religiously speaking, what is the difference between sunni and shi'ite?
931422
The division happened after Muhammad's death.\n\n17 The prophet’s death provoked a crisis. He died without any male progeny and without a clearly designated successor. As Philip Hitti states: “The caliphate [office of caliph] is therefore the oldest problem Islam had to face. It is still a living issue. . . . In the words of Muslim historian al-Shahrastani [1086-1153]: ‘Never was there an Islamic issue which brought about more bloodshed than the caliphate (imamah).’” How was the problem solved back there in 632 C.E.? “Abu-Bakr . . . was designated (June 8, 632) Muhammad’s successor by some form of election in which those leaders present at the capital, al-Madinah, took part.”—History of the Arabs.\n\n18 The successor to the prophet would be a ruler, a khalifah, or caliph. However, the question of the true successors to Muhammad became a cause for divisions in the ranks of Islam. The Sunni Muslims accept the principle of elective office rather than blood descent from the prophet. Therefore they believe that the first three caliphs, Abu Bakr (Muhammad’s father-in-law), `Umar (the prophet’s adviser), and `Uthman (the prophet’s son-in-law), were the legitimate successors to Muhammad.\n\n19 That claim is contested by the Shi`ite Muslims, who say that the true leadership comes through the prophet’s blood line and through his cousin and son-in-law, `Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first imam (leader and successor), who married Muhammad’s favorite daughter, Fatimah. Their marriage produced Muhammad’s grandsons Hasan and Husayn. The Shi`ites also claim “that from the beginning Allah and His Prophet had clearly designated `Ali as the only legitimate successor but that the first three caliphs had cheated him out of his rightful office.” (History of the Arabs) Of course, the Sunni Muslims view that differently.\n\n20 What happened to `Ali? During his rule as the fourth caliph (656-661 C.E.), a struggle over leadership arose between him and the governor of Syria, Mu`awiyah. They joined battle, and then to spare further Muslim bloodshed, they threw their dispute open to arbitration. `Ali’s acceptance of arbitration weakened his case and alienated many of his followers, including the Khawarij (Seceders), who became his deadly foes. In the year 661 C.E., `Ali was murdered with a poisoned sabre by a Khariji zealot. The two groups (the Sunni and the Shi`ah) were at loggerheads. The Sunni branch of Islam then chose a leader from the Umayyads, wealthy Meccan chiefs, who were outside of the prophet’s family.\n\n21 For the Shi`ah, `Ali’s firstborn, Hasan, the prophet’s grandson, was the true successor. However, he resigned and was murdered. His brother Husayn became the new imam, but he too was killed, by Umayyad troops on October 10, 680 C.E. His death or martyrdom, as the Shi`ah view it, has had a significant effect on the Shi`at `Ali, the party of `Ali, down to this day. They believe that `Ali was the true successor to Muhammad and the first “imam [leader] divinely protected against error and sin.” `Ali and his successors were considered by the Shi`ah to be infallible teachers with “the divine gift of impeccability.” The largest segment of the Shi`ah believe that there have been only 12 true imams, and the last of these, Muhammad al-Muntazar, disappeared (878 C.E.) “in the cave of the great mosque at Samarra without leaving offspring.” Thus “he became ‘the hidden (mustatir)’ or ‘the expected (muntazar) imam.’ . . . In due time he will appear as the Mahdi (divinely guided one) to restore true Islam, conquer the whole world and usher in a short millennium before the end of all things.”—History of the Arabs.\n\n22 Every year, the Shi`ah commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn. They have processions in which some cut themselves with knives and swords and otherwise inflict suffering on themselves. In more modern times, Shi`ite Muslims have received much publicity because o
82425
Sunnis are a religious faction of Islam. They make up 90% of all Muslim adherents worldwide. Shiites are basically the other ten percent. Shiites differ from the Sunnis in that tyhey believe that a different caliphate (from the more historically important Sunni one) was the true caliphate - the one begun by Mohammed's grandson, Imam Ali.\n\nThere are other slight differences. Somewhat more like some Christians, Shiites may venerate certain saints and martyrs, and keep vigil at their tombs.\n\nKurds have nothing to do with this religious distinction. Kurds are Sunni muslims. They are instead an ethnic minority. Why they are refered to differently when you watch CNN is because they are the one large population group in Iraq who are not Arabs. They have a different language, history, and customs. They are also a large minority (an often oppressed one) in neighbouring Turkey...
