MILNET Brief
  Religious Differences, Sunni vs. Shiite

Effects on Terrorism and National Strife in the Middle East
November 12, 2006

Updates

The differences between the Sunni and Shiite religious beliefs offers a lot toward explaining the ongoing conflict in Iraq, as well as century long conflicts between nations in the Middle East.

According to the History News Network, the differences between Sunni and Shiite can be stated rather simply:

"The Sunni branch believes that the first four caliphs--Mohammed's successors--rightfully took his place as the leaders of Muslims. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. These heirs ruled continuously in the Arab world until the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following the end of the First World War.

Shiites, in contrast, believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, Ali, are the legitimate successors of Mohammed. In 931 the Twelfth Imam disappeared. This was a seminal event in the history of Shiite Muslims. According to R. Scott Appleby, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, "Shiite Muslims, who are concentrated in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, [believe they] had suffered the loss of divinely guided political leadership" at the time of the Imam's disappearance. Not "until the ascendancy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1978" did they believe that they had once again begun to live under the authority of a legitimate religious figure."

- HNN, 9/02/2002 16

Every  Sunni Muslim does not create a threat to Westerners and other nonbelievers, rather it is the Sunni Wahhabist.  Wahhabism is the root of evil in Islamic Jihadism today.  And clearly, not every Shiite threatens non-believers with Jihad.  And Shiite Muslims are not immune to the teachings of radical Islamic Jihadism.  Witness the warped Iranian Shiite and Iraqi Shiite mentalities like Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Muqtaba al-Sadr.

Having said this, the battle between Sunni Muslim and Shiite Muslim, if not as serious as Wahhabist threat today, the differences between the two interpretations of Islam certainly comes in a strong second.  The sectarian violence in Iraq stems from this competition and sadly has been going on for centuries.  Those who believe the U.S. presence is the catalyst only choose to believe a particular political agenda rather than historical facts known for centuries.  Sadly neither side of the U.S. presence theory are correct. The belief  that any strength of force moderated by the ideals of democracy and religious freedom tempered by separation of church and state can overcome this struggle is naive to the extreme. 

The only reason Iraq was held together for the last part of the 20th century was the fact that Saddam Hussein was not limited by any liberal moderation of his actions -- he simply tortured and killed anyone who did not go along with his particular version of the Baath party.  And the kind of torture we are talking about here is not the pacifist's definition of "making someone feel uncomfortable".  Indeed those who survived Saddam's (more likely his son Qusay's) torture, would look upon the liberalist definition of torture as laughable, saying in effect, "Feeling just a little uncomfortable would have been a god-send."

It is no surprise to religious scholars that once Saddam Hussein was removed from power, the two antagonist and opposing religious ideologies, having found an ideal battleground to display their antagonism, went at it with some zealousness.    This is quite aptly demonstrated by the fact that for only a relatively short period of time beginning prior to the Iraqi election, Muqtaba al-Sadr reined in his extremely murderous Shiite militias. Once the election took place and the  government strayed from a direction that al-Sadr wished it to go, and once it was clear the government was unable to prevent the Sunni radicals (regardless of whether they are foreign or domestic Sunni insurgents) from killing Shiites in large numbers, he gave his followers the green light to resume where they had left off prior to the elections.  That conflict is not so much a civil war as a war of Religious Zealots and certainly has little to do with U.S. presence.  Those that believe that withdrawal of U.S. forces will calm things down are not only wrong, but dangerously mentally defective.  That approach will destroy any chance of stabilizing the Middle East, and poses an ever greater threat to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Afghanistan, among others.

Here is a sample breakdown of the religious sects that continue to plague the Middle East.  Note that either a Sunni or a Shiite can practice the more radical form of Islamic ideology (see the definition of takfir below the table) there is no limitation on radical Islamic interpretation.

