While the notorious Shia-Sunni divide may appear to be two groups divided by religious beliefs, the origins of the split was political, not theological. The Muslims in 632 CE could not reach a consensus regarding the successor of the Prophet Muhammad after his death since he failed to formally declare an heir. As time progressed, battles such as the infamous Battle at Karbala further dug at the chasm between the two sub-groups, creating a divide that would last for centuries to come.
The Shia and Sunni Muslims have many differences that impact the world today, but the roots of the split go back to the beginning of the Muslim religion. After the prophet’s death in 632 CE, the divide began to form when the Shiites believed that Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali ibn Ali Talib should’ve been the heir to the throne, while the Sunnis did not believe that family ties should not guarantee Ali as the prophet’s successor. The Sunnis believed that they should be chosen by the community. The Sunnis were the majority group, with the Shiites only consisting of a small percentage of Muslims.
For many reasons, the Sunni majority mindset concerning the heir became reality. Eventually, Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law became the first caliph, or “head of state”. Meanwhile, the Shiites were headstrong and ignored this election, Ali became the leader, or Imam, of the Shiites. The Shia believed that the Imam possessed saint-like qualities and that his position assured direct communication with God, so his words were equivalent to that of God. This political indifference created the chasm within the Muslim religion that would become deeper as time indefinitely proceeded, and it would eventually shift into a religious movement.
The prominent split was not originally based upon a difference in religious views, as both groups believed in the Five Pillars of Islam and that Muhammad was God’s messenger. While both groups practice the same religion, they have many different religious views that formed over time. For example, they “both share the holy book of the Quran. The primary difference in practice comes in that Sunni Muslims mainly rely on the Sunnah, a record of the teachings and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad to guide their actions while the Shiites more heavily on their ayatollahs, whom they see as a sign of God on Earth.” (Tasch, Barbara)
The two sub-groups further split after Ali lead the Shiites, whom they believed was the rightful heir to the caliphate. In contrast, the Sunni did not recognize Ali as the rightful caliphate. After many long years of Ali peacefully waiting throughout the caliphates of two others, he eventually became the fourth Caliphate. Regardless, conflicts such as the Battle of the Camel broke out because many people were displeased with Ali’s lack of efforts to find the persons responsible for his predecessor’s murder.
The Battle Karbala was the most influential event in terms of separating the Shia and Sunnis. Hussein, the Prophet’s grandson, and Ali’s son rejected the rule of the caliph Yazid, which ultimately led to his martyrdom. The tragic events began when Hussein and his family traveled North, and they were accompanied by a small group of warriors. Yazid instructed Ubaydullah, the Umayyad governor of Basra, to command his general, Shimr to lead an army of over four thousand men to isolate Hussein’s camp and restrict access to the river, an attempt to force them to submit. After seven days, this tactic failed to work, and on the tenth day of Muharram, or Ashura, Shimr beheaded Hussein, and his army killed everyone except the women and children, who were taken as prisoners.
The Prophet’s grandson became a marauder in 680 AD. Hussein was decapitated and his head was carried in tribute to the Sunni caliph in Damascus. “Within a hundred years of Hussein’s death at Karbala, the split between Sunni and Shia had begun to solidify, yet it did so more around theology than politics.” (Hazleton, Leslie, p. 206) Since that calamitous event occurred, Ashura is a day for Muslims to mourn the death of the Prophet’s grandson in 680 AD. “The occasion of “collective atonement through lamentation and self-flagellation” is called Ashura. This practice is particular to the Shiites and often draws criticism and protest from Sunnis who do not celebrate that day nor view it as important.” (Tasch, Barbara)
The events at Karbala would inspire the Shia to rise against repression, and their platform of spiritual power was gained after Hussein’s death. His death emphasized the political injustices that were paramount around the time of his death, and the urgency for change had never been clearer, specifically for the Shiites. ‘An innocent spiritual figure is in many ways martyred by a far more powerful, unjust force,’ Nasr says. ‘He becomes the crystallizing force around which a faith takes form and takes inspiration.’ Vali Nasr, author of The Shia Revival.” (Shuster, Mike)
Evolving from a simple disagreement of the Muslim successor to the prophet, the split began to form into a difference of theological views as well, regarding the Sunnah and Hadith. “Separate Sunni and Shia collections of Hadith were compiled, and the differences between them represented competing historical memories. They told different versions of the same stories, disagreeing not on what had taken place in the seventh century but on what it meant.” (Hazleton, Leslie, p. 207) The Shiites only believed Sunnah and Hadith narrated by the Prophet’s direct family and the individuals that were closest to him.
For the Sunnis, they used all Sunnah and Hadith, regardless of the accounts. While the Shia did not discredit these accounts, they regarded them as an important text for Islamic law but remained very careful when interpreting Sunnah or Hadith from people other than those closest to Muhammad. This has simultaneously gravitated to the two groups farther apart by means of subtle religious differences and their theological views regarding the Sunnah and Hadith.
Since the split occurred, movements have gained traction that tries to both reunite and farther separate the two Muslim subgroups. For example, the Wahabi movement favors Sunni Islam by believing that it was heretical visit shrines belonging to the Imams of the Prophet’s family and other related Saints. Not all movements are designed to widen the gap between the Shia and Sunni, as certain Sufi movements often provide a bridge between Shia and Sunni theologies, help to unite Muslims of both traditions and encourage visiting and venerating these shrines. (BBC.co.uk) Movements such as the latter promote the convergence of the sub-groups, with hopes that they can peacefully coexist.
The Muslim separation affected far more than simply the Islamic Nation. Shiites bonded Persia together and differentiated it from the Sunni inhabited Ottoman Empire. This geography of Shiite Islam remained up until the 20th century. As time advanced, the focus of the separation transitioned into a clash founded on politics and power. “In the 20th century, that meant a complex political dynamic involving Sunni and Shiites, Arabs and Persians, colonizers and colonized, oil, and the involvement of the superpowers.” (Shuster, Mike) The split became increasingly focused on power and control, with oil becoming an extremely valuable resource highly sought after.
This disapproval and tension that came with the separation of the two Muslim groups carried into the twenty-first century. “A survey conducted in 2012 revealed that 40% of Sunni Muslims from the Middle East and North Africa do not accept Shias as fellow Muslims.” (Tasch, Barbara) Regardless of this, the majority of Shia and Sunni Muslims are able to peacefully coexist, and they are able to practice their religion in the same vicinity of each other without a problem. The war in Syria and Iraq has created more division within themselves, because “In the Twenty-First century, internal conflicts in Syria and Iraq separate the Muslim groups even more, as many Sunni men have aided rebel groups, while most Shiite men have assisted government forces, as reported by the BBC.” (Tasch, Barbara)
The Shia-Sunni split is still extremely present today. While the majority of Shiites and Sunnis are capable of coexisting, there are always the extremists that cannot converge with others unless they possess a mindset similar to their own. The division of the Islamic Nation that happened over thirteen centuries ago continues to affect the Middle East today, and it is important to understand the origins of the split so that we can have an in-depth understanding of why tensions currently exist within Islamic countries.
