A Historical View of the Sunni and Shiite Split

Nearly six years into the war on terrorism and many Americans know little on the two conflicting groups in the Islam community, the Shiites and the Sunnis. Despite what many believe, the Shiites and the Sunnis have been at war for ages, beginning shortly after Muhammad's death in 632 AD. Muhammad is the founder of Islam and all Muslims believe that he was a prophet of God. Conflict began in choosing a successor for their prophet, Muhammad.

The Shiites believed the first caliph, a historical ruler, should have religious authority. Thus they believed the first caliph should spring from Muhammad's bloodline, therefore, the Shiites chose Muhammad's son-in-law and nephew, Ali ibn Abu Talib to succeed. The Sunnis, however, disagreed with this notion, believing that the successor should be chosen by the elite of the community. For that reason, they chose Abu Bakr as the next caliph contestant.

The Sunnis prevailed in their choice and Abu Bakr became the first caliph. To prevent civil war, Ali ibn Abu Talib resisted a battle with Abu Bakr. However, in 680 AD, Imam Hussein led an uprising against the caliph, which ultimately led to his death along with 72 of his family members and followers. Imam Hussein's name came to symbolize resistance to tyranny and the Sunnis and Shiites officially split.

The Sunnis and Shiites do agree on many other aspects of their religion. Both believe that Allah is one and God, and he will resurrect all humans and question, not judge, the beliefs and actions of all. Both also agree that Muhammad was the last prophet to walk the earth. They also agree that murder, adultery, theft, and other major forms of sin are all equal. Both sects also agree and believe in the five pillars of Islam.

An interesting difference between the two sects is the way they view Allah. Sunnis believe that if Allah orders you to do something, it is not a sin, in other words Allah creates all our acts. Shiites believe that Allah does not do anything that does not have a purpose, in other words, Allah knows what we will do, but does not make us do it.

Many Christians believe that it was their God's plan for Islam to divide. Due to the divide, Muslims have not been as powerful and as a result they have not been able to do the damage they could have done to Christians if they would have remained as one.

This is only the Sunni and Shiite split in a nutshell, much more history and information is available at npr.org and wikipedia.org.