Coming towards the end of Ramadan means that a familiar debate is about to start, on what day will Eid fall? Based on a lunar calendar, all Islamic months are either 29 or 30 days in length (I attempted to explain the issue in an earlier blog ""Have you seen the moon lately?"). Side-tracking slightly, this means that each year any given Islamic date occurs approximately 10 days prior to the previous year on the Georgian calendar. For example, last year, Eid fell on 3rd November, and therefore this year should fall on 24th October. Hence each year Ramadan comes around sooner than the previous year. Anyway, each and every year there is a debate over what day Eid occurs. It's become ridiculous, with Eid now being celebrated across 3 successive days. People will celebrate Eid next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The likelihood is that inevitably Ramadan will be 30days (I can't remember it ever being 29days) and therefore, for me, Eid will be on Wednesday. I suppose you could look at it differently and say that by spreading it out, means more opportunity for celebration, but it has become a farce.

One of the reasons why there is such a difference is because of the two main sects in Islam. Namely the Shia and the Sunni. Sunnis, from my own observation, have always followed a set path and Eid always occurs on a set day which all Sunnis celebrate, but lately, even that has become divided, hence the spread over three days. Shia’s tend to be more fluids, and that's a nice way of putting it! For a long time now, Shia’s have celebrated Eid on different days. Last year, people in my family celebrated Eid on two different days, how can there be a celebration when some people are fasting and others aren't?

It goes without saying that something needs to be done, but a lack of unity makes it extremely difficult. This schism that exists between the two sects has made unity difficult. It is this very divide that is causing a lot of problems in Iraq today. We often hear of reports about Sunni insurgents bombing areas in Iraq and then Shia groups responding. The main militant Shia group lead by Moqtada Al-Sadr also gets a lot of coverage in the media and he is often blamed for the lack of peace in the region.

I received an interesting article yesterday highlighting how various members of the US government and FBI/CIA, important officials who have roles in dealing with terrorism and the American forces in Iraq, did not know the difference between Shia’s and Sunnis. The main reason for ongoing terrorist activities, the main reason for attempts to start a civil war in Iraq, and high-ranking officials did not know the difference between them. Quite shocking if you think about it. The article also highlights that it’s equivalent to the British government not knowing the difference between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland and then trying to deal with the conflicts that have occurred in that area. Obviously that is not the case, and knowing the difference has aided the attempts to establish peace in that region. In Iraq, however, peace seems a long way away.

I remember watching Enemy of the State awhile back, and Gene Hackman's character stating something along the lines of how the government monitors individuals the moment they mention certain words such as 'Islam', 'bomb', 'terrorist' and 'Allah' and therefore with that in mind, I want to try and explain the difference between Shia and Sunni, and who knows maybe government officials will target such words and read this blog! That'd be quite amusing!

The difference between Shia and Sunni stems back to the death of the Holy Prophet, when the question arose as to who should be his successor. The Holy Prophet introduced a brand new religion in a highly volatile atmosphere of the Middle East, he had to introduce and convince people of an entirely new way of life. He introduced the concept of worshipping only one God and tried to abolish idol-worship which was highly prevalent in the area. At the same time he revealed the word of God in the form of the Holy Quran. He showed people how to behave, talk, dress, interact and many more aspects of life. He managed this all in a very short period of time, just over 20years. The foundation, at the time of his passing, was still weak. He simply did not have enough time, although what he achieved in that time was miraculous. It makes sense that there would be a successor who would carry on his message and it makes sense that the successor could only be appointed by the Prophet himself.

Throughout his Prophethood he was supported unrelentlessly by his cousin, Imam Ali, who married his daughter, Lady Fatima. Throughout his struggles, Imam Ali was by his side, fighting for the cause of Islam. Imam Ali's only job was to support the Prophet as he spread the message of Islam. This is all established fact, accepted by both schools of thought.

Before his death, after performing his last Hajj, the Prophet gathered the muslims who traveled with him at a place called Ghadeer, over 40,000 people congregated in the area to hear an announcement from the Prophet. He announced Imam Ali as his successor: "Of whomsoever I am Mawla, Ali is also his Mawla". The word 'mawla', used in this context, means 'leader', so the Prophet announced that for whom he was a leader, Ali is also their leader. This very word 'mawla' has been a bone of contention. Sunnis argue that the word means 'friend' so the Prophet was simply announcing that Ali is his friend. Doesn't that seem a bit ridiculous? The Prophet stopped 40,000 people in the heat of the Arabian Desert to announce that Ali is his friend? Does that make any sense? I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Having made this announcement, it was quite clear that after his death, Imam Ali was to carry on his message and continue to spread Islam. However, what happened after his passing is where the main difference lies. After his passing, prominent members of the Prophets followers held a meeting to decide upon his successor. Whilst Imam Ali performed the last rites for the Holy Prophet, preparing and carrying out the burial, other so-called followers, discussed who should be the successor. From this meeting it was announced that Abu Bakr would be the successor, and the excuse was offered that Imam Ali was too young and inexperienced to takeover.

Sunnis believe that Abu Bakr was rightly appointed the successor and follow him. What they also believe is that the Prophet never announced a successor; it was for his community to decide after his death. If that is the case, then after Abu Bakr's death, surely the community would decide his successor has they had done so before. However, before his death, Abu Bakr appointed Umar as his successor. So the Prophet wasn't allowed to appoint a successor but Abu Bakr was, does that make any sense?

Eventually after Umar's demise, a select group of people appointed Uthman to be the leader of the muslims. His period of rule was such a disaster that the community ousted him and practically begged Imam Ali to take command to attempt to restore order in the community. His period of rule lasted barely over 4 years. What an absolute travesty! The person who was appointed the true successor only managed to lead the muslim people and spread the religion of Islam for only 4 years. Such was the damage done by his predecessors that much of the time was spent sorting out the problems they had caused, a damage limitation exercise.

Sunnis adamantly follow the three leaders before Ali. Some even go to the extremes of denying any significance towards Imam Ali, whilst others accept him as the fourth ruler after the death of the Prophet. This difference is the basis of the divide that exists today. Sunnis follow the Prophet and the three rulers and the changes to Islam that resulted from that, whilst Shia’s follow the Prophet, Imam Ali and the family of the Prophet which stemmed from Imam Ali and Lady Fatima - namely the 12 Imams (including Imam Ali, the first Imam).

I can go into more detail about the ins and outs of subsequent events which lead to the divide getting wider and wider, but at the moment I wanted to present the basic issue of the cause of the difference. Even knowing this would go someway towards understanding the situation in Iraq that much better and may help government officials with dealing with the multiple crisis’s occurring in the area

I know, being a Shia, I am biased, but I've tried to be balanced. I could've provided more references, and hope to do so in due course, but at the moment I wanted to present the facts and what is accepted by both schools of thought and what happened to cause the difference. Inshallah, I'll be able to go into more detail about the differences as time passes and we can explore the issue further. In the meantime, I hope this brief blog provides some basic understanding of the divide and we can carry on from there. I am not a scholar or even very educated in all this history, but wanted to present what basic understanding I have of the situation that exists today, and hopefully I have done that!

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?