How has the conflict between the sunnis and the shiites changed over the years?

Answer 1

It depends on the time period in question.

Part 1: First Years of the Schism

the friends and followers of Ali believed that after the death of prophet, the caliphate and religious authority belonged to ALI. this belief came from consideration of Ali's position and station in relation to the prophet , his relation to the chosen among the companions , as well as his relation to muslim as general.

it was only the events that occurred during the few days of the prophet final illness that indicated that there was opposition to their view, contrary expectation, at the very moment when the prophet died and his body lay still unburied while his household and a few companion occupied with for his burial and funeral services , the friend and followers of Ali received news of the activity of another group who had gone to the mosque where community where gathered faced with this sudden loss of its leader.

this group ,Which was later ti form the majority , set forth in great haste to select a caliph for the muslim with the aims of the ensuring the welfare of the community and solving its immediate problems. they did this without consulting the household of the prophet , his relatives or many of his friends who were busy with funeral and without providing them with the least information. thus Ali and his companions were presented with a fait accompli .

Ali and his friends such as Abbas , Zubayr , Salman . Abu Dharr , Meghdad and Ammar, after finishing with the burial of the body of the prophet became aware of the proceedings by which the caliph had been selected . they proteted against the act of choosing the caliph by consultation or election , and also against those who were responsible for carrying it out.

they even presented their own proofs and arguments but the answer they received was that the welare of the muslims was at sake and the solution lay in what had been done.it was this protest and criticism which separated from the majority the minority that were following Ali and made his followers known to society as the partisans or shiah of Ali . the caliphate of the time was anxious to guard against this appellation being given to the Shiite minority and thus to have muslim society divided into sections comprised of a majority and a minority .

THE supporters of the caliph considered the caliphate to be a matter of the consensus of the community , and called those who objected the opponents of allegiance . they claimed that the shiiah stood, therefore opposed to muslim society .sometimes the shiiah were given other pejorative and degrading names.

shiism was condemn from the first moment because of the political situation of the time and thus it couild not accomplish anything through mere political protest.

Ali in order to safeguard the well-being of islam and the muslims and also because of lack of sufficient political and military power did not endeavor to begin an uprising aganst the existing political order which would have been of a bloody nature . yet those who proteted against the established caliphate refused to surrender to the majority in certain questions of faith and continued to hold that the succession to the prophet and the religious authority belonged by right to Ali. they believed all spiritual and religious matters should be refered to him and invited people to becime his followers.

Part 2: Over the Centuries:

The victory by the Umayyads over Ali in the Islamic Civil War (661 C.E.), led to the dominant position of Sunni Islam over Shiite Islam. Shiite Islam became a repressed and violently reactionary minority, leading to the overthrow of the Umayyads in the Middle East by the Abbassids. The Abbassids had promised the Shiites a better position in the empire, but this turned out to be a lie. This resulted in several Shiite revolts and independent Islamic States in Northern Africa, such as the Idrissids who were Zaydi Shiites and the Fatimids who were Ismaili Shiites.

The Rise of the Fatimid Caliphate altered the balance between Sunnis and Shiites since both were now able to raise large armies and control empires. It also led to the crystallization of Islamic sects being a symbol of citizenship in these new empires. This would become even more important after the Crusades when the Ottoman Empire, the Sunni successor to the Seljuk Sultanate (also Sunni) had a rivalry with the Safavid Empire of Persia which was Twelver Shiite. The Ottomans saw all Twelver Shiites as an internal fifth column and the Safavids saw their Sunnis similarly. This led to repression of the minority sect with strong national overtones. It is worth noting, though, that these repressions were internal and localized. As many calls as there were in the Middle Ages to launch jihad on Non-Islamic Countries, almost none were directed against Islamic countries of the other sect.

Another major change that occurred over the centuries was that the Sunni and Shiite theology which were originally similar diverged. The concept of the Infallible Imams as well as differences in Prayer Styles and Eschatology emerged and crystallized, leading to actual faith differences as opposed to leadership differences. Some sects of Shiites, like the Druze, Baha'i, Alawites, and Alevis are considered to be so different from the Shiite mainstream that they are seen as distinct religions (sometimes by their adherents as well).

