You want in know how American citizens feel about the war in Iraq. Your population: The United States Your sample: 500 citizens selected randomly from each state.

Since the answers all over the US would greatly vary, it is important to have everyone in the population represented in your sample. This is usually done through random sampling, which assumes no biases seeing as the subjects were selected at random.

Love isn't blind or deaf or dumb - in fact it sees far more than it will ever tell. It is going beyond yourself and stretching who you are for someone else. Being in love entails seeing someone as you wish they were: to love them is to see who they really are and still care for them. Love isn't bitter, but you can't have love without pain: sacrifice is the hallmark of love , the coin of love.

Being in love usually is used in a romantic sense when you meet your significant other transforming a normal relationship into a deeper one without further interest in others.

Love means that you trust the person, would do anything for the person, know that person is with you through thick and thin, isn't afraid to be seen with you. make sure they treat you right.

Additional Contributor Opinions:

• Love means having strong feelings for someone that can be close friends, family or even someone in a romantic relationship. Love is a strong feeling that represents affection toward someone dear to you heart.

• There is no true meaning in love. love with meaning is not love.

• The meaning of love is prolonged mutual protection. Love is real when it is found. It is free when it is grasped. Can you tell with a kiss? Love is the magic/mutual in a kiss. There is no magic in a kiss if there is no love/mutual within it. A kiss with magic has no forced for love makes it gentle. There is no magic in just a lip kiss. Love has a different kiss. Some kisses are only stolen breaths. If you need to ask: "is this love" then the Answer is: "no" for when/if it ever happens you will know. Ravonseed.
• The possible real meaning/purpose of love is: to reproduce. To stay together to protect each other long enough to continue your blood line/genetics. The meaning of love is prolonged mutual protection. Love is real when it is found. It is free when it is grasped. Can you tell with a kiss? Love is the magic/mutual in a kiss. There is no magic in a kiss if there is no love/mutual within it. A kiss with magic has no forced for love makes it gentle. There is no magic in just a lip kiss. Love has a different kiss. Some kisses are only stolen breaths. If you need to ask: "is this love" then the Answer is: "no" for when/if it ever happens you will know. Ravonseed.
• Love is when you are certain that you love someone, and then you think you love someone else, then you both realize that you could never live without each other

• The true meaning of love is found in the word "unconditional". Loving someone through their flaws and all. Accepting and embracing each others differences and compromising with their offerings.

• Bokonon tells us:" a lover is a liar to himself he lies the truthful are loveless like oyster their eyes."

• "Being in love is the connection u have with someone and feeling the same way they do. u wouldn't have a problem fussing and fighting with them at times because you love them"

• What is true love? This is the question that haunts our everyday being. well, my friend, you certainly are in luck. For I have the intangible answer.. -love is devoting your God given LIFE to a person who

• In my eyes.... why should it matter? I'm happy for the time being. Why should I tire myself with those bothersome questions if it is "true"-truth is in the eye of the beholder.

• Life is a constant wave of change, accept it all as it comes, for it can never be stopped.

• Love is Change-I have found happiness because i have embraced that change, that change has taken me many places i never thought possible. the past now dwells in it's rightful home, the past. never to live again..

• Love is finding the beauty in one's self, and finding another to embrace it. No matter how strange one's beauty may be.

• Love is learning to see the beauty in everything.

• Good is walking away when she comes up pregnant with someone's else kid; love is staying long enough to carry her through the miscarriage.

• Good is heading for the door when he tells you he's been with other people while you were dating; love makes you pray for him.

• Good is realizing it just won't work and calling it quits; love makes you stay friends.
• Love is caring about somebody just as they are, how they were before, and as they will be in the future. Love and sex are different. Also, its probably a good idea to decide what you think love is yourself, and have a mind of your own.

Unix usually refers to a family of operating systems that are similar in function or descendants of the original Unix operating system developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories. This includes a large portion of modern operating systems, including:

• All Linux distributions (Red Hat, SuSE, Fedora, Debian, etc.)
• BSDs (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, DragonflyBSD, Mac OS X)
• Solaris
• HP-UX
• AIX

Unix-like systems are multi-user and multiprocessing operating systems; that is, more than one user can be using the machine at one time, and each user can run multiple processes, or programs. The most common way to interact with a Unix-like system is a text command shell, but many users choose to use graphical desktop environments as well.

On the contrary, DOS refers to a family of single-user operating systems first developed for IBM-compatible PCs. Generally, DOS is also single-tasking, meaning that the operating system can only run one program at a time. DOS is not a very modern operating system; a program bug can easily crash the entire computer whereas on modern operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, etc.), program bugs are "caught" by the operating system.

Unix has traditionally been used primarily in server environments, but is also gaining ground as a desktop operating system. Most open source Unix-like operating systems have advanced considerably in terms of user-friendliness. Despite this, Unix's simplicity also means that users are expected to know more, and are generally still more difficult to use than Windows or Mac.

DOS has been mostly replaced by Windows and Mac as PCs. DOS installations still remain today to run older DOS applications, including games to military accounting software.

Answer 1

The major difference is historical. The Shiitesdid not agree on the elected Caliphs (who followed Prophet Muhammad after his death). They believed that the Caliphs should only be within Prophet Muhammad descendants and family. Accordingly, they were supporting Ali Ibn Abu Taleb (Prophet cousin and the husband of his daughter Fatima) to be the first Caliph. However, they didn't protest against the elected Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Omar, and Othman) and even Ali, himself, was good supporter and adviser to the three Caliphs until he was elected as the fourth Caliph.

