Sunni vs. Shia

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Sunni vs. Shia

• Deconstructing Islam for the Classroom

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What Do We Know about Sunni and Shia Islam?
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Images of Sunni and Shia Violence
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Islam-The Big Picture

• The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)receives the
  revelation of the Quran in 610
• 612 Prophet Muhammad (phuh)begins preaching
• The Quran holds 114 chapters or surahs. It
  took 21 years for the Quran to be fully
  revealed. The Qurans surahs are not ordered
  chronologically but according to length- longest
  to shortest.

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Five Pillars of Islam

• Shahada- the Declaration of Faith. One becomes a
  Muslim by saying the following with conviction
  and belief La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur
  rasoolu Allah. There is no god but Allah and
  Muhammad is his messenger.
• Salat- Prayer. Muslims are to pray five times a
  day in the direction of the Kaabah in Mecca.
  Prayers are performed at dawn, noon,
  mid-afternoon, sunset, and night.

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Five Pillars of Islam

• Zakat- Alms-giving to benefit the poor and needy,
  required every year (normally at the end of
  Ramadam). 2.5 of wealth, volunteer time can
  count towards this.
• Sawm- Fasting. For the entire month of Ramadan
  (on the lunar calendar) believers abstain from
  food, drink and impure thought and deeds during
  the daylight hours. The month commemorates the
  first revelation of the Quran and is seen as
  spiritually purifying. The end of Ramadan is a
  holiday, Eid al-Fitr Feast of Breaking the Fast.

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Five Pillars of Islam

• Hajj- The Pilgramage to Mecca during the month of
  Dhu al-Hijjah. If able every Muslim is expected
  to make the Hajj at least once in their lifetime,
  if unable many sponsor someone to go in their
  place. It is common for a village to pull
  together their money to pay the way for one
  individual to go on behalf of all. The end of
  Dhu al-Hijjah is another holiday, Eid al-Aida,
  Feast of the Sacrifice.

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Additional Component

• Jihad- Important concept in both Sunni and Shia
  Islam, signifies a struggle. Two types, the
  struggle within (which the Quran deals mainly
  with), and the struggle (wars of religion)
  without. Shia consider the inner Jihad an
  essential element of the faith.
• Jihad is often misused in terminology and in its
  purpose. Terrorist group Al-Qaida is a Sunni
  organization.

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Definitions

• PBUH- Stands for Peace Be Upon Him and is
  commonly said or written after using the Prophet
  Muhammads name by Muslims.
• Quran- the Holy book of the Islamic faith, the
  word means recitation. Many believers, as well
  as Muhammad himself, were illiterate and learned
  all teachings orally.

• Surah- a chapter within the Quran
• Islam- means surrender
• Muslim- means one who surrenders
• Ummah- the religious community
• Ahl al-Kitab- People of the Book, refers to
  Jews and Christians or people of an earlier
  revelation

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The Sunni-Shia Split-Its All About Family-
Muhammad and Khadija are credited with having
several daughters, although the parentage of
them is questioned by scholars they may have
been adopted by Muhammad rather than sired by
him. Uthman (the 3rd Caliph) was married to one
of these daughters, Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad.
However, historically these daughters have been
marginalized, most likely because they did not
bear any surviving children or survive their
father. For the purposes of this presentation,
all family relations have been simplified, thus
we can state that Fatima was the only surviving
daughter of Muhammad.
Khadija First Wife
Prophet Muhammad
Fatima
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The Sunni-Shia Split-Its All About Family-
Abu Bakr Friend and Early Convert
Abu Talib Muhammads Uncle
Prophet Muhammad
Khadija (First Wife)
Aisha
Fatima
Ali Muhammads Cousin
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The Sunni-Shia Split-Its All About Family-
Fatima
Ali 1st Imam
Hassan 2nd Imam
Hussein 3rd Imam
Zaynab
Umm Al-Kaltum
Ali Zain Al-Abideen 4th Imam
All Other Imams Descend from this Line.
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Muhammads Succession

• 632- Muhammad dies, leaving no confirmed
  successor
• Disagreement among clans on who will lead the
  faith- bloodline (Ali) or the one most capable
• The Ummah (the Islamic community) elects
  Muhammads father-in-law (through his wife Aisha)
  Abu Bakr to lead the faith. He becomes the first
  Caliph - the leader of the Ummah.