Name
 Sect
 Notes
Sunni Terrorist Groups
Al-Qaeda
 Sunni
Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are former members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which wished Saudi Arabia and indeed all Muslim nations to be led by strict conformance to the radicalized interpretation of the Sharia (Islamic Law).  However, like most Islamic terrorist organizations, Al-Qaeda was formed by those who broke off from the Muslim Brotherhood, ostensibly because of its non-violent (and admittedly slow if non-existent progress) approach to changing Muslim nations.  Al-Qaeda has grown into a network of like thinking terrorist organizations as well as "wanna-bes" who receive or hope to receive different forms of support, funding, and training.
Asbat Al-Ansar Sunni
 "Asbat Al-Ansar is a Lebanon-based, Sunni extremist organization, composed primarily of Palestinians. Asbat Al-Ansar builds upon the ideology of fighting the U.S. and Israel, and seeks to establish a radical Islamic regime in Lebanon." 14
Fatah
 Sunni
 Yassar Arafat seized control of this PLO element (became the chairman of the executive committee of the PLO in 1969) and he later became the leader of the Palestine Authority. During Democratic Elections in the Palestine Territories, Fatah lost out to Hamas.  Farouk Kaddoumi took control of Fatah after Arafat's death in 2004.
Hamas
 Sunni
 Created out of the Infatiyda in the early 1980s, the group is best known for its suicide bombers.  Led in exile in Syria by Khaled Mashaal,  and in the Palestinian Territories by Ismail Haniya, the group wishes to remove Israel and replace it with a state run under radical (Sunni interpretation of course) Islamic Law.
Palestine Liberation Organization/
Palestine Liberation Front

 Sunni The PLO acted as an umbrella terrorist organization of Palestinian terrorists in Lebanaon (Bekka Valley and South Lebanon) raiding into Israel after Israel siezed areas beyond its original borders.  In 1969 through 1970, raiding from Jordan, the PLO attacked Israeli settlements in the Bet Shean Valley Regional Council as well as attacked the general Israeli population in random attacks.  The group was splintered when the Jordanian Army expelled them from Jordan 1970 and the factions set up office is Dasmascus, Syria, and Beirut, Lebanon.  Israelis and Arab supporters of Israelis killed up through Yassar Arafat's first year as chairman of the Executive of the PLO, numbered more than three thousand. 

It is worth nothing that the Council on Foreign Relations 35 considers the following list to be terrorist groups aligned with Al Qaeda's extreme Sunni fundamentalist views:
Sunni Nations
Afghanistan
 Sunni 80% Sunni, 19%  Shi'a.
Egypt Sunni Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic Christian and other 10% 20
Jordan
 Sunni
 95% Sunni population 13
Kuwait
 Sunni
 70% of native Kuwaitis are Sunni Muslims, 30% are Shi'a Muslims 25
Pakistan
 Sunni
 77% Sunni Muslims, 20% are Shi'a Muslims  21
Qatar
 Sunni
 The Qataris are mainly Sunni Muslims. Islam is the official religion. 24
Saudi Arabia
Sunni
 85% Sunni, most adhering to Wahhabi tenets, 7% Shiite, 3.7% Catholic 11
Syria
 Sunni
 74% Sunni, 13-15 Alawi (moderate Sunni), 10% Christian, 1% Shiite 10, 15
Turkey
 Sunni
 75% Sunni, 25% Alevi (very small percentage of Christians and Jews) 23
Baath Party
 Sunni
 Thus the old Iraq was Sunni oriented and thus the conflict with Iran was as much as a religious war as a nationalistic driven war.

Shiite Terrorist Groups
Hezbollah
 Shiite
 Somewhat liberal interpretation of the Shiite ideology, thought to be well supplied and directed by Iran.  "Hezbollah is a Lebanese umbrella organization of radical Islamic Shiite groups and organizations. It opposes the West, seeks to create a Muslim fundamentalist state modeled on Iran, and is a bitter foe of Israel."  17
Mehdi Army Militia (MAM) Shiite Muqtada al-Sadr's Militia in Iraq.  Al-Sadr is a well known Shiite cleric and his followers worship him almost like a god.n  He is reported to be a close ally of the Iraqi Prime Minister Malaki.