Both Sunnis and Shiites are Muslims. No one has the right to expel anyone out of Islam and to consider him/her a Kafir (unbeliever) so far:

• he/she witness that no god Except one God (Allah) with no partner and that Muhammad is his messenger and prophet, and that
• he/she doesn't deny intentionally any of the Islam five pillars.

As for Sunnis and Shiites:

• They, both, believe that No God except one and only one God, the Creator, with no partner, no father, no son, no companion, no associate, and no resemblance and that prophet is His messenger and prophet.
• They both believe in God Angels, all God prophets, all God holy book, the Day of Judgment, and destiny.
• They both believe in the five Pillars of Islam. They both face the direction of Kaaba when praying and both require the Hajj pilgrimage.
• They pray in any mosque regardless the praying leader is Sunni or Shiite.
• They may differ in some minor details of rituals but these details are not critical to neither the Shiites nor the Sunnis.

Today there are up to 260 groups or schools in Islam that are in two main categories of Shia and Sunni. However all these groups are not so widely different as the Orthodox and Catholic Christians for example. The conflict between Shia and Sunnis has been always amplified and agitated by world Imperialism and westerners to prevent Islam from spreading in the world and to get control over Islamic countries. Some of this negativity has corrupted some Shia and Sunnis to believe that their beliefs are dramatically opposed, when in fact the differences are small and not worthy of Takfir (calling someone a blasphemer).

Specific Differences

Imamat or Leadership: Shia and Sunni mainly have a conflict on Imamat (leadership).

The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 C.E., and the question of who was to take over the Imamat (leadership) of the Muslim nation. Sunnis, the majority, believe that the first four caliphs, Mohammed'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 Shia say the Imamat is one of the 5 pillars of Islam and only God can select leader for people whereas the Sunnis say Imamat is not part of Islam and the leader can be selected by people by any method like Shura (for example for Abu Bakr) or by will of previous leader (for example for Omar) or by people (for example for Ali) provided he is capable of performing the job. Shia believe after death of the Prophet (Mohammed), God selected the prophet's successor who should be the political leader of Muslim community and people cannot and do not the right to select such an individual.

Self-Identification: Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet's companions, that the new leader of the Umma (Islamic Community) should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows the traditions [of the Prophet]."

The word "Shia" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. The commonly-known term is shortened from the historical "Shia-t-Ali," or "the Party of Ali." They are also known as followers of "Ahl-al-Bayt" or "People of the Household" (of the Prophet).

Prayer Styles: Shia pray 5 times a day just like Sunnis but usually do the second and third prayers and fourth and fifth prayers together. Thus, it may seem they do only 3 prayers a day. There are some differences in details of prayer like genuflecting (for Shia should be on a stone or part of earth and for the Sunnis it should be on carpet or floor ).

Doctrines of Karbala: Shia doctrines have their roots in Battle Karbala.

When tragedy of Karbala happened most of Iranians understood that there were two different interpretations of Islam that could not both 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.

Hadith Collections: Shia Muslims have at least 120,000 Hadith (sayings) from The Fourteen Infallibles that is the base of Shia Islam along with Qur'an. Sunni Hadith collections are much smaller as they do not contain volumes from people who lived after the Prophet. Sunni collections also differ based on the School of Sunni Islam. Abu-Hanifa, Ibn Hanbal, Ash-Shafi'i, and Ibn Annas of the Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki Schools each have their own collections.

The Imams and Infallibles: Sunnis do not believe in any of this. However, Shia believe 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 Representatives of God in earth and they have inherited divine knowledge of prophet. Theses individuals are the 12 Imams, the Prophet and his daughter Fatimah Zahra (sa). All of them are without impurity and have no mistake and have the knowledge of everything. (This knowledge is from God according to His will and is not absolute knowledge. Absolute knowledge is only for God and they still do not know many things, but they know anything human may need to know.) They never die and they hear all sayings and even thoughts of all humans after their death by permission of God. They are intermediates between God and human.

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.

Shia believe that the 12th Imam (Imam Mahdi S.A.) is alive and because people have killed all 11 Imams before him. He is in hiding 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 avoid them having any political activity.

They never had enough serious followers to allow them to attain political power. Among them only the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was relatively free on account of the freedom afforded during the transition of power between the Umayyads and Abbassids. He is primarily known in the West to have taken part in scientific activities, established a university, and had students from all over the world. Westerners 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 those who sought knowledge. Some researchers consider his teachings the root cause of the Renaissance.

Positions on the Mahdi: The Mahdi, according to Shia, will bring about the Kingdom of God on Earth after an apocalyptic battle between the forces of Islam (those who believe in God) and the rest of the world. Sunni Muslims also accept Mahdi and his worldwide leadership as Caliph of God on Earth at end of world, but do not accept the Shia teaching that this person is the twelfth Imam. There is a famous Hadith from prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that Mahdi in hiding 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 a connection and conversation with Mahdi during his period of hiding but anyone who may have a relation with Mahdi S.A. should keep it secret and not declare it in public until death.

Seafood Consumption: Most schools of Sunni Islam permit the eating of any form of seafood. Shiites prohibit the consumption of any seafood which does not accord with the Old Testament requirement of having "fins and scales".

More Information on the Historical Circumstances of the Split

Shiite Muslims believe that ruling the Muslims is the divine right of Prophet Mohammad's (Peace be upon hin)family i.e. Imam Hussain who died in Kirbela, Iraq resisting to accept the Yazid the Son of Amir Muawiyah as the rightful ruler.

