Shia Political Islam and Its Sunni Counterpart - Essay Example

and Sur and Sur Number the paper Differences between Shia political Islam and its Sunni counterpart intheoretical and practical dimensions Traditionally, Muslim communities are divided on several groups, with Sunni and Shia as the prominent minorities among them. Even though it is a religious difference, it also has a key role for social relations. By being different branches within theoretic Islam, political features of Shia and Sunni turn to be practically important for the existence of Islamic states. In fact, different rulers of Muslim countries clearly articulate their religious views and use certain kind of understanding the Quran while governing the country. In other words, each new leader is clearly sympathetic to either Shia or Sunni, which results in predictability of conflicts in certain public spheres. In addition, Muslim countries (like Pakistan and Iran) have a striking majority of one religious branch supporters among their populations. In the given circumstances, this paper provides both similarities and differences in the pair of two above-mentioned political Islam branches. In particular, both internal differences between Shia and Sunni and their attitude to foreign aid are the criteria for comparison. On the one hand, throughout the history writers of Shia and Sunni revealed different approaches to reading Quran and understanding what exactly a good society is. Even though both sects agree on three fundamental Islamic principles (monotheism, Day of Judgement, and parenthood), they use these prerequisites differently in explaining ordinary events that appeared after Mohammed’s life (Ameli and Malaei 32). As Ja’fari explains the term ‘Shi’a’, the essence of it refers to “followers, party, group, associates, partisans, or in rather looser sense, ‘supporters’” (6). In this situation, the word ‘mawla’ the Shia understand as leader and patron (Ja’fari 23). Hence, the Shia believe that Imam Ali is a successor of Muhammed they should worship as an authority (Ameli and Malaei 23). On the contrary, the definition of ‘Sunna’ refers to nobility and high moral qualities (Ja’fari 9). For them, ‘mawla’ is a friend, or the nearest kin (Ja’fari 23). Thus, they think Muslims had selected the leader after Muhammed, Abu-Bakr, among themselves, which underlines his equal status with other Muslims (Ameli and Malaei 23). This preposition leads to higher level of tolerance and acknowledgement. For example, Sunni commentators of religious texts tend to include the wives of Prophet while referring to his relatives (Ja’fari 18). In fact, this different attention to the details signalizes of different degree of patriarchy within families. In this situation, such generally unequal understanding of the balance of power should lead to contradiction between two branches not only in religious but also in social terms. In this context, Ja’fari highlights the preliminary role of “Spirit” in comparing Shia and Sunni that refers to fundamentally different approaches of Quran reading and is “working behind these rather minor differences” (268). At the same time, contemporary circumstances of religious states reveal differences in the level of radicalization rather between several schools within both Shia and Sunni than between these two sects. In fact, it means that implementation of both teachings is not clear even for their supporters. Moreover, the fact that Shia and hardline Sunni have an image of “dangerous and insidious temptations” (The Economist) represents the blurring differences between these two branches in the eyes of observers as well. Thus, the clear division between two schools of Islam is evident in considering the role of Mohammed’s successor and the unequal attention to the details of past events. Concerning modern reality, the differences between Shia and Sunni are not that clear. On another hand, conflict between fundamentalist and democratic forces in global context strengthened the above-mentioned internal differences between Shia and Sunni. As the international context shows, most of Muslims worldwide are Sunnis (roundly 80%) and most of the rest are Shia. In this proportion, most Muslim states are Sunni and Iran turns into “Shia bastion” (The Economist). Because of this national clarity, the opposition between two sects goes beyond separate societies and enters both regional and international arenas. In this context, the issues of foreign sponsorship and enlarged area of open conflicts between these sects make difference (Shah 452). In other words, division between Shia and Sunni is mostly a political conflict between the government and opposition, which they support by religious differences. In this perspective, Shi-Sunni conflicts result in tremendous amount of murders of intellectuals and politicians (Shah 446). At the same time, Western leaders tend to support rather Sunni leaders (The Economist), which sharpens the conflict between branches with either support or rejection of foreign democratic involvement. For example, cases like firebombing of Belgium’s biggest Shia mosque (The Economist) harms Western image in Muslim countries, especially among Shia religious group. In addition, the facts of Muslims’ discrimination supplements their radicalization and non-acceptance of Western involvement in Arabic countries (Ameli and Malaei 32). Even though religious Islam grounds on peace and non-violence, political appearance of Muslim countries via Western media have gained an international image of cruelty and non-tolerance (Shah 456). In the given circumstances, religious interpretations harmed political reality, especially in the states established “in the name of religious ideology” (Shah 445). Thus, it is relevant to state that political reality and international tension is the real driver of difference between Sunni and Shia. In sum, the analysis showed that the key differences between Shia and Sunni groups hide in considering the role of Mohammed’s successor, assessing the past events in Muslim history, and revealing the attitude towards international support for Islam countries. In the given circumstances, the common prerequisites of Islam appears to be a more sustainable similarity than numerous above-mentioned differences. In support of this preposition, currently Shia and Sunni ordinary people search for their similarities to create effective intercultural communication (Ameli and Malaei 38). Therefore, differences between Shia and Sunni are rather exaggerated by politicians and foreign observers than being conflicting overviews on social reality. Works Cited Ameli, S. and H. Molaei. “Religious Affiliation and Intercultural Sensitivity: Interculturality between Shia and Sunni Muslims in Iran.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36 (2012): 31-40. Print. Ja’fari, S. The Origins and Early Development of Shia Islam. Qum: Ansariyan Publications, 2014. Print. Shah, M. “Evolution of Sectarianism in Pakistan: A Threat to the State and Society.” A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, 29.2 (2014): 441-459. Print. The Economist. “The Sword and the Word.” The Economist. 12 May 2012. Web. Read More