After the death of Ali, his son, Hasan ibn Ali, who is recognized by the shiah as their second Imam, became caliph. This designation occurred in accordance with Ali's last will and testament and also by the allegiance of the community to Hasan . But Muawiyyah did not remain quiet before this event. he marched with his army toward Iraq , which was then the capital of the caliphate and began to wage war against Hasan.
Through different intrigues and the payment of great sums of money, Muawiyyah was able gradually to corrupt the aides and the generals of Hasan . finally he was able to force Hasan to hand the caliphate over to him so as to avoid bloodshed and to make peace. Hasan handed the cliphate to Muawiyyah on the condition that the caliphate would be return to him after the death of Muawiyyah and that no harm would come to his partisans.
In the year 40/661, Muawiyyah finally gained control of the caliphate. He then set out immediately for Iraq and in a speech to the people of that land said: " I did not find against you for the sake of the prayers or of fasting. These acts you can perform yourself. What I wanted to accomplish was to rule over you and this end I have achieved" . He also said : " the agreement I made with Hasan is null and void. It lies trampled under my feet". With this declaration, Muawiyyah made known to the people the real character of his government and revealed the nature of the program He had in mind. He indicated in his declaration that he would separate religion from politics and would not give any guarantees concerning religious duties and regulations. He would spend all his force to preserve and to keep alive his own power, whatever might be the cost. Obviously , a government of such a nature is more of a sultanate and a monarchy than a caliphate and vicegerency of prophet of God in its traditional Islamic sense. That is why so some who were admitted to his court addressed him as king. Naturally any monarchy that is based on force carries with it inherently the principle of inheritance. Muawiyyah too finally realized this fact and chose his son, Yazid who was a heedless young man without the least religious personality, as the crown prince and his successor. This act was to the cause of many regrettable events in the future. Muawiyyah had previously indicated that he would refuse to permit Hsan ibn Ali to succeed him as caliph and that he had other thoughts in mind. Therefore he had caused Hasan to to be killed by poisoning. Thus preparing the way for his sun Yazid.
In breaking his agreement with Hasan , Muawiyyah made it clear that he would never permit the shiiah of the household of the prophet to live in peaceful and secure environment and continue their activity as before , and he carries into actions this very intention. It hs been said that whoever would transmit a Hadith in praise of the virtues of the household of the prophet would have no ny immunity or protection concerning his life, merchandise and property. At the same time he ordered that whoever could recite a Hadith in praise of the other companions or caliphs would be given sufficient reward.
This actions also followed by the son of Muawiyyah, Yazid who killed the third Imam. Therefore we can say that the umayyah rule was the most difficult period for shiism.
Shiites
No. Under the Sunni Umayyads, Shiites were quite strongly discriminated against. After Yazid I martyred Hussein, the Shiites made it their mission in life to oppose every action of the Umayyad dynasty. It did not help matters that the Umayyads tortured and murdered Shiite Imams and Infallibles, leading to irreconcilability between the Shiites and the Umayyads.The anger happened specifically because Umayyads targeted Shiites and Mawali Sunnis (Sunnis who were not Arabs) for violence. They also had issues with control over the vast distances of their empire as well as noble Arab families that resented the Umayyads' rise and wanted power. (One of these rival families was the Abbassids, who would eventually take power from the Umayyads in a coup d'etat.)
ummad rule was civalized
They ruled from Damuscuss, Syria.
No because the group of caliphs the Umayyad ruled from Damascus
They ruled from Damuscuss, Syria.
The Shiites in Iraq do not have a unified perspective on who should rule Iraq, which is why there are several Shiite-majority parties in the Iraqi Parliament. However, most Shiites would prefer if Shiites were in power over Iraq and are intensely distrustful of Sunni Arabs given the long history of repression visited on the Shiites during Sunni Arab power.
They ruled from 661-750 C.E.
sunnis
Most of the Sunnis believed in the Umayyad's religoin which is the Islamic religion, but the others combined with the Shiites to make their own reglious practices and customs.
They ruled from 661-750 C.E.
The Umayyads made the Mawali and the Shiites disaffected for the following reasons:1) Mawali: Mawali (or non-Arab Muslims) were traditionally excluded from political and social affairs. The Umayyad in particular treated them as second-class Muslims. The evidence of this treatment was that Mawali were not allowed to have many government positions and that they were taxed whereas Arab Muslims were not taxed at all. Mawali made up an important component of the Umayyad Caliphate, especially Persians. Persia was always a high seat of culture in the Islamic Empire. As a result, ideas moved quite freely throughout Persia and Persians considered themselves to be of equal worth to Arabs.2) Shiites: Under the Sunni Umayyads, Shiites were also discriminated against. After Yazid I martyred Hussein, the Shiites made it their mission in life to oppose every action of the Umayyad dynasty. It did not help matters that the Umayyads tortured and murdered Shiite Imams and Infallibles, leading to irreconcilability between the Shiites and the Umayyads.