After prophet Mohammad (PBUH) demise Abu Baker was enthroned by Muslims though a small group dissented as they wanted Ali, the nephew and son in law of the prophet to be the ruler. Ali accepted Abu Baker About 6 months later and then remained a loyal assistant. After death of Abu Baker, Omar was enthroned as Abu Baker had announced before his death. Ali remained a chief Aid of Abu Baker. After Omar, Usman was elected as the ruler through a popular vote...as Muslims voted while going for the morning prayer. In the last days of Usman's reign anarchy broke out but Ali and his 2 sons Hasan and Hussain protected Usman till the last minute. After Usman was assassinated Ali accepted the leadership of Muslims on the pretext that he would avenge Usman's death.

Before Ali could bring the killers of Usman to justice a cousin of Usman Muawiyah got impatient and declared indepedance. After Ali's assasination his elder son Hasan was elected by his followers as a ruler but Hasan after negotiation for Muslims unity gave up leadership for Amir Muawiyah.

Refer to question below for more information.

More Information on Shiite Groups and the Twelfth Imam

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.

The disappearance of the Twelfth Imam 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.

More Information on the Shiite Claim of Divinely Mandated Authority

In order to buttress the claim that only Divine Authority could choose the next Caliph, the Shia refer to many verses of Qura'n 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 believe such verses mean that only God can select an Islamic political leader (Caliph) and there is no mention in Qur'an that people have the right to select a leader. Shura is not allowed to be used for selecting leader and the Prophet himself always selected leaders of wars and other leaders by command of God.

In Shia Islam, the Caliphs after prophet are 12 infallible Imams who have inherited 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.

The Shia believe the Ghadir event is the most important event of Islam and is mentioned in Qur'an in many verses like "Today" (اليوم) in verse 5:3 of Qur'an 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 spiritual leadership of Ali S.A. after prophet.

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims accept the Events at Ghadir event but have different interpretations. 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 Sunni books. Allameh Amini is a famous Shia scholar and spent 40 years of his life in traveling 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.

Answer 2

The division between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims originated in a dispute over who should succeed Muhammad. Those on the Sunni side believed that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr,( ofcourse Ali was closer and more capable and he was the first muslim man) was elected the new leader and became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows the traditions of the Prophet." By contrast, those on the Shi'a side felt that leadership should pass through the divine message . The Shi'a Muslims believe leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Ali as the new leader after Muhammad died. Shia Muslims have never accepted the authority the leaders elected by the Sunni Muslims. They believe they are following a line of Imams which have been appointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself. The word "Shia" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. The term "Shi'a" is shortened from the historical "Shia-t-Ali," or "the Party of Ali."

Over the years this division over leadership also lead to some differences over religious doctrines. Shia Muslims believe that the Imam is sinless by nature, and that his authority is infallible as it comes directly from God. Therefore, Shia Muslims often venerate the Imams as saints and perform pilgrimages to their tombs and shrines in the hopes of divine intercession. Sunni Muslims claim that there is no basis in Islam for a hereditary succession of spiritual leaders, and no basis for the veneration or intercession of "saints". Sunni Muslims believe that leadership of the community is not granted by God or heredity, but rather based on trust earned with the community and so it may be granted or taken away by the people themselves.

The Shi'a Muslims believe that leadership should have passed through divine message and do not recognize leaders elected in the Sunni side of Islam, they also do not recognize any writings or pronouncements of those elected leaders as being authoritative. Consequently there are some differences in religious practice between the two groups. These differences are most prominent in the details of some of the most visible aspects of religious life: prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, etc.

Political and ethnic rivalries are layered over the religious schism between the two types of Islam. Most Muslims are Sunni but Shi'a Muslims are the majority in Iran (around 90%), which is ethnically Persian rather than the ethnic Arab group that predominates in most of the rest of the Middle East. Their geographic neighbor Iraq is also majority Shi'a (about 70%). Saddam Hussein was Sunni and sought to suppress Shi'a Islam while he was in power which added to religious tensions between the two groups. Other large concentrations of Shi'a Muslims are present in Bahrain, Azerbaijan, and Lebanon. Note that Lebanon has had a recent history of sectarian violence between the different religious groups with major presence in the country, i.e. Sunni, Shi'a, and Christian, as each group maneuvers for political influence and Syria has backed the Sunni faction in the disputes.

Answer 3

The 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.

Answer 4

Practice follow ideologies. Shiya and Sunni Islam are just different schools of thoughts within Islam. The instructions of the holy Quran are both physical and spiritual in nature. All the instructions of Islam are compulsory for a Muslim. While Shiya school of thought gives more priority to the spiritual instructions, the sunni school of thought prioritizes the physical instructions. Due to different priorities in the ideology, the practices are slightly different at various places.

"SHIA" Muslims are the followers of "Ali Ibn Talib" , the cousin & the son in law of Mohammed , the founder of Islam. They believe in 12 Imams , Priests of the Islamic religion , who lived in succession guiding the Shia Muslims {with the exception of the "mehdi" who they believe will incarnate @ the time of the 2nd coming of Christ" }. They have there own doctor , and peculiar customs and festivals.

Answer 5

"SUNNI" Muslims are followers of a doctrine that postulates the ways and the lessons of prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). Popularly in Islamic mythology , it is said that Allah {the God of the Muslims , gave the Koran to Prophet Mohammed , who then taught it to his followers} but also it is written , that the Koran was largely formed after the demise of Prophet Mohammed . By his followers , who began piecing together from human recollection , the lessons that Prophet Mohammed taught. Even though the Koran under the Caliph Uthman had been completed , the tradition of documenting stories , lessons , actions of Mohammed continued , this is called the "SUNNAH" , it is from there that Sunni Muslims derive there faction from.