However, there is no general conflict between all or almost all Sunnis and Shiites in the way that there were conflicts in Europe between almost all Catholics and Protestants in the 16th and 17th century (Thirty Years War et al.). While there are certainly conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites, it is always in a localized or national context, not an international one. In much of the Muslim world, "Sunni" and "Shiite" are viewed as more than just religious labels, but are still seen as a mark of citizenship or belonging. It has the power to determine social groups and political organizations, prompting conflict on those grounds. In countries today with both Sunnis and Shiites, we see friction between the two groups on a domestic level.

Answer 2

The major split in Islam is that between the majority Sunnis and the minority Shiites. The split goes back to events in the 7th century:

After Mohammed's death in 632, leadership of the Islamic community passed to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, one of Mohammed's closest companions. Some in the community felt that this succession was not legitimate, and that the title of caliph really belonged to Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali's claim was supported by the fact that he was Mohammed's cousin, his adopted son, his first convert (at the age of nine), and husband of his daughter Fatima. Both sides believe that Mohammed specifically designated their man: Supporters of Abubakr became the Sunnis, those of ibn Ali the Shiite.

Answer 3

It is an undeniable fact that Shias and Sunnies represent two different sects. They remain at loggerheads most of time in most of places. However, the conflict was not religious. It was political. The Sunnis have no objection to the beliefs of Shias like:

Imamat or the way they offer prayer or the Kalma they recite, or Muttaa (temporary marriage), taqqiya, so and so on. The thing that provokes Sunnis to fight against Shias is:

The derogatory, insulting and offensive remarks and filthy uttering of Shias against the holy Companions (RAU) whom Almighty Allah has many times mentioned as the criterion of Eeman (Faith). In Sura Fateh 1400 Companions (RAU) woved to sacrifice their lives at the hands of the Holy Prophet (SAW) to avenge the rumored about death of Hazrat Usman (RAU). Almighty Allah likes that wove and appreciates the Companions (RAU). The holy Companions of the Prophet (SAW) sacrificed their lives, properties and even kith and kin for the sake of Islam. Almighty Allah has given them a certificate of His pleasure in the following words:

Translation: Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him.

The Shias curse them, and also curse the wives (Mothers of all Muslims) of the holy Prophet (SAW). How can a true Muslim tolerate his Mothers being cursed and blamed, and their effigies being burned and thrown shoes at? How can a true Muslim tolerate Hazrat Abu Bakr RAU and Hazrat Omar RAU being disgraced publically and cursed on loudspeakers? It was Hazrat Abu Bakr RAU whom the holy Prophet (SW) appointed to lead the Muslims in their prayers. It was not Hazrat Ali RAU or even Hazrat Abbas RAU, the beloved Uncle of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW). Worldly Caliphate is not inherited by Prophets. The Companions RAU chose Hazrat Abu Bakr RAU their Caliph who proved the only suitable choice for this important duty.

This is the only cause of fighting between the two groups. Shiaism is the only religion in which abusing and cursing the holy personalities of Islam is the basic belief. Keeping one's true ideas and faith hidden (Taqiyya) is also considered to be their basic belief. Hazrat Ali RAU, Hazrat Hassan RAU, Hazrat Hussain RAU never started doing such nefarious and immoral activities, neither did they initiated Ashoora processions, beating their chests and wounding them with chains. Islam does not permit hateful remarks and such things even against Hinduism, Budhism or any other religion. The holy Prophet (SAW) is Rahmat (Mercy) for all creatures of all Ages. He never taught or preached cursing others. Those who claim to be Muslims should surrender unconditionally to the Will of Almighty Allah, Who has created us all and loves us all, humans, birds, animals, fish and even plants.

Answer 4

Answer 1

the way they did their religions

Answer 2

The Shiites and the Sunnis are two Sects of the Muslims. They have same basic beliefs. They have minor differences of interpretation. They are NOT separate religions in the strict sense.

Answer 3

In the early days of Islam, the Fitna Al-Kubra (Islamic Civil War) broke out between Sunnis, led by the Umayyad Caliphs and the Shiites led by 'Ali and the remnant of his family. (There was also a third party, but they are less important.) Eventually, the Umayyad Caliphate was victorious and began to destroy the remnant of 'Ali's family. Caliph Yazid I of the Umayyad Caliphate ordered the execution of Imam Hussein. The murder of Hussein began to transform the identity of the Shiites and plays a central role in their beliefs. Additionally the Umayyad government wanted to create a Sunni Arab aristocracy and therefore applied the jiyza tax not only to Jews and Christians, but to Mawali (non-Arab Muslims) and the Shiite Muslims, regardless of whether they were Arab or Mawali. Shiite Muslims were also banned from most government positions under the Umayyads. Finally, the Umayyads continued to seek out the Shiite Infallible Imams, torture them and murder them. These things created a direct religious conflict.

