what is the difference between Shi'a and Sunnis?
964629
In Islam all over the world They agree about the oneness of God They follow the same book - Quran(same words and letters all over the world). They follow the same prophet Muhammad . offer their prayers five time a day. fast in the month of Ramadan.Give charity (Zakat) which is the poor-due on the wealth of the rich go for hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca ...but they may have differnt opinions not on the basics\n\nThose who follow some sayings and views of Ali (one of the early muslims leaders), as the rightful successor to Prophet Muhammad , are called Shia. Shia means a partisan (party of Ali) and it started more as a political party to help Ali in his conflict with his political adversaries.\n\nAbout 90% of Muslims are Sunni, the word Sunni is based on the word Sunnah which is an Arabic word means the Prophet's Doctrine. Sunnis believe in (GOD) as the One Creator and Mohammad is His last and final Messenger.\n\nbut you have to know that the sects in islam not like the sects in other religions in other religions1- they can change in their books for example the Catholic Bible contain 73 books while the Protestant Bible has only 66 in Islam no one can change any thing There is not even one word of difference between two Arabic Qur'ans, anywhere in the world. There has been no disagreements in history among Muslims as to what should and should not be in the Qur'an\n\nThe Sunnah or Hadith consists of the teachings, sayings, and actions of Prophet Muhammad. This information was meticulously reported and collected by his Companions. It is essentially an elaboration of the Qur'anic verses that shows how they are to be implemented in one's daily life ALLthe true muslims agree about that
828086
The Shia believe the the succession after the Prophet Muhammed (PBHU) should have been passed down to Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, and his offsprings. They have a hadith (a saying/occurence) of the Propeht which was recorded at his last speech in which he pointed out that Ali was to be his successors. Sunnis do not accept this point of view. They believe that the succession was based upon an election in which Abu Bakr, the Prophet's companion, was chosen to be the Muslim's leaders. \nThe result is the splitting of the Muslims into two groups. One who say that Ali and his successors are a direct link to the Prophet (PBUH) and God (of course along with the Quran).The Shia view this as Divine Commandment. The Sunnis dispute this. The other that says the Quran and narrations/sayings (hadiths) of the Prophet (PBUH) provide Muslims with their religion.\nThe Shia hold the family of the Prophet (Ahul-lul-Bayt) in very high esteem. All their Imams (spiritual leaders) descend from the Prophet's (PBUH) family. This is why the Shia commemorate the massacare at Karbala every year. In that several family members of the Prophet, including his grandson, were killed by fellow Muslims. The Sunnis of course do not commemorate this event. \n\nOf course from this the two groups differ even more. The science of hadith is different for the two. They pray differently.etc All because the sources of the religion is different.
1028038
only shiites believe in the 12 imams. shiites make up a small minority of muslims. the majority, sunnis, do not believe in this.
133808
Saddam was the Baathist party leader in Iraq.  Most Sunni's are Baathist as well.  That is the connection between the two.  Saddam is by no means a religious man.  It was on rare occasion that he even wore Arab garb.  The Sunni's enjoyed most of the perks under his watch.  Most of the army was Sunni, yet most of the Republican Guard were from his home town. These are the people that he trusted the most; these were his most loyal followers, it had nothing to do with religion. His relationship with all other segments of Iraqi society was at best, guarded.  The Kurds would have had his ass in a New York minute, given half the chance.  The Turkman had no particular edge with Saddam, and the Christians just stayed out of his way. The Shiites, particularly those in the south, had strong ties to Iran.  Iran's brand of Islam is predominately Shiite, so Saddam was not particularly friendly to the Shiites.  Saddam ruled with scare tactics and he was pretty effective with them.  He kept every one under control but at a high price.  The mass graves still pop up occasionally!
360437
Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam - the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'ah.\n\nAccording to Sunni thought, Muhammad died without appointing a successor to lead the Muslim community. After an initial period of confusion, a group of his most prominent companions gathered and elected Abu Bakr, the Prophet's close friend and father-in-law, as the first Caliph.\n\nSunnis initially believed that the position of Caliph should be democratically chosen, but after the first four Rightly Guided Calliphs the position turned into a hereditary dynastic rule. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, there has never been another Caliph.\n\nShi'a Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam.\n\nShi'a Muslims believe that Ali was appointed by Muhammad to be the direct successor and leader of the Muslims. They regard him as the first Imam, which continued as a hereditary position. The largest group of Shi'a Muslims believe in a total of 12 Imams. The Shi'a Hadiths include the sayings of the Imams.\n\nShite-  member of the branch of Islam that regards Ali and his descendants as the legitimate successors to Muhammad and rejects the first three caliphs.