Both Islamic schools or groups (called Sunnis and Shiites)agree upon basic Islam pillars and fundamentals. they differ on minor Islam and historical issues. These differences appeared only after prophet Muhammad death (not murder). Some people (who are called later Shiites) called for Muslim ruling to be within Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) family and descendants and accordingly Ali Ibn Abou Taleb should by the first Muslim ruler after prophet Muhammad (PBUH) death. While the majority (who are called later the Sunnis) elected Abou Bakr (Prophet Muhammad closer companion and the first man entered into Islam faith) as the first ruler. However, the Shiites were having very sound understanding and accepted the majority decision; even Ali (All be pleased with him) supported also Abou Bakr as a ruler and supported the following rulers (or Caliphs) Omar and Othman. Then Ali became the fourth Caliph or ruler.

Refer to question below for more related information.

Answer 6

The principle difference concerns whether the successsors of the Prophet should be genetically related to him or not. Mohammed had no male heir, but he did have a son-in-law, Ali. Those who championed Ali for the khalifship became the Shiites, the rest of Islam became the Sunni. (Sunnah means "tradition"; Shiia means "party")

Answer 7

Both sects believe in the basic tenets of Islam. The differences arose for political reasons.

When prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) died, there was debate about who should be the next leader of Muslims. The group now called Sunni supported Abu Bakr, who was the father of his favorite wife. The group now called Shia supported Ali, who was the husband of his favorite daughter.

Because these two groups developed separately, they disagree on some secondary matters. For example, Shia sometimes arrange the five daily prayers into blocks of three. Where Sunnis and Shias live together in the same city, everyone is praying at different times. Sunnis believe that Muhammad abolished muta(temporary marriage) but Shia still practice it.

Shia believe that their imam (always a descendant of Ali) is perfect and inerrant, which has led indirectly to the Shia assumption that they can pray at the tomb of a saint (similar to the way some Catholics pray through saints). Sunnis believe the Muslim community should be ruled by an elected caliph, who may sometimes make mistakes. There is currently no caliph in the world.

The Shias and sunnies have no very sharp differences. They have same basic belief except a few minor differences. The Shias claim that instead of first three Rightful Caliphs, the fourth Rightful Caliph Hazrat Ali (RAU) should have been chosen the First Caliph. The other differences are the creation of later people. The Sunni and Shia scholars have joined hands and sat together to solve the problems amicably. They have decided to tolerate each other and to avoid highlighting such matters as create hatred and enmity. May Allah Karim bless us with tolerance of all religions and all humans! A'meen

Answer 8

There is nothing called Sunni Islam or Shiite Islam. The religion per Qur'an revelation to prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Islam. The Islam followers may differ is some issues and name themselves as Sunni or Shiite Muslims. It is to be recognized that the differences between the two groups are minor and represent side differences. The basic Islam beliefs are the same for Islamic groups or schools as well as they have the same holy book Qur'an, they have the same ritual worships of praying, fasting, pilgrimage (or Hajj), same direction when praying. It is to be emphasized that the persuasion of the west to deepen differences between Islamic different schools and agitate conflicts among them to help in implementing their policies of the creative disturbance will never succeed. The differences among Islamic schools are never the same as the Christian different denominations and sects. Refer to related question below.

The Shias and sunnies have the same basic beliefs except a few minor differences. The Shias claim that instead of first three Rightful Caliphs, the fourth Rightful Caliph Hazrat Ali (RAU) should have been chosen the First Caliph. The other differences are the creation of later people. The Sunni and Shia scholars have joined hands and sat together to solve the problems amicably. They have decided to tolerate each other and to avoid highlighting such matters as create hatred and enmity. May Allah Karim bless us with tolerance of all riligions and all humans! A'meen

The other difference is in the opinion of Imaamat. Shiats say that Imam must be appointed by God; that appointment may be known through the declaration of the Prophet or the preceding Imam. The Sunni scholars say that Imam (or Caliph, as they prefer to say) can be either elected, or nominated by the preceding Caliph, or selected by a committee, or may gain the power through a military coup (as was in the case of Muawiyah).

Shi'a scholars say that Imam must be sinless. The Sunni scholars (including Mutazilites) say that sinlessness is not a condition for leadership. Even if he is tyrant and sunk in sins (like in the case of Yazid, or Today's King Fahd), the majority of the scholars from the shools of Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki discourage people to rise against that Caliph. They think that they should be presevered.

Answer 9

Shiats say that Imam must possess above all such qualities as knowledge, bravery, justice, wisdom, piety, love of God etc. The Sunni scholars say it is not necessary. A person inferior in these qualities may be elected in preference to a person having all these qualities of superior degree.

Shiats say that 'Ali was appointed by Allah to be the successor of the Prophet, and that the Prophet declared it on several occasions. More than one hundred of those occasions are recorded in the history. The Sunni scholars believe that the Prophet did not appoint anybody to be his successor. This is despite the fact that there are many traditions in the six authentic Sunni collections which support this assignment.

