I am a DEP for the United States Army, and have been assigned several short works on the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam. I thought I would post them up.
Sunni –Shiite Relations
The Sunni and Shiite, or Shi'a, Muslims are two of the three different sects of Islam. They have historically been at odds due to their religious beliefs. The successors to the prophet Muhammad were referred to as the Caliph, or Commander of the Faithful. The split between the two groups begins to arise in their following of these Caliph’s. The Sunni Muslims hold that the first four Caliph’s, Abu Bakr, [[color=black]Umar ibn al-Khattab](http://www.nyspeed.com/wiki/Umar_ibn_al-Khattab), [Uthman](http://www.nyspeed.com/wiki/Uthman_ibn_Affan), and Ali, as the only Rightly Guided Caliph’s. They were believed to have ruled according to both the [Qur'an](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qur%27an) and the sunnah, the way of Muhammad. In contrast, the Shiite do not accept any of the Caliph’s but Ali. The Shiite argue that only the descendants of Muhammad have the right to rule.[/color]
This separation in schools of thought has led to the larger group of Sunni Islam to at times refuse to accept the Shiite’s as true Muslims. Some groups, such as the Taliban or Al Qaeda, have even supported persecution of the Shiite as heretics. These groups have claimed responsibility for some violent attacks and suicide bombings at Shiite gatherings at mosques and shrines. This was noted to have happened in Iraq during the Ashura mourning ceremonies where hundreds of Shias were killed in coordinated suicide attacks. The Ashura ceremonies are recognition of the sacrifice of Caliph Ali, celebrated by Shiite Muslims. Some of the Shiite faction has come to actually welcome the attacks on them by using them to show that they are not a part of the extremist organizations such as the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
It is estimated that nearly 90% of the worlds Muslims are of the Sunni sect, and nearly 10% of the remaining population ate Shiite. These numbers are disputed, though, with some scholars believing a much larger portion of the population is of the Shiite group, and less of the Sunni belief.
These proportions are nearly reversed, though, in modern Iraq. Shiite Arabs make up nearly 60% of the population, while approximately 35% is comprised of Sunni. Iraq is a nation of 26,000,000 people that officially allows freedom of religion, but actively teaches Islam. Despite the population as a whole, Saddam ruled Iraq under the veil of the Baath party, a radical left wing largely Sunni organization. Iraq was led by a minority religious group for nearly 40 years, 24 of which were under Saddam.
The Sunni and Shiite factions of the Islamic faith have been at odds for thousands of years, rejecting the beliefs of each other and at constant political and societal ends. Iraq has been a demonstration of this socio-political battle. In the coming years only time will tell if the sects will be able to work together to create a democracy in the Middle East with a Shiite leadership, one of the first of its kind in modern times.
The Taliban effectively ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, although they were only recognized diplomatically by three countries. These nations were the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. This organization traces its roots to well before this time period, though.
In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and soon after established a puppet regime in Kabul. To counter the Soviet Union without direct contact, the United States, Pakistan, China, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia supported the mujahideen. These were “freedom fighters” that waged guerilla war on the Soviets. These fighters with supplied with training, weapons, and funs to keep them fighting. By 1988 the Soviets began to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
Four years later brought the fall of the Soviet backed government. This created a power vacuum that several rival militias attempted to fill. Eventually the Taliban emerged as a powerful organization capable of bringing order to the country. In 1996 this became a reality with the Taliban capturing Kabul and declaring a strict Islamic state. This involved Sharia, Islamic law. Included in the laws were criminal punishments that were to be administered by a religious police force. The punishments involved amputation of a hand for theft or stoning for committing adultery. In addition the Taliban banned all forms of television, imagery, music, and sports.
Initially the Taliban’s rise to power helped the economy by eliminating tribute that warlords demanded, and by reducing fighting between factions. The Taliban was a Sunni organization with an extremist outlook on the Shiite portion of the Muslim population. This hatred was to the point of ignoring or even supporting the slaughter of non-Sunni’s.
