40
% of Muslims do not consider Shia to be Proper Muslims.
How it all started?
- Prophet Muhammad dies.
- Followers split over who should inherit him.
- Some (Sunni now) wanted Abu Bakr (father of Prophet Muhammad’s wife) to inherit Muhammad.
- Others (Shia now) wanted Muhammad’s kin to be the successor, and claimed Prophet had anointed Ali (Muhammad’s cousin).
- Finally Abu Bakr wins. (Ali became fourth caliph though: 1st Caliph-Abu bakr, 2nd-Umar ibn al-Khattab, 3rd-Uthman_ibn_Affa, 4th Ali_ibn_Abu_Talib.
- Ali’s son Hussein dies, murdered by ruling Sunni caliph’s troop (please read on : Battle of Karbala)
*Caliph-Civil
and religious leader of a Muslim State.
Differences in Beliefs
Concept
|
Sunni
|
Shia
|
Hadit and Sunnah (Islamic Academic Science)
|
Consider all Hadith
and Sunnah narrated by any of the 12,000companions to be equally valid
|
Consider Hadith and
Sunnah narrated by Prophet’s family and close associates.
|
The Mahdi
(Successor of Muhammad who is expected to arrive and rule the world and get
rid of all evil)
|
Many Sunni Muslims
community disputes over concept of Mahdi since there is no mention of it in
Quran, but only in Hadith
|
Central concept
|
Prayer
|
5 times a day
|
Permits combining
some prayers and making it to three daily prayer times.
|
Data Sources: www.economist.com
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