The successors to the Umayyads, the Abbassids, were marginally better, but there was still repression of Shiite customs. The first independent Shiite State was Idrissid Morocco. As the Abbassid Caliphate began to break up there were roughly the same number of Shiite States and Sunni States. The conflict between the two became less about religious doctrine and more about using the religion as an identifier of customs and traditions. The Ottomans trusted the Seljuks but brutally opposed the Safavids because the former were Sunni and the latter were Shiite and the Ottomans were Sunnis themselves.

In the modern Middle East, there are issues that divide Sunnis and Shiites, but the various military conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites do not sum up to being a "universal" conflict of Sunni Islam against Shiite Islam. In many countries, especially Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, people identify "ethnically" by their sect of religion. Therefore saying somebody is Shiite in Iraq is similar to how people view being Irish-American or Japanese-American in the United States. It marks you socially and it determines who your friends are, who you marry, what jobs you take, who you love, who you despise, etc. As a result, whenever conflict has broken out, each religious group comes together to defend its people's interests. That is why you will hear about the Sunni-Shiite conflicts in Iraq or in Syria, etc. They are not fighting over religious ideology, but using their religious identities as ethnic identifiers.

Answer 5

there are two problems of succession and authority between shia and sunni . in accordance with the islamic teaching which form its basis , shiism believed that the most important question facing islamic society was the elucidation and clarification of islamic teaching and the tenets of the religious sciences . only after such clarifications were made could be application of these teachings to the social order be considered . in other words , shiism believed that , before all else , members of siciety should be able to gain a true vision of the world and of men based of the real nature of things . only then could they know and perform their duties as human beings-in which lay their real welfare-even if the performance of these religious duties were to be against their desires . after carrying out this first step , a religious government should preserve and excute real islamic order in society in such a way that man would worship none other than God , would possess personal and social freedom to the extent possible and would benefit srom true personal and social justice .

these two ends could be accomplished only by a person who was inerrant and protected by god from having faults . otherwise people could become rulers or religious authorities who would not be free from the possibility of distoration of thought or the commoting of treachery in the duties placed upon their shoulders. were this to happen , the just and freedom-giving rule of islam could gradually be converted to dictatorial rule and completely autocratic government.

moreover , the pure religious teachings could become, as can be seen in the case of certan other religious , the victims of change and distoration in the hands of selfish scholrs given to satisfication of their carnal desires . as confirmed by holy prophet , Ali followed perfectely and completely the book of god and the tradition of the prophet in both words and deeds. As shiism sees it, if, as the majority say , only the Quraysh opposed the rightful caliphate of Ali, then that majority should have answered the Quraysh by asserting what was right. they should have quelled all opposition to the right cause in the same way that they fought against the group who refused to pay religious tax . the majority should not have remained indifferent to what was right for few of the opposition of Qurayesh .

what prevented te shiaah from accepting the elective method of choosing the caliphate by the people was the the fear of the unwholsome consequences that might result from it: fear of possible corruption in islamic government and of the destruction of the solid basis for the sublime religious sciences.As it happened,later event in islamic history confirmed this fear or predication , with the result that the shiites became even firmer in their belief . during the earliest years , however, because of the small number of the followers , shiism appeared outwardly to have been absorbed into the majority , although privately it continued to insist on acquiring the islamic sciences from the household of the prophet and invite people to its cause. At the same time , in order to preserve the power of islam nd sfeguard its progress, shiism did not display any opposition the men of islamic society.members of the shiite community even fought hand in hand with the sunni majority in holy wars and participated in public of affairs . Ali himself guided the sunnu majority in the interest of the whole islam , whenever such actions was neccessary.

Answer 6

Answer 1

There is no conflict between Sunnis and Shiites.

