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Subject: ISNA: Intrafaith Q&A on Sunni/Shi'i
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ISNA: Intrafaith Q&A on Sunni/Shi'i
Taken from
Islamic Horizons (An ISNA Publication, www.ISNA.net)
November/December 2007/1427
INTRA FAITH WORKS
ONE FAITH - Nineteen Questions about Shi'i-Sunni Relations by,
Mohamed Nimer, director of research at the Council on American Islamic
Relations, is the author of "The North American Muslim Resource Guide:
Muslim Community Life in the United States and Canada" (Routledge:
2002).
Asma Afsaruddin, associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at
the University of Notre Dame, is the author of "Excellence and
Precedence: Medieval Islamic Discourse on Legitimate Leadership"
(Leiden: 2002).
Liyakat Takim, associate professor of Islamic studies at the University
of Denver, is the author of "The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and
Religious Authority in Shiite Islam" (SUNY Press: 2006).
________________________________________________________________________
Is it accurate to speak of "Sunni Islam" and "Shi'i Islam"?
Muslims avoid identifying the Sunni and Shi`i traditions as different
"Islams."
But the two traditions, which developed over the course of centuries,
shaped Muslim religious thought and practice.
What are their doctrinal com¬monalities?
Both branches share the same
foundational religious beliefs rooted in monotheism, Muham¬mad's
prophethood, a singular Qu'anic text, and a belief in fi¬nal judgment.
They agree on the core fundamentals of Islam: the six articles of
belief (God, angels, scriptures, prophets, the next life, and destiny)
and the five pillars of practice (testimo¬ny of faith, prayer, fasting,
giv¬ing alms, and pilgrimage).
What are the important differ¬ences between them?
Mainstream Shi'is
believe in the doctrine of the Imamate, name¬ly, that certain
descendants of the Prophet's family provided the ultimate, legitimate
source of guidance after his death. This doctrine impacted how the
Shi`i scholars evaluated the authenticity of hadiths as well as their
respective views of Islamic ju¬risprudence. Over time, both branches of
Islam developed parallel institutions of learning and a number of
distinctive religious practices.
Was the origin of these two branches religious or political in nature?
Shi`i scholars believe that the community's leadership should have
remained within the Prophet's family: in the hands of Ali, the
Prophet's cousin and husband of his daughter Fatimah. An early
community of Shi'is considered Ali to be the first Imam. This idea was
sub¬sequently expressed in the doc¬trine of the Imamate a central
defining feature of Shi`i doc¬trine. Specifically, the Shi'is be¬lieve
that the issue of leadership is religious in nature and that the
Prophet explicitly named Ali as his successor. Sunni scholars trace the
Shi`i commu¬nity's genesis to what they con¬sider to be political
arguments about leadership after the Prophet's demise. They argue that
many Companions sup¬ported the leadership of Abu Bakr, one of the
Prophet's clos¬est early followers, and that the leadership of Muslims
falls un¬der the control of the general Muslim community.
What about the claim that the Shi'is have a different Qur'an called the
Mushaf Fatimah?
Shi'is and Sunnis use the same Qur'an. According to
Shi'i scholars, the Mushaf Fatimah contains hadith narratives by
Fatimah. It is not considered a holy scripture or a replace¬ment for
the Qur'an.
What is the Sunni view of the Ahl al Bayt (the Family of the E
Prophet)?
All Muslims' daily prayers in¬clude praise and blessings for
Prophet Muhammad's family. The Sunni Hadith literature regards Fatimah,
Ali, Hassan, and Husayn as Companions to whom the Prophet promised
Paradise. These four people, along with other members of his family,
are major narrators in Sunni books of Hadith. Ali is revered by Sunnis
as the first young Muslim who risked his life for the Prophet. Sunnis
consider him the last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, while the Shi'is
consider him the first Imam.
Do Shi'is believe that Ali is God?
Mainstream Shi'i and Sunni
traditions hold such thinking to be a form of unbelief. While Ali was
still alive, some people considered him to be God. They were later
labeled ghulat (extremists).