769660
It all depends on your definition, and who is counting.\nIf some Sunni nut kills a bunch of Shi'ites, but not Americans, is he a terrorist?\n\nAl-Qaeda claims it has 12,000 members.
298382
There are some tribes that are Sunni and Shiie but I don't think it could be possible to say who is Shiie and who is Sonni just by looking at them.\nThere are small differences in Rituals like the way they pray their daily prayer.\nUsually Shiie and Sunnis have different gathering places so if someone wants to hurt a Shiie he can go to a Shiie mosque.
785411
In what way? I see it as war that over threw a dictator, being used to  cover up religious conflict  masquerading as a political issue.\nThe Shites have the power now ,the Sunni's want it\nback and both figure they have Allah on their side. \nStrange they all pray to the same God and kill each other\nin his name. Neither is willing to stop killing civilians as the both love the media coverage of their side getting out. Iran which is mainly Shite is loving the new peace plan that puts them smack in the middle for a take over like Syria has in Lebanon.\n\nSaddam was evil but at least now we can have a glimmer of understanding into why he ruled with such an iron fist. Keep the people down, hopeless and threaten their very existence and they won't kill each other.  Twisted but it worked.
66327
After the death of Prophet Mohammed, people who believed his successor is his son-in-law Hazrat Ali who will guide the umma in spiritual matters as well as daily matters, hand-in-hand with Holy book Quran are called as Shia. While people who believed that after the death, Quran (the holy book) and Sunna (prophet' deeds) are sufficient for guidance in all spiritual as well as daily matters are called Sunni's.\n\nShia people believe in living Imam (Ali was first Imam) who is responsible for interpretation of the verse in Quran as per change in world.\n\nSunni people interpret the Quran themselves or look for educated theologies experts for guidance.
822639
I think that's what's happening now, BUT Iran is Shiite also an I think that the Iraqi Shiite's are getting a lot of cross the border support on their attacks against the Sunnis seeing how Saddam is a Sunni and that he wanted to eradicate Iran in the late 70's early 80's.\n\nMiraclehand2020  I agree with you about the Sunnis and why they are mad.  I was there in 04-05 and the shiite were the nicest of the two that I met.  I am just saying I think Iran has a hand in this because of the history between the two sects.
234404
No they don't both Shiite and Sunni believe in God being one and Muhammad being the Messenger.\nAfter prophet Mohammad's death, shiit wanted ALI his nephew to succeed him whereas other want Abu-Bakr who was later voted the next leader. That's all!\nIn Iraq the situation is more complicated....
441828
Very good question.  As you know, there isn't any difference at all.  As a solider (freedom fighter) fighting for so-called democracy in Iraq, I kill an Iraqi insurgent.  In America (for the most part), I'm a hero, I'm right.  In Iraq (for the most part), I'm the devil, I'm the terrorist.  Yet, if you thought the destruction of the World trade Center was horrible, imagine living in the hell that is Iraq ever since U.S. Troops arrived.
1000481
This is not a good question. I would say define the fight that you see in the Muslim World, and I'll be able to tell you why you have the fight. \nIf Iraq is what you have on your mind, then Iraq has a large segment of Shia Muslims that were oppressed over the course of Sadam Hussein (who happened to be a Sunni, and who oppressed Sunnis as well) rule, and now the US enabled the Shia to claim power in Iraq. With that said now you have 3 reasons for fighting in Iraq:\n1- Getting the invaders (the US from the prospect of some Iraqis) out. \n2- Those who want to keep the old statuesque (mainly sunnis)\n3- Reprisal killings conducted by Death Squads (some infiltrating the current Interior Ministry) and those have been links to Shia factions taking out mostly Sunnis.\nHope that gives you a little bit of detail on the Iraqi situation.\n\nOne more element you need to take into account,  if I come out say "Christians in America are fighting each other, see what the Christian Eric Rudolph did to the abortion clinic run by fellow Christians, or see what the FBI Christian agents did to the Christians in Branch Davidian", I would not call these comments fair nor responsible. Muslims around the World who worship the one Creator of the Heavens and the Earth ought to get the same  fair and responsible treatment from the Christians in the West.
