The difference between Shia and Sunni

It seems like every week we hear about a humiliated intelligence official who is forced to admit that he or she doesn’t know the difference between a Shia and a Sunni. Neatorama has published a quick outline that hopefully a lot of people will read just so they can get a grasp on some of the actual facts regarding the war:

Like Christianity, Islam is home to a spectrum of sects espousing different beliefs and practices. And just as Christianity can be divided into two large groups – Catholic and Protestant – from which other subsects have emerged, so too with Islam: Shia and Sunni.

Unlike Christianity, whose major split wouldn’t occur for nearly sixteen centuries, Islam split almost immediately after the death of its founder, the Prophet Muhammad (circa 570 – 632 CE). The rift stems from a disagreement among Muslims over who was the rightful successor to Muhammad.

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One Comment

  1. Bloggasm » Atheists to host major gathering at Harvard Says:

    [...] posts: The difference between Shia and Sunni SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Atheists to host major gathering at Harvard", url: [...]


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