They disagree only on minor side issues that not affecting basic Islam beliefs. They ; for example; disagreed on the way the successor of the prophet (after his death) should be chosen. Muslims elected Abou Bakr to be the first Caliph after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death. However, some Muslims believed that the successor should be from the family of the prophet and hence should Ali Ibn Abou Taleb (the prophet cousin and husband of his daughter). However, after the election of AbouBakr, they joined the majority and even Ali Ibn Abou Taleb (God be pleased with him) supported the elected Caliph. The same scenario was repeated after election of Omar Ibn Alkhattab as the second Caliph and Othman Ibn Affan as the third Caliph. Ali Ibn Abou Taleb was then elected as the fourth Caliph.

Sunnis and Shiites are just two Islamic schools that differ in minor issues.The outsiders are trying to feed up assumed differences and conflicts between Muslim groups to gain control on Muslim countries and on their resources. The two main groups are Sunnis and Shiites. Both groups agree upon basic Islam pillars, believe in same and only version of Quran, believe and follow the sunnah of same prophet (PBUH), pray to same direction (facing Kaba in Makkah or Mecca in Saudi Arabia, go to same places on pilgrimage (or Hajj), and adhere to same Islam morals and ritual worships. They only differ on some side issues that are not critical.

Some other groups as Taliban and Al-Qaeda are in disagreement with both Sunnis and Shiites true Muslims.

Answer 2

Human has freedom and beleiving in Shia Islam or Sunni Islam is a personal choice and according to Quran no compulsion should be in religion. every human is free claim one is better but it needs reasoning and evidence based on Quran and Hadith and authentic history. when prophet Muhammad SAWW died and Ali a.s was at funeral of prophet SAWW quickly a leader was elected while prophet SAWW was not still buried. and it was start of division between supporters of Ali a.s. and supporter of elected ruler.

They just got divided on the way the successor of the prophet (after his death) should be. some of top Arab tribe bosses at Saqifeh elected Abou Bakr to be the first Caliph after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death and other Muslims were forced and even killed (for example سعد ابن عباده Saad Ib Ebadeh) to accept this ruler. Some like Ali a.s., Salman, Abuzar, Miqdad, Bilal,... disagreed this election. they believed that the successor should be Ali a.s. because God selected him as leader and not because he is relative of prophet SAWW. However, after the election of AbouBakr, they did not fight for power and Ali a.s helped the elected Caliph for survive of real Islam and to big enemies like Roman and Persian empires can not destroy Islam using civil war of Muslims. and always declared his disagreement with this election bu did not made civil war for power. The same scenario was repeated after election of Umar as the second Caliph by will of Abubakr and Othman as the third Caliph by election in a 6 persons meeting. when Muslims killed Uthman for his corruptions Ali a.s. was then elected as the fourth Caliph by majority of Muslims while he was not interested in power.

However, Sunnis and Shiites are two Islamic schools that differ in major (pillars of Islam) and minor issues. The world Imperialists know Islam is truth and if people know this they will lost power. so they try to make wars between Muslim groups to gain control on Muslim countries and on their resources. for example they bomb a shia mosque and tell in media that sunni did it and so on. The two main groups are Sunnis and Shiites. Both groups agree upon basic Islam pillars(unless Imamat (Islamic rules for political leadership)) and believe in same and only version of Quran and follow the sunnah of same prophet (PBUH), pray to same direction (facing Kaba in Makkah or Mecca in Saudi Arabia, go to same places on pilgrimage (or Hajj), and adhere to same Islam morals and ritual worships. Thier main differ is in Imamat.shia beleives based on Quran and Islam the only one who has the right to elect the leader is God and Muslims do not have such a right in Islam.

Answer 3

There are issues that divide Sunnis and Shiites, but the various military conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites do not sum up to being a "universal" conflict of Sunni Islam against Shiite Islam. In many countries, especially Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, people identify "ethnically" by their sect of religion. Therefore saying somebody is Shiite in Iraq is similar to how people view being Irish-American or Japanese-American in the United States. It marks you socially and it determines who your friends are, who you marry, what jobs you take, who you love, who you despise, etc. As a result, whenever conflict has broken out, each religious group comes together to defend its people's interests. That is why you will hear about the Sunni-Shiite conflicts in Iraq or in Syria, etc. They are not fighting over religious ideology, but using their religious identities as ethnic identifiers.

Answer 4

There are some Shiites who believe that there is a Sunni conspiracy behind the Death of Mohammed and the "Seizure" of the Caliphate. More can be read on this view at the Related Link below.

