Sunni Vs Shi’a

All to Often, Religion has Justified death and Destruction;

But

Occasionally That’s Not the Only Case

Page from the Koran

The Five Pillars of Islam or the five basic acts in Islam are considered mandatory by Sunni Muslims. These are summarized in the famous Hadith of Gabriel which is an important report on the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Qur'an (some spell it Koran) which is the central religious text of Islam presents the Pillars as an outline for worship and a sign of commitment to the faith. They include (1) the shahada (Islamic creed), (2) daily prayers (salat), (3) fasting during Ramadan (sawm) occurring the 9^th month of each year, (4) alms giving (zakāt or charity), and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia (the hajj) at least once in a lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

You should know that in the Islamic world, there are two major religious groups; the minority in Iraq for example call themselves “Sunni’ Muslims” and a majority group (in Iraq) are called the “Shi'a Muslims” but both agree on the essential details for the performance of these acts, but the Shi’a do not refer to these acts by the same name, plus as I understand it, they have at least two more pillars on their list.  

 

With these similarities, you might expect the two groups to (in the very least) demonstrate some civility toward each other. But in civility’s stead, consider this: Beginning in the 1980's, the Sunni controlled Baath Government of Saddam Husain in Iran reportedly attempted to eliminate the Shi'a religious leadership (the majority group) by way of secret killings, un-explained disappearances, or simply by implementing summary executions. There are and have long been; since the death of the Profit Mohamed, serious differences between the two groups concerning who should be the primary leader of the Islamic faith.

And then there is the Arab-Persian card. In the view of Iraq's  Shi’a inhabitants, it should be noted that a majority are considered Persians, and most in the Sunni segment of the population think of themselves as Arabs; therefore they (Shi’a) have been the traditional enemies of the Arabs or Sunni’s for nearly 2,000 years. ... I suppose if you are either Shi'a of Sunni, its easy to keep things straight, but I’ve  got to admit, this is a difficult one for me, so I offer you my apologies if you are totally confused for not doing a better job.   

Historically, the Iraqi Baath government  skillfully exploited this age-old hostility with its propaganda, publicizing the ancient struggle between the Arab and Persian empires, which started with the invasion of Persia (present day Iran) by the Arabs back in 636 AD.  

That November battle of 636, lead by the Profit Mohammed himself, enabled the victorious Arabs the opportunity to extend the Islamic faith throughout the region, but apparently the descendants of the defeated Persians have really long memories. Otherwise, surely the conflict between the two groups would have surely been mended by now. After all its been well over a thousand years.

Sources ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam               http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/religion-shia-baath.htm         http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/religion-shia-sunni.htm    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qadisiyyah#Background    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Large_Koran.jpg