Shiite Nations
Iran Shiite Chief Cleric is the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a Shiite cleric
89% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam, the official state religion, and about 9% belong to the Sunni branch  22
Iraq Shiite In the Interim Government, 15 seats to Shiite, 5 to Sunni.  After the election [which the Sunni's boycotted and thus have no say-MILNET] the Executive Branch of the  Government is made up of Shiite ministers. 12
Shiites constitute about 55-60 percent and Sunnis represent 35-40 percent. The Sunnis are divided among Arab, Kurdish, and Turkman ethnic groups.  8
Lebanon
 Christian/Shiite/Sunni
 A Parliament equally divided between Christian and Muslim with the following:
  • The President is required to be a Maronite Christian;
  • The Prime Minister, a Sunni Muslim, and
  • The Speaker of the Parliament, a Shi'a Muslim   18
Lebanon's population consists of 27 percent Sunnis (see Glossary), 41 percent Shias, 7 percent Druzes, 16 percent Maronites, 5 percent Greek Orthodox, and 3 percent Greek Catholics. 19
Oman
 Ibadite
 75% Ibadite Muslim (followers of the Imam Allah ibn Ibad) a division of the eighth century Kharijite sect of Shia 35
Yemen
 Shiite/Sunni
 Islam is the official religion (53 percent Shi'ite, 47 percent Sunni). 26



Updates:

Between January of 2006 and February of 2007, the conflict between Sunni and Shiite became extremely apparent. Late in 2006, several U.S. generals noted the problem, then The ISG Study Group 27 mentioned it almost in passing, the President 28 called attention to a Shiite holy site, the Golden Mosque of Samarra which was bombed in order to incite the Shiites to even more violence, and then the release of a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate 30 capped our understanding.

All these pieces of the puzzle came together to validate this MILNET briefing and solidly pointed at the conflict as the key element destabilizing all of the Middle East, not just Iraq. Included in this timeframe are Iraq (with Iran and Syria pushing their particular sect's involvement), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and of course withing the Palestinians as well. 

And then on February 12, a Washington Post reporter wrote an excellent and succinct account of the changing tensions between Sunni and Shiites in the Middle East, focusing on the "Arab Street" in Saudi Arabia calling the tension the most dangerous element in the Middle East. 31

Using the latest information, MILNET has drawn up a graphic representing Iraq and its neighbors:




Sources: (bolded articles/documents are key to the discussion)
  1. Islamic Traditions of Wahhabist and Salifiyya, Febe Armanios , CRS, 12/22/2003
  2. Islamic Traditions of Wahhabist and Salifiyya, Christopher Blanchard, CRS, 2/10/2005 (adds 2004 State Department  declaration of Saudi Arabia as a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act.
  3. Islamic Religious Schools, Madrasas:  Background, Christopher Blanchard, CRS, 2/10/2005
  4. Wahhabist, Christain Trumpets Sounding, 10/18/2005
  5. Mahoodi's Article on Takfir, The Lahore Almadiyyah Movement, 5/01/2003
  6. takfir, a definition, Atheism About.Com, undated
  7. Sunni, discussion, Atheism About.Com, undated
  8. Religious Politics in Iraq, USI  Peace Briefing, United States Institute of Peace, 5/27/2003
  9. Syria Country Study, FRS, U.S. Library of Congress, April 1987 (MILNET Mirror)
  10. Syria, About Atheism.COM, undated
  11. Saudi Arabia: Country Profile, FRS, U.S. Library of Congress, September, 2006 (MILNET Mirror)
  12. Council of Ministers of Iraq, Wikipedia
  13. Jordan Religious Freedom Report 2003, Atheism About.Com
  14. Currently Listed Entities, taken from the "Gazette" published by the Candaian Government), reviewed 11/09/2006
  15. International Religious Freedom Report 2006: Syria, U.S. Department of State, 9/15/2006
  16. What is the Difference Between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, History News Network, 9/02/2002
  17. Hezbollah, Council on Foreign Relations, 7/17/2006
  18. Politics of Lebanon, Wikipedia
  19. Lebanon Country Study, FRS, U.S. Library of Congress, December 1987 (MILNET Mirror)
  20. Demographics of Egypt, Wikipedia
  21. Demographics of Pakistan, Wikipedia
  22. Demographics of Iran, Wikipedia
  23. Demographics of Turkey, Wikipedia
  24. Demogrpahics of Qatar, Wikipedia
  25. Demographics of Kuwait, Wikipedia
  26. Yemen, Alert Net
  27. Iraq Study Group Report, 12/11/2006
  28. President Bush's Broadcast Speech Transcript, 1/10/2007
  29. Fact Sheet: The New Way Forward in Iraq, The White House, 01/10/07
  30. Prospects for Iraq's Stability: A Challenging Road Ahead, An NIE prepared by the National Intelligence Council, January 2007
  31. Across Arab World, A Widening Rift, Anthony Shadid, Washington Post, 02/12/07
  32. Religion by Location, Adherents.com, Wyoming thru Yugoslavia, undated
  33. Flash Map of Middle East, The Southern Baptist Convention, International Mission Board, undated
  34. Shia Muslims in Oman, Aethism.com, January 1993
  35. Al Qaeda, The Council on Foreign Relations, 07/07/2005
  36. Key Sunni Official Urges Participation, A.P., MSNBC, 02/16/07