Do Shi'is slander and ridicule the first three caliphs and Nishah?
This
is a false generalization. Shi'is consider Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman
to be great Com¬panions and caliphs, although they believe that they
did not at¬tain the spiritual purity attained by Ali and the other
grand Imams. As for A'ishah, the mainstream Shi'i position views her as
the mother of all believers on par with all of the Prophet's other
wives. Any Shi'i who slan¬ders these people does so out of ignorance.
Shi'i scholars have is¬sued fatwas against cursing these major figures
of Islam.
Do Shi`is and Sunnis celebrate different religious holidays?
In both
traditions, the two ma¬jor religious holidays are Eid al Fitr and Eid
al Adha. Due to historical experience, Muslims in different countries
may com¬memorate additional days of remembrance. For example, al Isra'
wa al Mi'raj is com¬memorated in Shi'i and Sunni communities across the
globe. Ashura, the day of Husayn's martyrdom at Karbala, (which
coincides with the tenth day of the month of Muharram), is a widely
observed occasion in Shi'i communities because it marks a turning point
in their history. However Egyptians, almost all of whom are Sunni today
but who once were ruled by the (Isma'ili) Shi'i Fatimid dynasty (970
1040), still com¬memorate it with special festivi¬ties. Until today,
they pay spe¬cial tribute to Husayn and his sister, popularly known as
Lady Zaynab.
Does the Shi`i Sunni rivalry go back to the early days of Islam?
No. It is hard to pin down the exact date or period when the terms Shi `i
and
Sunni took on a communal or political meaning. A good part of Islamic
literature was purposefully destroyed dur¬ing the Mongol invasion of
Baghdad in 1258. But commu¬nal violence, as seen today in Iraq, is
unknown in Islamic his¬tory. Ali was passed over in fa¬vor of other
caliphs, but that event did not lead to a Shi'I ¬Sunni consciousness
definitely not in the communal or ethnic sense. When Mu'awiyah, the
governor of Syria, rebelled against Ali, most of the Com¬panions
supported Ali. But Mu'awiyah was not acting as a leader of Sunnis;
rather, he was acting as the head of the power¬ful Umayyad clan, which
con¬solidated its political power and ushered in dynastic rule in the
Muslim world.
The battle of Karbala (680), during which Husayn (later named the third
Imam) was martyred, is a turning point in the contemporary Shi'i
histori¬cal narrative. But even then, there was no communal Shi'i
versus Sunni identities. A num¬ber of the Companions who were later
classified as Sunni actually sympathized with Husayn. Nor was Husayn
the only Companion who rebelled against Umayyad rule. Abdul¬lah ibn al
Zubayr, a major nar¬rator of hadith in the Sunni tradition, also
rebelled and declared himself caliph in Makkah (683 92) before being
killed by the Umayyad forces. Shi'i doctrine and communal identity
developed over time, and those who were not classified as Shi'i became
known as Sunni. The earliest evidence for this development can be dated
to the Abbasid revolution (750).
How do Shi'i Sunni agree¬ments and disagreements com¬pare to those
among Catholics and Protestants?
Invoking this analogy may help
ordinary Christians make sense of Shi'i Sunni differences. How¬ever,
the analogy is accurate on¬ly to a certain extent. The doc¬trinal and
institutional differences associated with the Shi'i Sunni traditions
are far less pronounced than those as¬sociated with the Catholic¬
Protestant traditions. In addi¬tion, neither Islamic tradition has a
papal figure and their seminaries do not amount to a church structure,
especially when compared to the Catholic Church's well defined
hierar¬chical religious authority.
How do international Shi'i and Sunni influences today impact the
development of Muslim life in America?
Such influences are more
visi¬ble in communities of recent immigrants. Organizations that serve
the religious needs of Muslims may assume a Shi'i or Sunni character.
