The sunnishiite divide in the middle east is about nationalism, not a conflict. The unraveling of the muslim world the new york times. Iraq war deepens sunnishia divide when the united states invaded iraq four years ago, it didnt set out to deepen the sunnishia divide in the islamic world. Distribution of sunni and shia muslims columbia university. A dispute over succession to islamic prophet muhammad as a caliph of the islamic community spread across various parts of the world, which led to the battle of jamal and battle of siffin. Sunni islam is the largest denomination of islam, followed by 8790% of the worlds muslims. Jan 04, 2016 in addition, the key with the map might have given the incorrect impression that wahhabism is a separate branch of islam. Alsahifa alsajjadiyya attributed to imam zayn alabidin. Irans view of the world is largely formed by its experience of the bloody iraniraq war 198088, which it fought in isolation against a similar. Jan 05, 2016 what other questions do you have about sunni and shia islam. This collection seeks to advance our understanding of intraislamic identity conflict during a period of upheaval in the middle east. Voices donald trump puts us on sunni muslim side of bitter sectarian war with shias.
But perhaps solely some wahhabismsalafismtakfiri as they introduce themselves as sunni kill shia. Behind stark political divisions, a more complex map of. Going further after saudi arabia executed an outspoken shiite cleric last weekend, a diplomatic feud intensified between shiite and sunni dominated countries, threatening syrian peace talks and roiling global markets. Narrative history at its most compelling,after the prophetallows readers to grasp the power and depth of the shiasunni split as never before. To see more differences in shia and sunni hadith collections, visit this wikipedia category and its subcategories. And as lesley hazleton shows in her gripping historyafter the prophet, the battle has never ended. Shia are also guided by the wisdom of muhammads descendants through his soninlaw and cousin, ali.
The iranians look at the map and see themselves encircled by antishia sunni states and by us deployments in the region. Islamic books in both urdu and english languages on cd ib. Hubeali asws is a charity organisation committed to propagate the true teachings of ahl albaytasws. If you regularly visit this site and wish to show your appreciation, or if you wish to see further development of, please donate online. Even new york times columnist thomas friedman asserts that the. It has already been explained that when a narrator is referred to as shia in sunni books of rijal, this does not necessarily mean that he is rafidi or imami. Irans islamic revolution, which brought shias to power in 1979, and the sunni backlash have fueled a competition for regional dominance. This blurring of sectarian boundaries reflects the reification and relative stabilization of the post2003 order for now and the diminished political relevance of the sunnishia.
Shia usoolaldeen which path should you follow did allah tell muslims follow the quran and sunnah or the quran and ahlulbayt the practise of shia islam from sunni books the shia perspective on historical events. This made it far more problematic to sectcode the war that followed the fall of mosul than was the case with 20067. Aug 14, 2016 shia sunni are brothers, dont kill each other. More than a decade after the iraq war began, it still boggles our minds. Struggles between sunni and shia forces have fed a syrian civil war that threatens to transform the map of the middle east, spurred violence. The following is a list of suggested reading about the shiite sunni conflict. It also goes into some detail about sunnishia relations. But perhaps solely some wahhabismsalafismtakfiri as they introduce themselves as sunni kill. The history of the sunni and shia split traces the origins of the split and the historic effects of the main divide within islam. Sunni islam is the largest sect, although in some countries it is a minority. The differences between sunni and shia muslims arose from a disagreement. The shia revival, by vali nasr the new york times book.
How conflicts within islam will shape the future, by vali nasr, w. It is a key supporter of hezbollah, the lebanese shiite militia, and of president bashar alassad in syria. May 21, 2017 voices donald trump puts us on sunni muslim side of bitter sectarian war with shias. Muslim bookstore presents large collection of famous islamic books in pdfgraphichtml format from both shia as well as sunni sources for reference and research purpose on cd 4. The vast majority of sufis are sunni, though some are shiite. Qatilehussain kon they sunni ya shia internet archive.