1024539
Differences between the two religions began the day Abraham separated Ishmael and Hagar his mother from Isaac and Sarah, the progenitors of these faiths.  Both religions believe in the same monotheistic God, but views on how to relate and otherwise commune with Him differ drastically.  Christianity teaches that Jesus is the only way to God, Islam teaches that Jesus was not God Incarnate, but rather a prophet of Allah, who at the end of time will come back to proclaim Islam the true religion.
129023
The Sunnis were in charge for 30+ years living the high life.  They made laws which benifited themselves, and created government sponsored benifits profitting themselves as well.  Now that is gone.  They have to work again without the benifit of government sponsorship.  It is like "It has been this way for over 30+ years, why should I change."  Also, there is a fear of reprisals from other ethnics because of their harsh rule.  Hopefully we can find the middle ground so all can live in peace.
928556
Muslims, \nWhy does Shiite torture and kill Sunni??\nWhy does Sunni torture and kill Shiite?\nWhy are mosques blown up by muslims??\nWhere is the cries of outrage from the Arab world??\n\nIs it any wonder that the wetsern world see muslims as savage and unclean?
804726
There are a number of differences in the Shi`ah (Shiite) and the Sunni Juristic opinions. However, not all these differences can be termed as the "basic differences" in these two major sects of Islam. The basic difference in the two sects is that of the Shiite faith of the system of "Imamah". The Shiite faith of "Imamah" implies that after the Prophet  (pbuh), there shall be no other prophet, but the only true leader of the Muslims, at any given time, is an "Imam" who, like the prophets of God, is directly appointed by God. The appointment of the first "Imam" was made by God through the last Prophet (pbuh), while every subsequent "Imam" is appointed through the "Imam", who precedes him. Another qualification of the "Imam", according to the Shiite belief is that he shall belong to the family of the last Prophet (pbuh). The Shiite belief holds that the "Imams", like the prophets of God, are "ma`soom" (sinless, innocent) and, therefore, should be obeyed in all matters and under all circumstances. The "Imams", according to the Shiite faith, are thus not just the political leaders of the Muslims but also their religious leaders and clergy. The Sunni school, on the other hand, does not ascribe to any such belief. \n\nThis may, at first sight, seem to be a trivial difference between the two schools. However, a close analysis reveals that it amounts to a difference in the basic sources of religion and religious knowledge information and directives for the two schools. The Sunni school, because of its lack of belief in the institution of "Imamah" holds the last Prophet of God and the book revealed on him as the two primary sources of Islam, while the Shiite school, because of the importance and position it gives to the "Imams" holds them to be an autonomous source of their religion. Anything that an "Imam" says, anything that he does and anything that he narrates is "religion" for the Shiite school. Differing with an "Imam" in any matter is of about the same consequence as differing with a prophet. Not submitting to the directions of an "Imam" is as grave a sin as refusing to submit to the directions of a prophet of God. \n\nAs can be seen from the above explanation, the difference between the Shiite and the Sunni schools are not trivial. On the contrary, these differences are "very" basic. Nevertheless, the thing to do is not to condemn each other; or call each other "Kaafir" (infidel) or non-Muslim"; or air the fire of hatred and promote each other's killings, but to try and convince the other person as well as one's own self to accept whatever is right in the light of the Qur'an  and the true teachings of the Prophet  (pbuh), to promote empathy for each other's points of view and to try and stress the common points in each other's beliefs. \n\nIt should be interesting to note here that although these two sects have co-existed for centuries, yet the extent and gravity of sectarian violence has never been felt more than during the present times. The basic reason for this change in the situation is that a number of prominent scholars and knowledgeable personalities of both these sects have changed the roles that they played in the past. In the past, the differences of both the sects were a matter of intellectual debate between the scholars of these sects. The gravity of these differences was also fully known, but the scholars never promoted violence against each other. The situation has tremendously changed during the past few decades. The scholars of these sects now sit on their respective pulpits and use these differences as flames to burn the emotions and feelings of their addressees against the people of the other sects. They promote the killings of the followers of other sects by labeling these followers with various de