Also, there have been instances of intense communal disagreement, such
as during the Iraq Iran war. Still, it is not uncommon for Shi'is and
Sunnis to pray to¬gether. Imams and activists from both traditions
serve on regional and national bodies that present Muslim concerns. A
recent poll found that the largest segment of American Muslim voters
preferred to identify themselves as "just Muslim," rather than "Sunni"
or "Shi'i." Moreover, many converts refuse to identify themselves with
either label; ar¬guing that such categories be¬long to historical
experiences that do not relate to their lives. Religiously, there is
nothing that can compel new Muslims to align themselves with either
tradition.
What other sources of diversi¬ty impact Shi'i and Sunni life in
America?
Both communities are ethnical¬ly diverse.
Are Shi'i and Sunni organiza¬tions in this country exclusive in their
membership and services?
While many mosques may as¬sume a Shi'i or
Sunni identity, they are generally open to all for worship. Most
Islamic schools do not require students or teachers to be of a certain
per¬suasion, and several Muslim community regional bodies and public
advocacy groups have been consciously inclusive. Yet some Islamic
centers tend to fol¬low policies of exclusion. While they have the
legal right to do so, the mainstream community would view this position
as rigid and possibly intolerant.
Is it true that the Persians used their Shi'i affiliation to keep their
distinct identity?
No. Shi'is trace their origin to Arabia. Ethnicity
was not even a factor in the monumental events of Shi'i history. Persia
experienced both Sunni and Shi'i influences. Only during the Safavid
dynasty (1501 1722) was the Shi'i interpretation promoted in today's
Iran. The Turkish ¬speaking Safavids hailed from contemporary
Azerbaijan. However, most Turkish speak¬ing Muslims are Sunni.
Are the Shi'is mainly Iranian while the Sunnis are mainly Arab?
No.
Both groups are ethnically mixed, although Arabic and Farsi are two
major languages in the Muslim world. While Iran has the largest number
of Shi'is in any country, most Shi'is are neither Iranian nor Persian.
And while most Arabs are Sunni, several Arab popula¬tions are mostly
Shi'i. In fact, there are Shi'i minorities in most Sunni majority Arab
countries.
Haven't the Shi'is and Sunnis been fighting one another for fourteen
centuries?
No. However, communal ten¬sions have shaped the course of
history in the Muslim world. Until the contemporary period, there were
only limited episodes of communal violence at times of serious
political upheaval. Throughout history, both groups have lived side by
side peacefully. Several Muslim re¬gions even switched between Shi'i
and Sunni affiliations. Even in today's Iraq, Shi'is and Sunnis have
intermarried and lived in mixed communities.
How do you evaluate Shi'i-Sunni relations in the world to¬day?
Generally, not great. But they vary. Iraq is experiencing an ongoing
violent clash between Shi'i and Sunni militias. But such a clash is
more rooted in Iraq's contemporary political history than in
denominational tensions. Similar violence flares up in Pakistan every
so often, but mainstream groups from both traditions have formed
al¬liances against sectarianism and political corruption. In the Gulf
region Shi'i and Sunni minorities, especially in Saudi Arabia, Iran,
and Bahrain, face discrim¬ination. On the other hand, the Shi'i
dominated resistance to the Israeli occupation of south¬ern Lebanon.
has been very popular among Shi'is and Sun¬nis alike.
Is it likely that the Shi'i Sunni violence in Iraq may spill over, to
America?
Highly unlikely. Shi'i and Sunni groups in Iraq are engaged in
a power struggle that is entangled with regional and global con¬flicts.
In America, Muslims live in a totally different context and there is no
reason for commu¬nal violence. Even at the time of heightened Shi'i
Sunni tensions during the Iraq Iran war in the 1980s, there were no
incidents of communal violence. Follow¬ing Saddam Hussein's execution
in 2006, some Shi'i owned businesses were vandalized. Such incidents
signal a need for com¬munity leaders to engage in dia¬logue. Moreover,
such incidents are isolated and the attackers' identities have not been
con¬firmed. Following the attacks, leaders of both traditions met and
issued statements of unity and condemned the attacks.
____________________________________________________________________________________
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy
Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His
Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's
(Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."}
(Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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