Answer 7

Answer 1

No conflict between Sunnis and Shiites. They are both Muslims believing in same God, same holy book Quran, same God prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them), praying to same direction, going for pilgrimage (hajj) to same places and doing same rituals, and fasting same month of Ramadan. Accordingly, the relations between Sunnis and Shiites are normal relations with no conflicts or clashes.

Answer 2

the main conflicts are from wahhabi extremist sunni groups like Al-Qaede, Taliban,...

Answer 3

There is no universal conflict between Sunnis and Shiites and the majority of Sunnis and Shiites do not feel strongly opposed to members of the other sect, but a large vocal minority in each camp still do. There are several reasons for this animosity, leading to sectarianism and violent conflict in several Muslim-majority states.

1) Historical Grievances: The primary reason this division persists is that there has never been an atonement by either side for the pain and persecution that it has suffered when the other was in power over a given territory. Although, Shiites endured more persecution at the hands of Sunnis than the reverse, this is not to say that Sunnis have not endured persecution at Shiite hands. Both groups remain defiant that since they have the moral high-ground as granted from their faith, their actions in repressing the other sect, torturing its adherents, and murdering its leaders was progress towards removing the heresy. Compare this to the Catholics, who have apologized for the Rape of Byzantium, which was huge historical grievance between them and the Orthodox.

2) Ethnic Identities: In many countries, especially Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, people identify "ethnically" by their sect of religion. Therefore saying somebody is Shiite in Iraq is similar to how people view being Irish-American or Japanese-American in the United States. It marks you socially and it determines who your friends are, who you marry, what jobs you take, who you love, who you despise, etc. As a result, whenever conflict has broken out, each religious group comes together to defend its people's interests. This results in political and social hatred of the other religion in addition to any theological issues.

3) Rumors of the Other's Theology: Some Sunnis think that Shiites are deluded into believing that 'Ali was a second prophet, which would violate Mohammed being the final capstone of the Prophets, a huge theological issue. Some Shiites believe that Sunnis were paid off to accept the three Rightly-Guided Caliphs before 'Ali and that Sunni Islam was therefore corrupt and ineligible to continue the Islamic tradition. Both have alleged the other was deceived by Jews, which says more about how Muslims view Jews than each other. Of course, both of these are mis-characterizations of the actual theologies of these two sects, but the point remains that as long as these problematic rumors exist, the two sides cannot reconcile.

4) Approaches to Government: Ever since the abolition of the Caliphate in 1936, Sunni Islam has been leaderless and there has come to be an understanding that religion does not participate in actual governance. (This is not a separation of church and state since the two can cooperate closely, but this prevents direct theocracy.) Shiites, on the other hand, have religious leaders called Ayatollahs who do attempt to have terrestrial authority and in Iran have actually achieved it.

Answer 8

shia and sunni have mainly conflict on Imamat (leadership).

shia say Imamat is one of 5 pillars of Islam and only God can select leader for people. but sunni say Imamat is not part of Islam and leader can be selected by people by any method like shura (for example for Abubakr) or by will of previous leader for example for Omar) or by people (for example for Ali).

the conflict of shia and sunni has been always amplified by world Imperialism to prevent Islam from spreading in world.

Shia believes in Allah, prophet and all fundamentals of Islam.

Shia pray 5 times a day but usually do the 2, 3 and 4, 5 pray together and so may seem they do only 3 pray a day. there is some differences in details of pray like genuflect (for shia should be on a stone or part of earth and for sunni on carpet or floor ).

shia believe after death of prophet God selected the successive for prophet who is the political leader of Muslim community and people can not and does not the right to selected it.

shia refers to many verse of Quran like: "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority" (Quran 2:30) or "O David! We did indeed make thee a vicegerent on earth" (Quran 38:26) also other verses.

Shia believes such verses means only God can select an Islamic political leader (Caliph) and there is no mention in Quran people have the right to select leader. and shura is not allowed to be used for selecting leader and prophet himself always selected leaders of wars and other leaders by command of God.

In Shia Islam Caliphs after prophet are 12 infallible Imams who have inherented divine knowledge of prophet.

