Ashura, Al-Jazeerah and You

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   Ashura: A Day of Unity for Shi'is and Sunnis

By Mohammed Khako

Al-Jazeerah, January 28, 2007

Al-Jazeerah Editor's Note:

The author here is trying to educate readers about the two main Islamic 

schools of thought, the Shi'a and Sunna schools. It's not attempt to 

associate the conflict in Iraq today with the centuries-old Shi'i-Sunni 

religious disputes. These disputes have always been there since the 

beginning of Islam. The current conflict is rather a result of the US 

invasion and occupation of Iraq. It's a war between the US occupation 

forces and their Iraqi allies and the Iraqi resistance fighters opposing the 

US occupation.

***

The words Sunni and Shi'i (or the derogatory form, Shiite) appear 

regularly in news, but few people know what they really mean. 

Understanding Sunni and Shi'i (sometimes written as Shia) beliefs is 

important in understanding the conflict in Iraq (resulting from the US 

occupation of Iraq). The centuries old Shi'i-Sunni differences are the 

major obstacle to Muslim Unity. There are scholars on both sides � Sunni 

and Shi'i, like Imam Khomeini and Shaikh Shaltut of Al-Azhar who have 

done their best to minimize differences and bring unity, but they were not 

successful due to the misinformation prevailing in the common masses of 

Sunnis about the Shi'a (school of thought). While a great deal of money 

and efforts is being spent to fan the fire of hatred between Shi'is and 

Sunnis in the Middle East with obvious political and economical fruits for 

power to be. Special interest groups have always fanned these differences 

for their benefit.

This is what Imam Khomeini said some twenty years ago

� The filthy hands which aggravates the differences between Shi'i and 

Sunni Muslims belong to neither to the Shi'is nor the Sunnis. They are the 

hands of colonialists, which plan to take Islamic countries out of our 

hands. The colonial powers which want to plunder our wealth through 

various schemes and conspiracies are the ones who hatch plots for 

creating division under the pretext of Shi'a or Sunna. Muslims worldwide 

should not fall in to trap set by those who seek division and mutual 

hatred. Anyone who is responsible for instigating sectarian division and 

violence is either an enemy of Islam, or doing the work of the enemies of 

Islam�

The majority of Shi'i Muslims share all the core belief of Sunni Islam. Shia 

and Sunna (Islamic schools of thought) have many things in common. 

They both believe in One God (Allah), follow the same Prophet 

Muhammad (Peace and blessings of God be upon him), as the last 

Prophet, offer five daily prayers, perform the fast in the month of 

Ramadan, go to Mecca for pilgrimage (Hajj), recite the same Qur'an (Holy 

scriptures) and give alms � Charity (Zakat). There is no theological or 

spiritual dispute between the Shia and Sunna schools. Rather, the 

differences are really ethnic and political. While in the matter of Islamic 

jurisprudence, difference are minor. Sunnis and Shi�is are considered by 

most to be brethren in faith. In fact, most Muslims do not distinguish 

themselves by claiming relationship to any particular group, but prefer to 

call themselves simply �Muslims�.

The factor that most distinguishes Shi'is from Sunnis is the belief in a 

special representative of God, after the end of Prophethood, called an 

Imam. The Shi'i Muslims believe that following the Prophet Muhammad�s 

death; leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law 

Imam Ali. The Imam has both a spiritual role of guidance as well as a 

politico-social role of rule over Muslims in order to enforce Islamic law. 

The Shi'is hold that there are twelve Imams, with Ali being the first, Al-

Hussain the third. The twelfth and final one, Imam Mahdi (after whom 

Muqtada al-Sadr named his military wing the �Mahdi Army�) is in a 

supernatural state of occultation awaiting his return to establish a just 

order on earth. During his period of occultation, per his instructions, the 

Ayatollahs are his representatives and the obedience due unto him in 

both a religious and political sense devolves unto them. The difference 

between Ayatollah Sistani and Ayatollah Khomeini �both Iranians 

educated in Najaf, Iraq�is of degree and not of kind.

To grasp the mind-set of any Ayatollah, it is enough to quote Imam Al-

Hussain. �The conduct of affairs and the laws should be in the hands of 

the learned and spiritual leaders of God who are the trustees of what He 

has made prohibited and lawful. The reign of affairs must be in their 

hands�� Ayatollah Sistani and others in the Najaf seminary belong to the 

older quietist school, while some Ayatollahs from Islamic seminary in 

Qom, Iran, believe in clerical activism and come from the school of 

thought that religion and politics are inseparable.

The Shi'i are more hierarchical, with ayatollahs (clerics) have more power. 

The Sunnis are more self-governing. Initially the difference between 

Sunnis and Shi'is was merely a difference concerning who should lead the 

Muslim community (Ummah) after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 

early 7th century. The Sunni-Shi'i divide is similar to Protestant-Catholic 

split in Christianity. Shi'is are far more passionate and attached to the 

love of the Prophet Muhammad and his family (Ahlul-Bayt /Imams). Shism 

is more Catholic-like just as Catholics recognized Saints, Shi'is believe in 

Imam (saint) as an intermediary between man and God. Shi'i pilgrims who 

go to the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf and Imam Al-Hussain in Kerbala, 

Iraq could be like Catholic pilgrims who go to the shrine of Fatima in 

Portugal or to the Vatican.

Sunnis are more Protestant-like. The Sunni cleric is more like a Protestant 

pastor, whereas a Shi'i Ayatollah is more like a bishop or a cardinal, 

except that Shism has no pope (Well, a lot of Shi'is looked at Imam 

Khomeini in the past and Khameini now the same way Catholics look at 

the Pope - Al-Jazeerah Editor). Just like Protestant and Catholicism, both 

follow the same scriptures, both follow the same story of Jesus, but have 

a different ethos of Christianity. The same is true for Shi'is and Sunnis.

If there are no genuine differences among Shi'is and Sunnis, then why all 

this bloodshed in Iraq? Looking at histories of religion, we know there 

were disputes over interpretations and versions of narration (Hadith). 

These disputes among communities over time can lead to conflict. The 

disputes have become politicized, for instance, many years of war in 

Northern Ireland and in Europe were due to territory disputes or 

independence from Vatican or British domination. So the Sunni-Shi'i issue 

has the same flow. In Iraq today, why are the Shi'is and Sunnis so 

antagonistic? It is because, much like Northern Ireland, the theological 

boundary marks the boundaries of different communities and their 

identities.

In Washington, newspaper editorials talk about civil war, Shi'i militias, and 

Sunni insurgents (resistance fighters) in Iraq. There is too much at stake 

to get swept up by minor differences and divide the Muslim community 

along Shi'i and Sunni lines. We are all Muslims, and that is the most 

important thing to remember. Just as God delivered Moses and his people 

free on the day of Ashura from bondage, death and despair, I pray God 

delivers the greater Middle East from the bondage of hatred, death, and 

war. The best way to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of the martyrs 

of Karbala on Ashura on Jan 28th is to shun sectarian and other prejudice 

and follow the principle of peaceful coexistence, tolerance and mutual 

respect to create unity and cohesion in the community. The martyrdom 

and the supreme sacrifice of Imam Al-Hussain on the plains of Karbala 

should give Muslims the lesson of tolerance, moderation, forgiveness, 

harmony and tranquility between followers of all school of thought.