Answer 10

shiah believed in five principles such as prophecy , divine unity , resurrection , imamah or successors of the prophet and divine justice . it is only in the imamah and divine justice that shia and sunni differ . in the question of the imamate , it is the insistence on the esoteric function of the imam that distinguishes the shiite perspective from the sunni .

in the question of justice it is the emphasis upon this attribute as an intrinsic quality of the divine nature that is particular to shiism . we might say that in the esoteric formulation of Sunni theology,especialy as contained in Ash arism , there is an emphasis upon the will of God.whatever god will is just precisly because it is willed by god . and intelligence is a sense subordinated to this will and to the voluntarism which characterizes this form of theology.

in shiism the quality of justice is considered as innate to the divine nature .god cannot act in an unjust manner because it is his nature to be just .fa , him to be unjust would violate his own nature , Which is impossible .intelligence can judge the justness and unjustness of an act and this judgment is not completely suspended in favor of a pure voluntarism on the part of god . hence there is a greater emphasis upon intelligence in shiite theology and great enphasis upon will in scorn kalam ,or theology , at least in predominant asharite school .

shiism also differs sunnusm in its consideration of the means whereby the original message of the Quranic revelation reached the islamic community and thereby in certain aspects of the sacred history of Islam .there is no disagreement on the Quran and the prophet ., that is , on what constitutes the origin of the islamic religion .the difference in view begins in the period immediately following the death of the prophet .one might say that the personality of the prophet contained two dimensions which later to become crystallized into Sunnism and Shiism .each of these two schools was later to reflect back upon the life and the personality of the prophet solely from its own point of view ,thus living aside and forgetting and misconstruing the other dimension ecluded from its own perspective .for shiism the dry(in the alchemical sense) and austere aspect of the prophets personality as reflected in his successors in the Sunni world was equated with worldliness while his warm and compassionate dimension was emphasized as his whole personality and as the essence of the nature of the immams who were considered to be a continuation of him .for the vast majority of the islamic community the companions of the prophet represent the prophet's heritage and the channel through which his messge was transmitted to later generations .within the early community the companions occupied a favored position and among them the first four caliphs stood out as a distinct group .it is through the companions that the saying( Hadith ) and the manner of the living ( sunnah )of the prophet were transmited to the second generations of Muslims . shiism however concentrating on the question of the wilayah and insisting on the esoteric content of the prophetic message , saw in the Ali and the household of the prophet (ahi al -bayt),in its shiiate sense the sole channel through which the original message og islam was transmitted , although , paradoxically enough the majorty of descendants of the prophet belong to Sunnism and continue to do so until today.

all in all we can categorize these difference into two levels:one level lies in principles and other in interpreting of Quran .

first level:the five principles of religion as stated by shiism include:tawhid or belief in divine unity,nubuwwah or prophecy,maad or resurrection,imamah or the immamate:belief in the imams as successors of the prophet and Adl or Divine justice.in the Three bsic principles -unity, prophecy and resurrection-Sunnism and shiism agree.it ts only in the other two that they differ. in the question of the imamate it is the insistence on the esoteric function of of the imam that distinguishes the shiites perspective from the Sunni.in the question of Justice it is the emphasis placed upon this attribute as an intrinsic quality of the divine nature that is particular to shiism.we might say that in the esoteric formulation of Sunni theology,especially as contained in Asharism there is an emphasis upon the will of god .whatever god will is just precisely because it is willed by God.and intelligence is in a sense subordinate to this will and to the voluntarism which characterizes this form of theology.in shiism however , the quality of justice is considered as innate to the Divine Nature..God can not act in n unjust manner because it is His nature to be just.Fa,him to be unjust would violate His own nature,which is impossible.intelligence can judge the justness and unjustness of an act and this judgment is not completely suspended in favor of a pure voluntarism on the part of God.

second level:shiism also different in its consideration of the means whereby the original message of Quranic revelation reached the islamic community and thereby in certain aspects of the sacred history of islam.there is no disagreement on the Quran and the prophet.that is,on what constitutes the origin of the islamic religion.the difference in view begins with the period immediately following the death of the prophet.one might say that the personality of the prophet contained two dimensions which were later to become crystallized into Suunism and Shiism.each of this two schools was later to reflect back upon the life and personality of the prophet solely from its own point of view,thus leaving aside and forgetting or misconstruing the other dimension excluded from its own perspective.for shiism the dry (in the alchemical sense) and austere aspect of the personality as reflected in his successors in the Sunni world was equated with worldliness.while his warm and compassionate dimension was emphasized as his whole personality and as the essence of the nature of the imams,who were considered to be a continuation.

Sunnis(or ahlus sunna wal jama'ah)are Muslims .Shiites curse and swear a lot of the companions of Nabi Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ,They also made up some strange things like Mu'ta(temporary marriage) and things like cutting slits in their backs.They have deviated from the teachings of Nabi Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Answer 11

It is to be recognized the differences between Sunnis and Shiites never been as the differences between the Catholics and the Orthodox and the Protestant or other Christian denominations. Neiher the Sunnis have the right to expel any Shiite out of true Islam nor the Shiites have the right expel any Sunni out of true Islam so far: he/she witness that there is no god Except one God (Allah), who has no partner, no son, no father, no companion, no associate, and no equivalence and he/she witness that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is God prophet and messenger to whom God revealed the holy book Qur'an through the angel Jibril (or Gabriel), and

he/she doesn't deny intentionally any of the basic five pillars of Islam as instructed by prophet Muhammad; peace be upon him; even if they added other pillars to them.

As for Sunnis and Shiites, they, both:

• believe that there is no god except the one and only one God, the Creator with no partner, no father, no son, no companion, and no resemblance, and that the prophet is His messenger.
• believe in God's Angels, all Prophets sent from God, all of God's holy books, the Day of Judgment, and destiny.
• believe in the five Pillars of Islam.
• face the direction of Kaaba when praying.
• pray in any mosque regardless of whether the prayer leader is Sunni or Shi'ite.