Shia Muslims do not consider selection of Abubakr as Caliph by people valid because God did not select him. They believe God ordered prophet to declare people that Ali is selected as successor of prophet and prophet did this mission many times during his prophet-hood and mainly in Ghadir event after last Hajj of his life at a 3-4 hour speech in front of 120,000 Muslims at Ghadir in hot desert after 2 days stop of long caravan for gathering and 3 days after speech for congratulations and homage of Muslims to Ali.

Islam at that time had high power in world and Some companions had high interest in leadership position after prophet. Muslims knew that it is the final Hajj of prophet (predicted by prophet) and were going along with prophet to hear what prophet says at end of his life.

Shia believes Ghadir event is the most important event of Islam and is mentioned in Koran in many verses like "Today" (اليوم) in verse 5:3 of Quran is the day of Ghadir. Or Verse 5:67: "(O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject Faith)" is revealed at Ghadir day and is about declaring political and spritual leadership of Ali S.A. after prophet.

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims accept happening of Ghadir event But different interpret. Some Sunni writers tried to reject the event of Ghadir as declare of leadership of Ali S.A. and said at Ghadir prophet only wanted to say Ali S.A. is my friend and no one should bother him.

Ali S.A. had 3 different missions to Yemen by prophet during 10 years and in 2 of them some companions of prophet had some conflicts with Ali S.A. and prophet said some sayings about Ali S.A. to solve conflicts and some sunni writers have mixed stories of missions of Ali S.A. to Yemen with story of Ghadir to prove Ghadir event is not about Leadership of Ali and is not important.

Shia scholars believe some Sunni writers who were related to Kigns have changed and deviated historical evidences about political leadership of Ali S.A. in old historical books and republished them to destroy evidences of leadership of Ali from old Sunni books.

The famous Shia book Al-Ghadir (الغدير) by Allameh Amini is a collection of evidences and proofs for Ghadir Events written all from sunni historical books by referring to 100,000 Sunni books and full reading of 10,000 sunnyi books. Allameh Amini is a famous Shia scholar and spent 40 years of his life in travelling to access original old Sunni books in libraries in different countries to write this 20 volume book only from Sunni books and not using any Shia book. Some Sunni scholars tried to reply this book but then said if we want to reply this book we should first destroy all sunni books.

Shia doctrine have root in Battle Karbala.

When tragedy of Karbala happened most of Iranians understood there is two different interpret of Islam that both can not be true. so most of Iranians became shia and followers of "Ahl al-Bayt" and forgive their lives for them like what they did in Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War.

Shia Muslims have at least 120,000 Hadith (saying) from The Fourteen Infallibles that is the base of Shia Islam along with Quran.

Shia believes according to " Hadith of the two weighty things" The Fourteen Infallibles are the only valid interpreters of Quran and sayings of them are from God because they are Representative of God in earth and they have heired divine knowledge of prophet.

Shia believes 12th of them (Imam Mahdi S.A.) is alive and because people have killed all 11 Imams before him, he is in occultation like Jesus S.A. and will rise with Jesus S.A. when people become ready and want to accept his leadership. All 11 Imams have been killed and during their life they all have been in prison or under hard control of government to not have any political acttivity.

They never had enough serious followers to can get political power. Among them only the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was relatively free (for transition of power between Umayyads and Abbasids) to have only scientific activities and so only he is known in west because he established university and had students from all over the world. Westerns know him as a polymath: an astronomer, alchemist, Imam, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, writer, philosopher, physician, physicist and scientist. He was also the teacher of the famous chemist, Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber), and of Abū Ḥanīfa, the founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He never wanted be a famous man and only shared his knowledge with who seeked knowledge. Some researchers consider his teachings the root cause of renaissance.

Sunni Muslims also accept Mahdi and his worldwide leadership as Caliph of God in earth at end of world. There is a famous Hadith from prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that Mahdi at occultation is like sun behind cloud, he is hidden from people but people receive his benefits.

Shia Muslims say some faithful believers have connection with Mahdi and use his knowledge and at least 1000 persons have had connection and talk with Mahdi during his occultation but Any one having relation with Mahdi S.A. should keep it secret and does not declare it in public until death.

