With nearly 3000 American troops killed in Iraq, I thought it would be helpful to discuss the ongoing sectarian violence that is taking place each day. Many of us, including myself do not understand the difference between the two branches of Islam. So I decided to do a bit of research and compel some of the difference between the two.
There is Sunni Islam and Shia or Shiite Islam. Let’s start off with discussing the Sunni branch.
Sunni Islam
- Largest branch of Islam (85-90%).
- The word Sunni comes from the Arabic word “Sunna” which means the “Prophet of Islam.”
- The Muslims that are within the Sunni branch believe that Muhammad intended that Muslims choose a successor (caliphate) to lead them.
- The period of the first four caliphs are of great importance to this branch.
- Thus, after the caliphate was loss due to WWI, this branch tried to emerge and co-exists with European culture that was brought to the middle east through colonialism.
Shiite Islam
- The Muslims that are within this branch believe the the Prophet himself had designated his son-in-law, Ali, as both his temporal and spiritual successor. Therefore, only Ali’s descendants are legitimate claimants to the caliphate (successor).
- Shiite Muslims believe that beneath the explicit and literal meaning of the Qur’an are other levels of meaning, which are known only to the imam (imam are the descendents of Ali).
- Shiite Muslims pay a tax called the zakat to their leaders as opposed to state officials. As a result some leaders within this branch have immense wealth.
Source: Rahman, Fazlur, M.A., Ph.D., Late Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor Of Islamic Thought, University of Chicago. Author of Islam and Modernity.