FLASH Graphic from A.P./LA Times


FLASH GRAPHIC:  Shiite Power
A.P./LA Times



Some useful quotations:


http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/islam/bldef_takfir.htm

takfir
Definition: This is the act of identifying someone as a kafir - unbeliever. Some Muslims believe that the right to do this lies only with God.

Some, however, think that humans are allowed to make such an identification. Doing so has been an important part of Islamic fundamentalism - Muslims are not allowed to wage war on each other, but they can wage war on unbelievers. Thus, if a society or group can be labeled as unbelieving, it becomes religious acceptable to engage in even armed battle with them.




http://www.muslim.org/movement/maudoodi/art-takfir.htm
Mahoodi's Article on Takfir, The Lahore Almadiyyah Movement, 5/01/2003

"to abuse a Muslim is an act of wrong-doing, and to fight a Muslim is an act of kufr." 

This article goes on to relate how, in scripture, Muhammud taught that accusations or believes of poor Muslim practice did not give one the right to declare a Muslim takfir, but that instead one should look at the person's daily life AND be cautious, erring on the side of tolerance.  Above all, Muhammad said it is better to mistakenly assume somone is a good Muslim and a believer, rather than to kill someone who might not be a non-believer or because of their lack of belief.  Read the colloquy between Muhammad and a follower, it is quite illustrative of this teaching.

"The Holy Prophet said:

“Woe to you! Who on earth is more obliged to fear God than me!”

Khalid Ibn Walid was present. He said:

“Messenger of Allah, should I not kill him?”

The Holy Prophet said:

“No, perhaps he says his prayers.”

Khalid said:

“Many are they who say their prayers, but do not have in their hearts what they say with their tongues.”

The Holy Prophet said:

“I have not been commanded to open up the hearts of people or to cut open their insides.”

Imam Shafi‘i and Ahmad in their Musnads and Imam Malik in the Mu’atta have recorded the report that once a man from among the Ansar was talking confidentially with the Holy Prophet. Suddenly the Holy Prophet said loudly [about someone]:

“Does he not bear witness that there is no god but Allah?”

The Ansari said:

“Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah, but his testimony cannot be trusted.”

The Holy Prophet said:

“Does he not accept that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?”

He again replied:

“Yes, he professes it but his profession cannot be trusted.”

The Holy Prophet said:

“Does he not pray?”

He again said:

“Yes he does, but his prayer cannot be trusted.”

The Holy Prophet said:

“God has forbidden me to kill such people.”

-  The Holy Prophet as taught by Maulana Maudoodi, Fitna-i Takfir (‘The mischief of calling Muslims as kafir’),  Tarjuman al-Quran in its May 1935 issue. lso I.Tafhimat, Part II (eleventh edition, Islamic Publications, Lahore, March 1984, pages 177–190

[Using this colloquy, it can be said that the Muslims killing Muslims, for instance in Iraq, is in direct conflict with the teachings of Muhammad. - MILNET]



http://www.christiantrumpetsounding.com/whabbism.htm

Wahhabist

The goal of the Wahhabisis is world domination through mass conversion or mass extermination.

Wahhabis only provide non-Wahhabis with two alternatives:  conversion or death.

Most "Islamic" mosques, community centers and organizations in North America and Europe are in fact Saudi and Gulf State funded Wahhabi mosques, community centers and organizations.  These have been well prepared for decades to serve as the launching pads for coming mass murder attacks in North America and Europe.

Wahhabi money flows through most Middle East studies departments at academic institutions in North America and Europe. Wahhabi money flows through a good deal of the Western press, such as Cable Network News, which would be better renamed Saudi Network News.

Since the 1960s, the Wahhabi Saud have been building up their religious networks in North America and Europe through active missionary activities among local host populations. Thousands upon thousands of people from North America and Europe have converted to Wahhabist and are prepared to commit mass murder in the name of this religion.