They both came to existence in the seventh century after the assassination of ali, the fourth of the rightly guided caliphs. Kamaaluddin wa tamamum ul neamah by shaikh saduq 923 ad 991 ad tazkartulathar by sheikh almufid 948 ad 1022 ad majalis almuminin by qazi nurullah shustari 1542 ad 1610 ad a 250 years old person by ali khamenei 1939 ad present shiasunni argumentations. Could believing muslims, or even sensible human beings generate this. Here we have shia online islamic books in english and urdu. Look at the swath of mostlysunni territory in northern iraq and eastern syria, both countries that are led by shiadominated governments. Likewise, sunnis reject shia islams the four books. Qassim suleimani, master of irans intrigue, built a shiite axis of. Dec 17, 2006 the group now known as sunnis chose abu bakr, the prophets adviser, to become the first successor, or caliph, to lead the muslim state. Sunnis have their historical roots in the majority group who followed abu bakr, an effective leader, as the successor of muhammad, instead of his cousin and soninlaw ali. The roots of sectarianism in a changing middle east by frederic wehrey, frederic wehrey isbn. Over the last decade at least, the socalled sunnishia divide has been a defining characteristic of the middle east for pundits and other nonexpert observers of. Struggles between sunni and shia forces have fed a syrian civil war that threatens to transform the map of the middle east, spurred violence that is fracturing iraq, and widened fissures in a.
What is this form of islamic belief, and why has it come under assault. The shia revival is at its most provocative when exposing how the sunni shiite power imbalance seeps out of classrooms and infects muslim life on the ground. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Journalist lesley hazleton describes, in this book, the origins of the shia sunni split in islam a rift that began when the prophet muhammad died without sons and without naming a successor. The psychology of the sunnishia divide politico magazine.
The following is a list of suggested reading about the shiitesunni conflict. Furthermore, this narrator cannot be found in the imami rijal books. May 07, 2017 over the last decade at least, the socalled sunni shia divide has been a defining characteristic of the middle east for pundits and other nonexpert observers of the region. Here is a primer on the basic differences between sunni and shia islam. The group now known as sunnis chose abu bakr, the prophets adviser, to become the first successor, or caliph, to lead the muslim state. The middle east divide between sunni and shia explained in.
Nahj albalaghah a collection of sermons, letters and quotes of imam ali, collected by alsharif alradi 970 ad 1015 ad. It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of the shiasunni split. The two denominations share many of the same fundamental beliefs and practices, and in many places their. This map of the regions sunnis and shias is crucial for understanding the larger geopolitics of the iraq crisis and how its neighbors are responding. Just as his accomplishments shaped the creation of a shiite axis of influence. In a remotely similar but far more lethal vein, the 1,400year sunni shiite rivalry is playing out in the streets of baghdad, raising the specter of a breakup of iraq into antagonistic states, one. Why the myth of sunnishia conflict defines middle east.
Here are some random examples found in the socalled sacred books of islam. After the prophet is not a novel, it is narrative history, in a sense that it is not an authoritative historical account of events and is not focused on history like after the prophet is a remarkable telling of the story of islamparticularly the ongoing rivalry between the sunni and shia branches of islam. Instead of treating distinctions between and within sunni and shia islam as primordial and immutable, it examines how political economy, geopolitics, domestic governance, social media, non and substate groups, and clerical elites have affected the. The dispute intensified greatly after the battle of karbala, in. Behind stark political divisions, a more complex map of sunnis and. While many nonmuslims are now aware that there is a sectarian divide in islam between sunnis and shiites, it is less commonly known that syria is ruled largely by members of an esoteric islamic sect, the alawites, whose belief in the divinity of ali, muhammads cousin and soninlaw, is just one of the reasons that they were oppressed as infidels for centuries by other muslims. How many sunni muslims have been murdered by shias and vice. Feb 15, 2007 iraq war deepens sunni shia divide when the united states invaded iraq four years ago, it didnt set out to deepen the sunni shia divide in the islamic world. Shia and sunni islam are the two major denominations of islam. Today, some 85 percent of the worlds muslims consider themselves to be sunni muslims, while the remaining 15 percent are adherents of the different sects of shia islam. Minorities like the alawites of syria or the zaidi of yemen had coexisted more.
