Religion

Canada
November 15, 2006 10:33am CST
What is the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims and why do they not get along in Iraq? They believe in the same religion Islam.
4 responses
@zubair439 (3183)
• India
15 Nov 06
sunni are those who believe and faith in ALLAH(god) and his messenger prophet Mohammed (saws)... but shia does not believe or faith in prophet Mohammed(saws).they think that Hazrath Ali which is another messenger of ALLAH ,they believed him as main GOD or main messenger of ALLAH...
1 person likes this
• India
15 Nov 06
well let it be anything. i just believe that relegions are meant for the betterment of people and society. whats going on now in any part of the world is not good.
@amsharma (1860)
• United States
15 Nov 06
I found this for you. Maybe this will help you understand. Its a bit complex. The Sunni branch believes that the first four caliphs--Mohammed's successors--rightfully took his place as the leaders of Muslims. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. These heirs ruled continuously in the Arab world until the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following the end of the First World War. Shiites, in contrast, believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, Ali, are the legitimate successors of Mohammed. In 931 the Twelfth Imam disappeared. This was a seminal event in the history of Shiite Muslims. According to R. Scott Appleby, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, "Shiite Muslims, who are concentrated in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, [believe they] had suffered the loss of divinely guided political leadership" at the time of the Imam's disappearance. Not "until the ascendancy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1978" did they believe that they had once again begun to live under the authority of a legitimate religious figure.
• Canada
16 Nov 06
Thank you so much. Now I understand much better.
@rocknroll (1535)
• India
15 Nov 06
what!!!r those?