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There are many issues. I will try to explain from beginning Insh'allah.

At first was the chaliphate issue. As for Shi'as it is believed to be said that Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) had left a successor after him to guide the Muslim's so that they do not go astray. And that person is believed to be Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in the event that took place in the area called Ghadir Khoom.

But after the death of the prophet (pbuh) things changed. People have forgotten or felt like forgetting the Ghadir khoom event, and chose Abu Bakr as the Caliph.

And for the second issue was that Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan did not give his oath & Allegiance to Imam Ali (R.A). But the main reason was that the banu umayya's showed a harsh rule against the prophet's Ahlulbayt (Family). The prophets family has been treated very unevenly which includes tortures, prosecution and in some case's even murder.

And it is believed to be that the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein was the worse's that the banu umayyas could of done to the family of the holy prophet and to the religion.

For Sunni's the main reasons are said to be that the first issue which was the caliphate and the second and main issue for them was that they have accused the Shi'as of assaulting, swearing and dis-believing to the people which they count in account as the Sahabi's (companion's of the prophet).

Allah knows the best.

~

AnswerThe Islamic religion was founded by Muhammed in the seventh century. In 622 he founded the first Islamic state, a theocracy in Medina, a city in western Saudi Arabia located north of Mecca.

There are two major branches of the religion he founded.

The largest group, called the Sunnis believe that the first four caliphs--Muhammed's successors--rightfully took his place as the leaders of Islam. 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.

The smaller of the major groups are the Shi'ites. There are a number of subdivisions under the 'umbrella' of 'Shi'a' and although they differ in the details all of them believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, Ali, are the legitimate successors of Muhammed.

The Shi'ites call these successors Imams. Shi'ites do not accept that the Imam is to be only a political leader but they believe that they are literally 'manifestations of God', they are sinless, infallible and the bringers of true understanding to all humanity. They are referred to within the Shi'ite tradition as being masum, that is, free from error or sin. The last Imam, the Mahdi, is believed not to have died but to be in hiding and Shi'ites believe that he will appear at the end of time in order to bring about the victory of the Shi'a faith (see third paragraph below).

The main groups under the Shi'ite umbrella are the Zaydiyyah or Fivers, the Isma'iliyyah or Seveners and the Imamiyyah or Twelvers. The numbers five, seven and twelve refer to the last authorised interpreter of the law or Imam that each group accepts. Of the three the Twelvers are the biggest & it was in 931 that the Twelfth Imam disappeared.

This was a seminal event in the history of these Shi'ite Muslims. According to R. Scott Appleby, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, "Shi'ite 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.

The other important concept in Shi'ite Islam concerning the Imam (regardless of whether he was the Fifth, the Seventh or the Twelfth) is that he will return. He is called the Mahdi and will bring about the Kingdom of God on earth after an apocalyptic battle between the forces of Islam and the rest of the world. [Note that other groups descended from Shi'ia Islam such as the Babis and Baha'is define the 'battle at the end of time' as a symbolic or metaphysical one rather than an actual battle.]

A useful site link is listed below for information on the various groups is the Overview of World Religions site hosted by St Martin's College in the UK.

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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.

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12y ago

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