What are some good and reliable books on shiasunni divide. The ultimate breaking point came when soldiers of the first sunni dynasty massacred seventytwo warriors led by alis son, hussein, at karbala in iraq, forging the shiasunni split in blood. The shia revival by vali nasr is a good book on modern shia political power. Even as muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would take control of the new islamic nation had begun, beginning a succession crisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political. Books hubeali asws online shia islamic articles, books.
The epic story of the shiasunni split in islam paperback september 7, 2010. Us presidents speech gives a greenlight to authoritarian regimes in the middle east to carry on torturing and. Shia muslims in sunni countries tend to be viewed as fifthcolumnists with uncertain national loyalties. Prepared by emily hawley, research associate after the death of the prophet mohammad in 632 ce, the muslim community diverged over how to select the next leader of the islamic community they had formed on. It also goes into some detail about sunni shia relations. They chose sides following the death of the islamic prophet muhammad in ad 632. Modern sunnishia tensions council on foreign relations. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the history of the sunnis and shias like never before, in no time at all. The heirs of the prophet by barnaby rogerson goes back to analyze the most basic division and its roots from the first generation of muslims. Shia muslims maqam e umer by ali akbar shah posted by shia ahle haq hain.
Islams 1,400yearold divide explained 14 pilgrimage to the saudi arabian city of mecca is one of many rituals that are shared by both sunni and shia muslims. The majority of the worlds muslims are sunni, between 85 and 90 per cent according to most counts, and spread across africa, the middle east and asia. For sunni muslims, it is a guiding principle for each individual. The sunnishiite divide in the middle east is about nationalism, not. Before it was weaponized in the years following 1979, the sunni shia schism lay mostly dormant, ghattas notes. Nonetheless the few traditions in shiah books that speak of the quran of ali is referring to the chronological arrangement of the quran in. Us presidents speech gives a greenlight to authoritarian regimes in. Shiites favored ali, muhammads cousin and soninlaw. Sunni and shiaboth revering the quran, following muhammad and praying to allahkilling one another. The shias in their enthusiasm or onesided view to get at anything against ali rali maintain only telescopic or monochromatic view of history. In february, a group of sunni muslims bombed the golden mosque in samarra, iraq, one of shiite islams holiest sites. Jan 04, 2016 shia are also guided by the wisdom of muhammads descendants through his soninlaw and cousin, ali. After saudi arabia executed an outspoken shiite cleric last weekend, a diplomatic feud intensified between shiite and sunni dominated countries, threatening syrian peace talks and roiling global markets read the article 3 sunni led states join saudi arabias diplomatic feud against iran and find out the following information.
At the epicenter of the divide are the predominantly sunni saudi arabia and shia iran, who are considered to be fueling todays conflicts through proxy militias in syria, yemen, and lebanon. Islams enemy within brian whitaker opinion the guardian. In this gripping narrative history, lesley hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the sunni and shia branches of islam, a rift that dominates the news now more than ever. Even as muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would succeed him as the ruler of the muslim people had begun.
Who are sufi muslims and why do some extremists hate them. Sacred sunnishia books showing 16 of 6 messages sacred sunnishia books. Muslim bookstore presents large collection of famous islamic books in pdfgraphichtml format from both shia as well as sunni sources for reference and. This superb map is taken from the equally superb gulf 2000 initiative at columbia university, organized by the workaholic gary sick. Choosing between sunni or shia is like choosing between the idiot and the fool. Shia islam rejects sunni islams kutub alsittah, or the five allegedly original hadiths, and rejects hadiths attributed to muhammads wife, aisha, who shias feel defied ali. The book does an excellent job of going into the history of both groups and exactly what led to the split. An earlier version of this map, using information from columbia universitys gulf 2000 project, erroneously included some areas among those with a predominant sunni. There is an ahmad ibn mufadhal alkhuzai, but he is a different person based on the last name as well as narrators they. Tensions between islams two main religious sects sunni and shia are spiraling out of control and threaten to redraw the map of the middle east. In addition, the key with the map might have given the incorrect impression that wahhabism is a separate branch of islam. Husseins ordeal would quickly become the passion story at the core of shia islam, and history would be transformed into sacred history. The designation sunni islam, or sunnism, refers to the prophet muhammads customs sunna.