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They disagree on minor side issues that not affecting basic Islam beliefs. They ; for example; disgreed on the way the successor of the prophet (after his death) should be chosen. Muslims elected Abou Bakr to be the first Caliph after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death. However, some Muslims believed that the successor should be from the family of the prophet and hence should Ali Ibn Abou Taleb (the prophet cousin and husband of his daughter). However, after the election of AbouBakr, they joined the majority and even Ali Ibn Abou Taleb (God be pleased with him) supported the elected Caliph. The same scenario was repeated after election of Omar Ibn Alkhattab as the second Caliph and Othman Ibn Affan as the third Caliph. Ali Ibn Abou Taleb was then elected as the fourth Caliph.

Sunnis and Shiites are just two Islamic schools that differ in minor issues.The outsiders are trying to feed up assumed differences and conflicts between Muslim groups to gain control on Muslim countries and on their resources. The two main groups are Sunnis and Shiites. Both groups agree upon basic Islam pillars, believe in same and only version of Quran, believe and follow the sunnah of same prophet (PBUH), pray to same direction (facing Kaba in Makkah or Mecca in Saudi Arabia, go to same places on pilgrimage (or Hajj), and adhere to same Islam morals and ritual worships. They only differ on some side issues that are not critical.

Some other groups as Taliban and Al-Qaeda are in disagreement with both Sunnis and Shiites true Muslims.

Shia Islam is the branch of Muslims that believe in Imamat as one of five pillars of Islam. Imamat means that based on Quran only God has the right to select the leader and no human even prophet SAWW has such a right. Imam (political leader) has divine knowledge of prophet SAWW from God and is the only human that can lead all humans to all be in welfare and can meet God. according to shia prophet declared 12 Imams for leadership of humans after his death but for some political reasons they never could lead humans and all of them were killed or poisoned for political reasons. according to shia 12th Imam is currently alive and by will of God has a long life and guides and protects real believers all over the world but he is in occultation untill people of world really want him as their leader and do not kill him like his 11 fathers who were Imams of their own times after prophet. according to shia granted from God, Imam has the power of controlling all the universe (miracle) and can perform any miracle and has knowledge of everything ( but still there are things that only God knows). but he use this power only when is needed to protect real believers and surviev of real Islam for truth seekers.

Human has freedom and beleiving in Shia Islam or Sunni Islam is a personal choice and according to Quran no compulsion should be in religion. every human is free claim one is better but it needs reasoning and evidence based on Quran and Hadith and authentic history. when prophet Muhammad SAWW died and Ali a.s was at funeral of prophet SAWW quickly a leader was elected while prophet SAWW was not still buried. and it was start of division between supporters of Ali a.s. and supporter of elected ruler.

They just got divided on the way the successor of the prophet (after his death) should be. some of top Arab tribe bosses at Saqifeh elected Abou Bakr to be the first Caliph after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death and other Muslims were forced and even killed (for example سعد ابن عباده Saad Ib Ebadeh) to accept this ruler. Some like Ali a.s., Salman, Abuzar, Miqdad, Bilal,... disagreed this election. they believed that the successor should be Ali a.s. because God selected him as leader and not because he is relative of prophet SAWW. However, after the election of AbouBakr, they did not fight for power and Ali a.s helped the elected Caliph for survive of real Islam and to big enemies like Roman and Persian empires can not destroy Islam using civil war of Muslims. and always declared his disagreement with this election bu did not made civil war for power. The same scenario was repeated after election of Umar as the second Caliph by will of Abubakr and Othman as the third Caliph by election in a 6 persons meeting. when Muslims killed Uthman for his corruptions Ali a.s. was then elected as the fourth Caliph by majority of Muslims while he was not interested in power.

However, Sunnis and Shiites are two Islamic schools that differ in major (pillars of Islam) and minor issues. The world Imperialists know Islam is truth and if people know this they will lost power. so they try to make wars between Muslim groups to gain control on Muslim countries and on their resources. for example they bomb a shia mosque and tell in media that sunni did it and so on. The two main groups are Sunnis and Shiites. Both groups agree upon basic Islam pillars(unless Imamat (Islamic rules for political leadership)) and believe in same and only version of Quran and follow the sunnah of same prophet (PBUH), pray to same direction (facing Kaba in Makkah or Mecca in Saudi Arabia, go to same places on pilgrimage (or Hajj), and adhere to same Islam morals and ritual worships. Thier main differ is in Imamat.shia beleives based on Quran and Islam the only one who has the right to elect the leader is God and Muslims do not have such a right in Islam.