RandomGuy
02-25-2006, 07:44 PM
BBC News bit on sunni/shia history in Iraq (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4750320.stm)
((((FULL TEXT IN URL, HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS---RG)))))
Sunnis and Shias differ in doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organisation. It is the largest and oldest division in the history of Islam.
But the origins of the split lie in a dispute over who should have succeeded the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community when he died in 632.
One group of Muslims elected Abu Bakr as the next caliph (leader) of the community, but another group believed the prophet's son-in-law, Ali, was the rightful successor.
Though Ali eventually became the fourth caliph, his legitimacy was disputed and he was murdered in 661.
The Shiat Ali ("Party of Ali") refused to recognise the legitimacy of his chief opponent and successor, Muawiya.
...
Sunnis are the majority sect in the Muslim world, but Shias today form as much as 60% of Iraq's population, whereas Sunnis make up 35%, split between ethnic Arabs and Kurds.
This demographic dominance has not, however, been translated into economic and political power. Instead, Sunni Arabs have traditionally formed Iraq's elite.
The ascendancy of Iraq's Sunni community began under the Sunni Ottoman Turks, whose empire ruled the Middle East for nearly 400 years. Ottoman defeat in World War I did not end Sunni dominance.
In the 1920 Mandate of Iraq, the British worked to check the Shia majority's power by keeping Sunni Arabs in senior positions in government and the armed forces.
...
In 1979, the Islamic Revolution in Iran - where Shias constitute 89% of the population - galvanised Shia opposition to the Baath Party and made Saddam Hussein, now president, increasingly fearful of a similar revolution in Iraq.
When Shia political activists attempted to assassinate the deputy prime minister in 1980, Saddam responded by executing Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Sadr, the uncle of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr, the first time so senior a cleric had been killed.
When Iraq declared war on its predominantly Shia neighbour, Iran, Saddam's government intensified its brutal crackdown.
...
Ethnic conflict and tribalism have contributed to the country's instability in recent decades.
Political groups have also played an important role, with Iraqis subscribing to a broad spectrum of ideologies and affiliations, many of which have nothing to do with religion.
Many Iraqis would argue that their society, in particular in the capital Baghdad, is in fact largely cosmopolitan and that class and social status are of greater significance than religion.
((((FULL TEXT IN URL, HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS---RG)))))
Sunnis and Shias differ in doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organisation. It is the largest and oldest division in the history of Islam.
But the origins of the split lie in a dispute over who should have succeeded the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community when he died in 632.
One group of Muslims elected Abu Bakr as the next caliph (leader) of the community, but another group believed the prophet's son-in-law, Ali, was the rightful successor.
Though Ali eventually became the fourth caliph, his legitimacy was disputed and he was murdered in 661.
The Shiat Ali ("Party of Ali") refused to recognise the legitimacy of his chief opponent and successor, Muawiya.
...
Sunnis are the majority sect in the Muslim world, but Shias today form as much as 60% of Iraq's population, whereas Sunnis make up 35%, split between ethnic Arabs and Kurds.
This demographic dominance has not, however, been translated into economic and political power. Instead, Sunni Arabs have traditionally formed Iraq's elite.
The ascendancy of Iraq's Sunni community began under the Sunni Ottoman Turks, whose empire ruled the Middle East for nearly 400 years. Ottoman defeat in World War I did not end Sunni dominance.
In the 1920 Mandate of Iraq, the British worked to check the Shia majority's power by keeping Sunni Arabs in senior positions in government and the armed forces.
...
In 1979, the Islamic Revolution in Iran - where Shias constitute 89% of the population - galvanised Shia opposition to the Baath Party and made Saddam Hussein, now president, increasingly fearful of a similar revolution in Iraq.
When Shia political activists attempted to assassinate the deputy prime minister in 1980, Saddam responded by executing Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Sadr, the uncle of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr, the first time so senior a cleric had been killed.
When Iraq declared war on its predominantly Shia neighbour, Iran, Saddam's government intensified its brutal crackdown.
...
Ethnic conflict and tribalism have contributed to the country's instability in recent decades.
Political groups have also played an important role, with Iraqis subscribing to a broad spectrum of ideologies and affiliations, many of which have nothing to do with religion.
Many Iraqis would argue that their society, in particular in the capital Baghdad, is in fact largely cosmopolitan and that class and social status are of greater significance than religion.