They may differ in some minor details of rituals but these details are not critical to neither the Shiites nor the Sunnis.

All Muslims; although differ in minor side issues; are one unity and will never follow the exterior plans of the non Muslims who try their best to create conflicts among them to have stronger control on their mineral and energy resources and to bring them under their control and directions.

Answer 12

all in all we can categorize these difference into two levels:one level lies in principles and other in interpreting of Quran .

first level:the five principles of religion as stated by shiism include:tawhid or belief in divine unity,nubuwwah or prophecy,maad or ressurrection,imamah or the immamate:belief in the imams as successors of the prophet and Adl or Divine justice.in the Three bsic principles -unity, prophecy and resurrection-Suunnism and shiism agree.it ts only in the other two that they differ. in the question of the imamate it is the insistence on the esoteric function of of the imam that distingushes the shiites perspective from the Sunni.in the question of Justice it is the emphasis placed upon this attribute as an intrinsic quality of the divine nature that is particular to shiism.we might say that in the esotericformulation of Sunni theology,especially as contained in Asharism there is an emphasis upon the will of god .whatever god will is just precisely because it is willed by God.and intelligence is in a sense subordinate to this will and to the voluntarism which characterizes this form of theology.in shiism however , the quality of justice is considered as innate to the Divine Nature..God can not act in n unjust manner because it is His nature to be just.Fa,him to be unjust would violate His own nature,which is impossible.intelligence can judge the justness and injustness of an act and this judgment is not completely suspended in favor of a pure voluntarism on the part of God.

second level:shiism also different in its consideration of the means whereby the original message of Quranic revelation reached the islamic community and thereby in certain aspects of the sacred history of islam.there is no disagreement on the Quran and the prophet.that is,on what constitutes the origin of the islamic religion.the difference in view begins with the period immediately following the death of the prophet.one might say that the personality of the prophet contained two dimensions which were later to become crystallized into Suunism and Shiism.each of this two schools was later to reflect bck upon the life and personality of the prophet solely from its own point of view,thus leaving aside and forgetting or miscinstruing the other ddimension excluded from its own perspective.for shiism the dry (in the alchemical sense) and austere aspect of the pesonality as reflected in his successors in the Sunni world was equated with worliness.while his warm and compassionate dimevsion was emphasized as his whole personality and as the essence of the nature of the imams,who were considered to be a continuation.

Answer 13

According to my understading, the differences started due to a question about the succession; basically: Who should be the leader after Muhammad's death? One of the groups - the Shiites - said that Muhammad had passed the leadership to his son-in-law, Ali. The other group - the Sunnites - were the followers of another leader, who came to be known as the first caliph. Shia and Sunni have mostly same beliefs and both believe in fundamental beliefs of Islam. Today there is up to 260 sects in Islam that are in two main categories of shia and sunni.

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

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 believes the Caliph (Representative of God in earth) is selected only by God and can not be selected by people because God said in Koran: "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).

In Shia Islam Caliphs after prophet are 12 Imams and all of them are the same and have no mistake and have the knowledge of everything (not absolute knowledge like knowledge of God) and they hear all sayings and even thinks of all humans after even after their death by permission of God and they are intermediates between God and human Shia Muslims always support them and forgive their lives for them.

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 leadership of Ali 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 and said at Ghadir prophet only wanted to say Ali is my friend and no one should bother him. Ali 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 and and prophet said some sayings about Ali to solve conflicts and some sunni writers have mixed stories of missions of Ali 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 have changed and deviated historical evidences about political leadership of Ali 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 after referring to 100,000 Sunni books and full reading of 10,000 sunny 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 books of ourselves.

Shia doctrine have root in Karbala tragedy. When tragedy of Karbala happened most of Iranians understood there is two different kinds of Islam and after happening of Karbala tragedy most of Iranians became 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 do not say anything from themselves. Shia believes 12th of them (Mahdi) is alive and because people have killed all 11 Imams before him, he is in hide like Jesus and will come out of hide toghether with Jesus when people become ready and want to accept his leadership. All 11 Imams have been killed and during their life thy all have been in prison or under hard control of government to not have any political action. They never had enough serious followers to can get political power. Among them only the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was relatively free in his life to have only scientific activities (but banned from any political action) 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 wanted to learn. 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 hide 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. Shia Muslims believe that it is proved at least 1000 persons have had connection and talk with Mahdi during his hide period but Any one having relation with Mahdi keep it and does not declare it in public until is alive.

Sunni Muslims belives that sacrifice of grandson of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) has a great importance in Islam this sacrifice is give in the way of god & justice in social values in front of yazid who was also Muslim but not a good leader his character was so rogh so people do not like him so grand son of prophet muhmmad (p.b.u.h) hazrat imam hussain not accept him so yazid order his army to murder of hazrat imam hussain faimly & his companions that is good sacrifice & evil but the shia Muslims used to weeping & torture himself on every year for this sacrifice & they said that our whole life is associated with this incident but sunni Muslims thinks that this incident is for our welfare & lesson for us & not for weeping & torturing himself

The division began after the death of the Prophet Mohamed. He had one child, a daughter. Some of his followers felt that his daughter should succeed him, some felt his brother should. Other divisions in the faith, beliefs and theology followed.

The main difference is that plant cells have a cell wall as well as a cell membrane. Animal cells only have a cell membrane.