In 1997 the Taliban besieged Mazar-i-Sharif, a sacred site to the Shiites. This city is believed to be the site of Ali’s grave. The Taliban was repelled initially, causing them to abandon the city entirely even after receiving reinforcements from Pakistan. It was not until August 8, 1998 that Mazar-i-Sharif was finally taken by the Taliban.
Two weeks later the United States launched a Cruise Missle attack on suspected bin Laden bases in Afghanistan. The operation was named “Infinite Reach” and was intended as retaliation for an attack on a US embassy earlier in August in East Africa. The Taliban government had close ties with Osama bin Laden and his organization, al-Qaeda. From 1997 to 2001 al-Qaeda trained soldiers named the 055 Brigade were integrated into the Taliban army.
In 2001, following the September 11 attacks on the United States, thousands of Afghans began fleeing Kabul. 4000 a day tried to enter Pakistan. On September 22, 2001 the United States blamed Osama along with his hosts, the Taliban, for the attacks. Initially the Taliban offered to try Osama in front of an Islamic court, but when the United States rejected the offer, they implied that bin Laden would be turned over to NATO if he could be proven guilty first. This proposal was also rejected when the United States offered an ultimatum demanding the hand over of all al-Qaeda leaders and the closure of all terrorist training camps.
The United States and United Kingdom formed an alliance and soon began a land and air based strategy to remove the Taliban from power. Immediately after the assault, Osama bin Laden declared a Jihad on America. The Taliban was quickly removed from its reign of terror over Afghanistan by both the Northern Alliance rebels and the NATO forces. Osama still remains at large, and recently released a film still calling for Muslims to rise up against the Unites States.
Wahhabism
Wahhabism is a sect of the Sunni faction of the Islamic faith. It is largely practiced in Saudi Arabia, but has made its way into most Islamic nations. The followers are referred to Salafi, part of a larger group of fundamental Muslims. It is named after a man called Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab. Wahhab considered the movement to be an effort to purify the religion. The goal was to return to the original principles of Islam.
Wahhabism uses the Qur’an and hadith as its basic texts. The Wahhab claim to directly interpret the words of Muhammad himself through these written works. Wahhabis hold that Muslim groups such as Sufism and Shia Islam are corruptions of the faith because they follow “novel” practices that are not of Islamic teaching. Wahhabism finds the invoking of any entity or person other than Allah himself in prayer to be contrary to Islam. The wearing of charms, practicing magic or seeking a healer or sorcerer, and type of religious innovation, or the erection of memorials over graves is denied by the followers. Wahhabis ban pictures, tobacco, photographs, and the celebration of Muhammad’s birthday based on their interpretation of the hadith.
Wahhab rejected what he considered to be corruptions of the faith. This was done by denouncing carious sects of both Sufism and the Shiites. He was known to have considered these groups as non-believers. Some current scholars consider his teachings be no more that intolerant views of a fanatic. Despite this, Wahhabism has had a major impact on modern Islam in all of its forms. It has particularly affected Muslim attitudes towards non-Muslims. It is also believed tot a number of current Islamc terrorists have been influenced by his teachings of intolerance. These men include Osama bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. Zarqawi has even quoted Muhammad Wahhab in statements urging his followers t kill both non-Muslims and members of Shiite Islam. The Shia were targeted for their religious affiliation by other Muslims.
Salafi is a reference to “early Muslims” and is used to describe the sects of Islam that interpret the words of Muhammad directly. The major groups are Wahhabism and Qutbism. Both are considered radical and fundamentalist. They believe that literal interpretations of the Qur’an are sufficient guidance for the believing Muslim. Some Salafis believe, however, that most Muslim dominant countries have strayed. They feel that the only answer will be through violent jihad. These Salafis are called Islamists, Jihadis, or Qutbis. They are most commonly linked with terrorism.
even worse than them are the Qutbis, even more radical and they look down on the Wahhabis. Some scary stuff, but what I DID learn from this was that Islam itself is not the terror, its not the cause of the evil. Its just something that the insane use to “Justify” their terror and murder.