345311
shias are muslims and so are sunnis too muslims.\nThey both believe in Allahbut are divided due the opinions expressed by the interpreters of quaraan.\nDuring the period of MUHMAD there were nothing like shias and sunnis.It is like divide and rule policy in every religion.
1168146
This one is pretty easy-It's definitely Islam.\n\nThe Islamic religion, which originated in the western Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century, predominates in most Arab nations. Forms of both major divisions of Islam—the Sunni and the various Shia sects—can be found in the Arab countries. Almost everywhere, nationalism, which emerged in the late 19th century, is an important force. Nationalists sometimes use the Islamic religious tradition as an ideological tool to justify the power of the ruling class.
758732
any similarities between the shia guys who kills the sunni's, the sunni's who murders the shia's, the suicide bombers, the 911 crashers, the al queida gang and the good Muslims ...  NO ? ok, then that answers your question too..
726005
Sorry I didn't. I didn't know that Shiites and Sunnis hated each other so much and that everybody hated the Kurds. I guess I should have thought about it since there was one once Tito died and Yugoslavia was broken up into its original pieces. Clinton had to send troops to stop the genocide there. Still, the evil that Saddam perpetrated on people should be taken into account of why the Shiites are so irritated. Sunnis got the better deal while he was in charge.
275603
Most shias and Sunnis dont have a problem. \nHowever, some of them do and are acting based on history and Emotions.\n\nEmotions.\nWhen Saddam was in power, he executed and killed many shias. (Saddam was a sunni) but many sunnis beleive he didnt do the right thing by torturing the Shia.\n\nNow that there is no one to torture the Shias, they the shias are reacting more towards their emotions of the past.\n\nOfcourse, the few who have no control of their emotions, attack anyone who comes inbetween unfortunately.\n\nMost Sunnis and Shias are united. It is the few who are not quite setting things straight end up making a big mess.\n\nAll the clerics of the Shia and Sunni are calling for unity and peace and hopefully, this meassage goes through to the few who are filled with emotions, in the Sunni and the Shia.
156252
Sharia Law is law that is derived from the quran and hadith (sayings of the prophet). Depending on the way it is interpreted islamic law can be extremely oppresive. However, if interepeted properly it can be moderate, even liberal. It doesn't Belong to sunni or shia. They are different sects who interpret it differently. Many die-hard radicals from sunni and shia sect will say that only their interpretation is correct and the other side is deviant. Some go as far as to label them heretics. However the different sects appeared because of a difference of opinion on who should be the leader of muslims. In other words, disagreement over sharia law. They both agree with the fundamentals of Islam, therefore are both considered muslims. Both are free to interpret sharia law as they understand it.
185958
there are no problems\nunless you are talking about the situation in Iraq\nthe fire between the Iraqi Sunnis & Iraqi Shias was raised by the Americans who`re playing the same dirty game the English played when they Invaded Egypt & tried to make problems between the  Muslim Egyptians & the Christian Egyptians\n\nother than that no problems\nIf you are talking about relegious difference\nwe all follow the same Quran\nbut the Shais (some of them) reject the first 3 succesors of prophet Muhammed & say that the 4th succesor should have been the first but some of them however blew this thing out of proportion to the extent that they called them with bad names but not all the Shais are like this, there is for example the Zaidya(Shias divide into many segments some are good & some are bad) who`re almost not different from the Sunnis
1122527
That's a complicated question. Yes, they are all Christian but Christianity is an odd religion, really. Even if you have a same based religion, one branch of that religion is going to think that they're better than the others. And that's not limited to Christianity. Muslim's are divided into two groups: Sunnis and Shiites and they hate each other. It doesn't matter if it's the same religion, some people are always going to believe they're better than everyone else. Religions just a boundary we like to push down each other's throats.