More Details:

1. Plant cells have cell walls, which support a rigid structure. These structures are composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and a variety of other materials. An animal cell does not have this cell wall; With animal cells there is a diversity of shapes, though most are roughly spherical.
2. Green Plant cells have chlorophyll, the light-absorbing pigment required for photosynthesis. This pigment, which makes plants appear green, is contained in structures called chloroplasts(or more generally, plastids).
3. Similarly, chlorophyll containing plant cells go through both photosynthesis and cellular respiration, while animal cells only go through cellular respiration.
4. Plants cells have a large, central vacuole. While animal cells may have one or more small vacuoles, they do not take up the volume that the central vacuole does (up to 90% of the entire cell volume!). The vacuole stores water and ions, and may be used for storage of toxins.
5. Animal cells have centrioles, cilia (unicelluar animal cell), and lysosomes.

(Note: Narcissistic Personality Disorder is something that can only be identified by a mental health professional who has examined the person in question. Other than that, "narcissist" is a word meaning "loves oneself excessively" and is susceptible to varying interpretations.)

1:

A Narcissist is someone who takes their self-esteem from the way others view them. Their personality will therefore center around how he or she is viewed.

Narcissism looks like this... Your partner treats you and perhaps your children very different in private than in public. In public he may ignore you giving all of his attention to others, or pretend to be the perfect husband or father, while in private he may be sarcastic, haughty and insulting. He may put people down behind their back. He may have a very inflated sense of entitlement and ego, thinking he deserves things that he hasn't worked for or earned and he may manipulate situations for attention, acting a bit too good to be true. This can fool people and so few of them will believe how he talks to his family in private (I say 'he', because I write from our experience, but there are plenty of abusive women with narcissism). He may also show little or no regard for your well being or your feelings.

2:

Unfortunately that's not all...

He may lie about you or paint a bad picture of you to gain sympathy from others and to justify his own bad behaviour. You probably have no idea of all of the lies he is telling you and the bad things he may be saying about you to others ...

If he makes fights when you try and talk about money he may be hiding credit cards or money transactions from you and his narcissism will cause him to pretend these fights are your fault.

Many narcissists are obsessed by the fantasy of an ideal relationship that is 'perfect' (and therefore fantasy!) and are skilled liars. So if the above symptoms of narcissism describe your partner, you should also be aware that he may habitually have secret crushes on other women, be having affairs, using pornography habitually, and/or conducting 'cyber' affairs (while lying that he is single) all without you having any knowledge of this. If you notice that your partners mind is often somewhere else, and they show narcissistic tendencies, this could be the reason. This obsession with his own inner fantasy life is part of what makes him unavailable, impatient and cross with you. It is a major symptom of the disorder.

Not all people with narcissism are physically abusive, but it is also a significant indicator that you will wind up being part of a domestic violent marriage. The physical abuse is not always perpetrated by the narcissist either. It is normal to become very angry with someone who manipulates you and puts you down. It is normal after years of this treatment, (especially if you discover that they have been lying to and cheating on you) to even want to kill them or wish them dead, so getting the right help and support is very important, and can be very hard to find.

There are very few people who understand narcissism or believe there is any cure, and those who say to 'leave and have no contact' are giving you very dangerous advice. If you want to leave, please get advice first on how to do it safely.

Trying to diagnose someone with a disorder is not a really a good idea when there are many who will then say that you must divorce them and have no contact and that there is no cure.

If your partner displays this behaviour it is not important to figure out the correct diagnosis, what you need to do is take steps to protect yourself and save your marriage before it is too late.

My husband was diagnosed NPD and yet still he got better and we have a great marriage now. We help partners of narcissists save their marriages too.

3:

WRONG. The correct answer is - you can not recognize a narcissist. At least not a smart, experienced narcissist. It is a matter of survival for them to not let anyone know there true nature. (See note at top of page)

Vegetarians do not consume any animals and meat byproducts that involve killing the animal, including beef, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, fish, shellfish, cheese made with animal rennet, and gelatin. They may also avoid products that involve killing an animal, such as fur, leather, silk, and pearls. Some vegetarians do consume animal secretions that do not primarily involve killing the animal, such as milk, eggs, cheese, cream, butter, and honey. And they may use animal products that don't immediately involve the death of the animal, such as wool and feathers.

But, although milk products usually (really almost always) mean that calves are sent to a veal farm in order to provide you with their milk, dairy products are consumed by vegetarians (unless they have rennet, which is part of a calf stomach). Likewise, egg production almost always involves the culling (via suffocation or maceration) of male chicks shortly after birth. A vegan would not eat any of these foods.

There are different kinds of vegetarianism:Lacto-ovo-Vegetarians These types of vegetarians don't eat meat, but do eat dairy products and eggs.

Lacto Vegetarians Lacto vegetarians do not eat meats, but do consume milk and dairy products.

Ovo Vegetarians Ovo Vegetarians do not eat meats, or dairy products, but do eat eggs.

But there is only one kind of vegan.

Vegans refrain from consuming or using any animal products. They also don't use beauty products that contain animal ingredients or were tested on animals. They also don't wear clothes that were made from animals, including leather, fur, wool, silk, and feathers. Vegans are against the exploitation of animals for any reason.

There has and always will be a debate over the extent to which a person must go to be truly vegan - for example, not eating refined sugar that might have used bone char. Or, palm oil because most of it is exported from Indonesia, where orangutans are being killed off to make room for more palm oil farms.