Wahhabis fear neither torture nor death.  On the contrary, Wahhabis rejoice in death, suicide and mass murder.  Death is no deterrent for those who want to die. Wahhabist is an evil, demonic, satanic religion.



http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RS21695.pdf

The Islamic Tradition of Wahhabist and Salifiyya, Congressional Research Service, 12/22/2003

"...generally refers to a movement that seeks to purify the Islamic religion of any innovations or practices that deviate from the seventh-century teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and his companions...believers to this creed prefer to call themselves "Unitarians" (muwahiddun) or "Salifyyuan".



http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/countries/bl_SyriaIslamSunni.htm

In theory, a Sunni approaches his God directly because the religion provides him no intercession of saints, no holy orders, no organized clerical hierarchy, and no true liturgy. In practice, however, there are duly appointed religious figures, some of whom exert considerable social and political power. Among them are men of importance in their community who lead prayers and give sermons at Friday services. Although in the larger mosques the imams are generally well-educated men who are informed about political and social affairs, an imam need not have any formal training. Among beduin, for example, any literate member of the tribe may read prayers from the Quran. Committees of socially prominent worshipers usually run the major mosques and administer mosque-owned land and gifts.



http://www.semp.us/biots/biot_232.html - references Daniel Pipes at: 
2. Daniel Pipes: The Alawi Capture of Power in Syria, 1989. Available online at: http://www.danielpipes.org/article/191. Accessed July 4, 2005

‘Alawis “perceive themselves as the unique and only true monotheistic faith, distinct form the rest of Islam, including the Shi’a. The Muslims, for their part, have generally tended to regard them as heretics, outside the Muslim fold.” (Bar-Asher & Kofsy, p. 2)

“The specifics of the ‘Alawi faith are hidden not just from outsiders but even from the majority of the 'Alawis themselves. In contrast to Islam, which is premised on direct relations between God and the individual believer, ‘Alawism permits only males born of two ‘Alawi parents to learn the religious doctrines…‘Alawis…reject Islam’s sacred law, the Shari’a, and therefore indulge in all manner of activities that Islamic doctrine strictly forbids. ‘Alawis ignore Islamic sanitary practices, dietary restrictions, sexual mores, and religious rituals. Likewise, they pay little attention to the fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage ceremonies of Islam; indeed, they consider the pilgrimage to Mecca a form of idol worship.



http://www.eyespymag.com/terrorgroupsP-Q.htm 


The Palestine Liberation Front -   Jabhat al-Tahrir al-Filistiniyyah

The founders - Fathi Shqaqi, `Abd al-`Aziz `Odah and Bashir Musa - were disappointed by the supposed moderation of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and what they considered the neglect by the Egyptian Islamists of the priority that should be given to the Palestinian problem. Shqaqi and Musa, therefore, proposed a new ideological program, which became the basis for the new organization. They claimed that the unity of the Islamic world was not a precondition for the liberation of Palestine, but on the contrary, the liberation of Palestine by the Islamic movements was the key to the unification of the Arab and Islamic world. In other words: the Jihad for the liberation of Palestine by Islamic movements will bring upon the expected Jihad for the reconstruction of the greater and one Islamic state.

The admiration of the three Palestinian militants for the Islamic revolution in Iran was at that time unique of its kind in the Arab world and among the Islamic Sunni movements. Not only did they consider the Iranian revolution as a model for the Arab world, but they accepted the principle of "the leadership of the men of religion" (vilayet-i-faqih) although it was a Shi'ite concept. Shqaqi was also the first in the Arab Sunni world to write, already in March 1979, a book glorifying Khomeini and the Iranian revolution, which was banned by the Egyptian authorities.





http://www.henrythornton.com/article.asp?article_id=4229
Hubris from Israel`s Friend

"The engine driving Sunni Islam today is the Saudi Arabian poison called Salafi/Wahhabi Islam. These are the REAL haters of Israel/Jews/Christians/ The West/ Modernity. Shiites are not opposed to Western progress. They are not especially good at it and are very slow in moving, but they are not hysterically opposed to it like the totally reactionary Sunni Wahhabis. When all our pro western friends in the muslim world are overthrown, they will be replaced with psychotic Sunni mullahs with four wives apiece. Get this glaring truth through your thick skulls."

- Sir Wellington Boot
No.12 Karbala Road
Muharram Village
Sistani-by-Sea.



© Copyright 2006,2007  Michael G. Crawford