916875
The difference seems to be in any religion those who see their particular religion as a personal choice or those who see it as mandatory.  Christian history has many dark chapters when people, claiming to act as agents of God, tried to force Christianity, (or rather, their version of Christianity), upon the world.  What we see in the news these days are many Muslims around the world, seeking to force Islam upon all people.\n\nThere are many Muslims who do see Islam as a personal choice, but unfortunatly this is less newsworthy than the radicals spreading violence across the globe.
975425
1)  Sunnis & Shia's R 2 sects of Islam.\n2)  Iran has the majority of Shia's than any other Muslim country.\n3)  There are 65% Shia's in Iraq.  Majority too in Tunisia and Bahrain.  Some in Pakistan.\n4)  Iran's original name is Persia.  The word Persians is mentioned in the Quran.\n5)  If there is a cultural difference between Iran and the Arabs, it is not due to religion, Persians are different from Arabs.  \n6)  Bottom line, Sunnis & Shia's are both Muslims, they have some differences (like Catholics & Protestants) but the fundamentals are the same.
845558
The major split in Islam is that between the majority Sunnis and the minority Shiites.  The split goes back to events in the 7th century:\n\nAfter Mohammed’s death,  leadership of the Islamic community passed to Abu Bakr, one of Mohammed’s closest companions.  Some in the community felt that this succession was not legitimate, and that the title of caliph really belonged to Ali.  Ali’s claim was supported by the fact that he was Mohammed’s cousin, his adopted son, his first convert (at the age of nine), and husband of his daughter Fatima.  Both sides believe that Mohammed specifically designated their man:  Supporters of Abu became the Sunnis, those of Ali the Shiites.\n\nThe  Caliphate passed from Abu Bakr to Umar, and from Umar to Ulthman.  Ulthman at last passed the torch to Ali.  When Ali was murdered in 661, the Caliphate passed to Muawiya, who would found the famous Umayyid Caliphate.  Ali was buried in Najaf in what is now Iraq, and the site remains a major Shiite holy site. \n\nSunni refers to the sunnas, or oral traditions and interpretations of the Koran -- a body of work similar to the Jewish Talmud.  Sunnis believe that the position of Caliph should be a position to which one is elected by the religious leaders of the Islamic community, and not dependent on direct lineage from Mohammed.\n\nShiite comes from the word shia, which means “the party (of Ali).  They are mostly found in Iran and Iraq, and among the Palestinians.  They consider certain direct descendants of Ali -- the Imams -- infallible and the true inheritors of Mohammed.  Ali was the first Imam, his son Hassan the second, his second son Hussein the third.   Ali’s sons were killed in the conflict with Caliph Muawiya.  However, their succession ended with the 12th Imam, who went into hiding in 940.  Most Shiites believe that the 12th Imam will reemerge someday as the Mahdi or Messiah, and reassert his leadership of the Islamic world.  In the meantime, ayatollahs are elected to serve as caretakers of the faith.
268142
The only One worthy of any type of worship in Islam is God. The Prophet Muhammad made sure that the believers understood this, and laid such laws from not depicting any prophet or creating statues of them, to declaring in the testament of faith that, in translation, There is only one God and He is God, Muhammad was his messenger. This prevented anyone from turning him into a god or a part of God.\nThis is pretty much the only major difference between Islam and Christianity, as Christians worship Jesus as God or as a part of God, while in Islam, it is forbidden for anyone or thing other than God to be worshipped.
173034
Okay, so you know, the two largest branches of Islam are spelled (in English) Sunni and Shi'a (of which the adherents are known as Shiites).\n\nIran is a majority-Shiite country.
1085161
think about it as like this. \n\ncatholic to christianity is like shia to muslim. \n\nmuslim sunni follow and respect the words of the Quran and Muhammad only. \n\nShia take the words of the Quran, Muhammad and Ali. but mostly focus on Ali. \n\nShia sometime add things to Islam that are not necessary related to Islam.
416106
He probably considers himself a descendant of Ali since he is the head of a theocratic Islamic state.  As such, what he says goes.  I believe it's a major difference between Shi'i and Sunni Islam, with the Sunni being less apt to allow their political leaders to determine their mode of expressing their faith.  Islam is a religion of orthopraxy and not orthodoxy.  In such religions, one places more weight on what they do everyday than they do in other religions.  Leaders are expected to perscribe what rules of behavior are to be followed by the people of their countries.