I saw an article in today's AOL that I thought deserved a little more discussion. It speaks of a growing division between Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam. Here is a portion of the article (the link is below), that I thought was interesting:

 

Clerics' debate underlines Sunni-Shiite divide. http://news.aol.com/article/clerics-debate-underlines-sunni-shiite/187227;

 

BEIRUT, Lebanon -Two of the Arab world's most prominent Muslim theologians have waded into a bitter exchange of barbs, engaging in a debate that is a small-scale rendition of the worsening animosity between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam.

The fight began early this month when Youssef al-Qaradawi, a Sunni who is one of the best known Islamic television clerics, called Shiites "heretics" and accused them of seeking to infiltrate Sunni societies.

Lebanon's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, shot back that Qaradawi was trying to incite "fitna" — the word for internal civil strife among Muslims that is anathema to followers of Islam.

Centuries-old tensions between Islam's two main branches in the Middle East have flared into the open in recent years, following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the eruption of sectarian killings there.

Though sectarian violence has eased in Iraq this year, it has boiled over in other places, particularly Lebanon, which saw dozens killed in fighting in May between Sunni groups and the Shiite militants of Hezbollah…

 

I will try and provide a quick summary of what I learned from my research a few years ago about this division. I think all of the material is current, but if you have anything more recent, I think we would benefit from learning from each other on this. Here goes:

 

… ( a brief background on the end of Muhammed's life) In 627, Mecca decided to do away with Muhammad by laying siege to Medina. But because of a trench around the city, the Meccans were unable to break into Medina and withdrew after two weeks. This further strengthened Muhammad, and so he attacked the 3^rd and final Jewish tribe in Medina because of a suspected (made up?) plot with the Meccan enemies. All of the Jewish men were killed, and all of the women and children were placed into slavery. This was his greatest disappointment (the rejection by the Jews of his prophetic authority), which led to the fixed axiom that the Jews were the sworn enemies of Allah and His revelation.

 

Finally in 628 the Meccans made a peace treaty with Medina. The treaty was broken due to complex clan wars. Muhammad took advantage of this and attacked Mecca who surrendered to him with little opposition. Muhammad showed great restraint by offering a general amnesty to all of the leaders. After this, Islam quickly spread throughout the entire Arabian area. Muhammad died in June 632, at the age of 63. After this, one of his father-in-law's (Muhammad was married 11-14 times) Abu Bakr became the 1^st Caliph.

 

Wikipedia: "Almost all Muslims belong to one of two major denominations, the Sunni (85%) and Shi'a (15%). The schism developed in the late 7th century following disagreements over the religious and political leadership of the Muslim community."

 

The Shiites, who constitute the second-largest branch of Islam, believe in the political and religious leadership of Imams from the progeny of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who according to most Shi'a are in a state of ismah, meaning infallibility. They believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib, as the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, was his rightful successor, and they call him the first Imam (leader), rejecting the legitimacy of the previous Muslim caliphs. To most Shi'a, an Imam rules by right of divine appointment and holds "absolute spiritual authority" among Muslims, having final say in matters of doctrine and revelation

 

Sunnis - Sunni Muslims are the largest group in Islam. In Arabic, as-Sunnah literally means "principle" or "path". The Sunnah (the example of Muhammad's life) as recorded in the Qur'an and the hadith is the main pillar of Sunni doctrine. Sunnis believe that the first four caliphs were the rightful successors to Muhammad…

 

And a major part of the problem with the War in Iraq, if America just picked up and left is that Iraq is run by mostly Sunni leaders while Iran is run by Shiites, remember Ayatollah Khomeini he is of the Shiites. And so, this division among many others including the hard feelings from the Iran-Iraq War (and the use of chemical weapons), there would likely be mass genocide by Iran against Iraq. Anyway, here is my quick start on discussing the divide within Islam. If there is interest, I have more on Islam and Muhammad that I would like to share. Otherwise, if you have helpful information on this divide, Please feel free to share it here.