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The Rashidun (632-661)The Rule of the Four
Righted Guided Caliphs
Name Ruled Died Known For
Abu Bakr 1st Caliph 632-634 elected Natural causes, appointed his successor Quelled rebellion and united Arabia
Umar ibn al-Khattab 2nd Caliph 634-644 appointed Stabbed in a Medina mosque by a POW with a personal grudge. Wars of expansion (power not religion but religion followed) to the greater Middle East
Uthman ibn Affan 3rd Caliph 644-656 elected Assassinated by those from the elite of Medina over the rise of status and power of the Umayyad clan. Expanded the empire to North Africa and Central Asia- but with much political cost. Standardized the Quran.
Ali ibn Abu Talib 4th Caliph/1st Imam 656-661 elected Assassinated by Kharajiites, a group of dissenters to Alis rule Ruled during the first Fitnah (civil war). His place in history is denoted more for who he was rather than what he did.
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First FitnahA 5 Year Civil War that lasted
through Alis Reign

• Angered over Alis reluctance to seek revenge in
  the death of Uthman, Aisha and her kinsman lead a
  revolt against Ali in the Battle of the Camel,
  which was lost by the rebels.
• Alis rule was not supported in Syria (where
  Uthman had appointed members of the Umayyad clan
  in power). Muawiya, governor of Syria, also
  wanted revenge for Uthmans death. The Battle of
  Siffin (657) ended in arbitration between the two
  sides, which seriously hurt Ali politically.

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A Community Divided

• The Shia (followers of Ali) had been supporting
  Ali as the rightful head of the Islamic faith
  since the death of Muhammad. Now as Ali was
  being persecuted politically, the idea of being
  unfairly treated was being ingrained in the Shia
  psyche.
• As Ali was not actively seeking retribution for
  Uthmans death, the Ummah was growing more and
  more discontent with the Caliph, garnering more
  support for challengers to the Caliphate like
  Muawiya.
• The Ummah was also horrified by the infighting
  between those that had once been a part of
  Muhammads inner circle, the community wanted a
  strong leader, not only for their protection but
  for the preservation of the faith.
• The true split in Islam came with the death of
  Ali. The Shia, who supported Ali went one way,
  and the Sunni, who followed Muawiya I (who
  declared himself Caliph and began the Umayyad
  dynasty) went the other.

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Second Fitnah

• Muawiya I had managed to reconsolidate the
  Ummah, although in order to keep the community
  intact long-term, a new style of government
  closer to a monarchy than of an Arab Chieftain
  was needed. Muawiya arranged for his son Yezid
  to succeed him.
• Outraged at the choice of succession, Hussein
  (the son of Ali) and his followers demanded their
  rights to the Caliphate, which culminates in the
  Battle of Karbala in 680.

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The Battle of Karbala and its outcomes

• Supporters of Hussein ibn Ali against Yazid I,
  the Umayyad caliph.
• Horribly outnumbered under 100 vs. 4000
• Results- all men were massacred, women and
  childern in capitivity and made to march to
  Damascus, including Husseins sister Zaynab
• The Martyrdom of Hussein is celebrated by Shia,
  this day is called Ashura.

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Sunni and Shia Today

• Population statistics (Sunni 90, Shia 10)
• Cult of Martyrdom- the 12 Imams
• Concept of the Mahdi
• Areas of the World where conflict between the two
  exist. Iraq and Bahrain

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Sunni and Shia Today

• Concealing Faith for Self Protection
• Temporary Marriages
• Frequency of Prayer

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Holidays

• Sunni Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr
• Shia Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Ashura
• Ashura- a day of mourning. Men would beat their
  chests, and cut their bodies with knives. As
  most religious elite ban the cutting practice it
  still happens, they encourage the Shia to donate
  blood instead to commemorate the blood spilled at
  the battle of Karbala.

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Holy Places

• Sunni Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem
• Shia Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Najaf (Site of
  Alis Tomb), Karbala

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Historical/Modern Day Comparisons

• With watching daily news reports of violence in
  the Middle East, it is difficult to put the
  situation into perspective. So lets look to
  history that we may be more comfortable with.
• Huguenot wars (1562-1598) in France, St.
  Bartholomews Day Massacre
• Northern Ireland and the IRA (1969-1998)

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Thank you for Coming!

• All of the Powerpoint presentation and handouts
  for this presentation can be found on our
  website
• www.mec.utah.edu/outreach