It might be accurate to say that vegans are "strict vegetarians," although motivation and attitude are almost as important as behavior. Veganism is a way of life based on non-violence and respect for sentient life, in addition to environmental and human health concerns. A person might be vegetarian for similar concerns, though not necessarily.

Democrats are generally more liberal. They believe in a larger federal government, and often implement tax plans to try to help the less privileged. They tend to believe the government must look for the greater good above the individual person in terms of welfare and do what is necessary to make the populace more "equal". They assert that the values our country holds must evolve over time, and, therefore, tend to support such controversial choices as Pro Choice and gay marriage.

Republicans are generally more conservative. They believe that the answers do not lay with the government generally, but rather with the people. They want less government interference and tend to believe more strongly in property rights and less strongly in well-fare rights, holding economic equity above equality. Many republicans are religious and tend to hold to the morals characterizing the Founding Fathers, which results in general disapproval of abortions and, for some, gay marriage.

Additional input and opinions from contributors:

• To sum it up, Democrats lean toward equality under a large federal government. Republicans lean towards people looking after themselves and their neighbors under small federal government and strong state governments.
• These are the two dominant parties in our political system. Generally, Republicans are more interested in regulating personal matters and in deregulation of business and economic matters. Democrats are generally more interested in deregulating personal matters and increasing regulation of economic/business matters. Democrats also believe in bigger government and more spending to expand government, while, unlike democrats, Republicans believe in less spending and a smaller government. Democrats believe in lowering the taxes on the poor, and increasing taxes on the rich, while Republicans want to lower taxes on everyone, not just poor people.

  Democrats are liberals while Republicans are conservatives.

• There is very little fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans in practice. In general (theoretically) today, Republicans support less social freedom and more economic freedom, while Democrats support less economic freedom and more social freedom. Democrats are known as the "big government" party and Republicans as the "limited government" party, but in reality both parties support big government. Government has consistently grown under the power of both parties. Their foreign policies are very similar (interventionist), but each party seems to only support these policies when their administrations are administering them. The root of the Republican Party is limited government, but they generally do not execute this well. Also, what many Republicans defend as "capitalism" and "free markets" is really government-aided corporatism, which is not economic freedom at all. There has however been a backlash in the Republican Party to return to limited government roots, including both economic and social freedoms and a non-interventionist foreign policy.

  As for the terms "liberal" and "conservative", their meanings and connotations have become very confusing. "Conservative" and "Republican", and "Liberal" and "Democrat" have somewhat become interchangeable in today's society. However, "conservative" really means that one believes that things should stay the same, while "liberal" means that one believes things should change. Historically, societies had not been very free, so historical Liberals generally supported increased freedoms. The Founding Fathers of the United States were Liberals during their time, since they supported freedoms that did not exist in their society--they wanted things to change. However, today they would (probably) be considered Conservatives, since they supported limited government. Classifying people's political views today by these words is very confusing. Since today a "Conservative" is generally a Republican, and a "Liberal" is generally a Democrat, how does one classify someone who belongs to a third party? For example, Libertarians support economic freedoms as Republicans do, indicating they are Conservatives. On the other hand, they also support social freedoms as Democrats do, indicating they are Liberals. However, since historical Liberals (not to be confused with today's Democrats) were freedom-lovers, supporting all types of freedoms make Libertarians the ultimate Liberals, right? But then again, Libertarians are the ultimate proponents of the Republican roots of limited government. Libertarians want to limit government (in all areas) far more than Republicans, making Libertarians the ultimate Conservatives. Since one person can simultaneously be classified as super liberal and super conservative (which are opposites), these words do not have very good definitions in today's society and have very different meanings to different people.

• This is a pretty vague question but I will do my best to answer it. I am a republican so if I sound biased, sorry. Anyway, democrats believe in taxing and spending and republicans believe in saving and waiting or borrowing and spending. Abortion is one of the biggest arguments between the parties. Democrats are pro-choice which means that they want people to have the choice to abort. Republicans are pro-life which means they want to outlaw abortion. Next, is gay marriage. Democrats think that anyone has the right to get married while most republicans believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

• There are lots of websites that distinguish the difference, just, they are usually biased to the brink. Best to watch the news or look up a dictionary definition.

  Republicans believe people are best taking care of themselves or helping others through private charity. Democrats believe the government is best at taking care of people.

• Republicans think that everyone can care for themselves on their own they are more independent Democrat is more groups and everyone together, everyone takes care of each other. Obviously McCain is republican and Obama is democrat. They are both explainable beliefs.

• Democrats: pro-choice, more gun control, more government power - Republicans: pro-life, less gun control, less government power

• Leaving out any kind of value judgments, the difference in the parties is ideological... Democrats believe in rights. Democrats believe that you have certain rights as citizens, taking it as far as the right to health care. Republicans believe in privilege. Republicans believe that you can have only that which you can afford or earn. That's it in a nutshell but you need to decide which you think is the better ideology. Do you think you should be given things as a citizen or should you have to work for what you get?

• All of you had valid points. I find myself in between though. I see both sides. When I go to the ballots I find myself wanting to vote for both dem. and rep., but their is another thing that I have noticed. People today do not vote for who they want in office. They vote for who they do not want in office.

Note: If you would like to add to the answer, click on the "Discuss Question" button below.

Public sector sports provision is that supplied by (usually local) government and includes such things as the local swimming baths, tennis courts in the local recreation ground, council football pitches, trim trails, community use of schools etc. The aim is to ensure that facilities in the local area conform to the council's guidelines and aims. They are provided to cover what is seen as a need in the local area, to fill what would otherwise be a gap in provision. Typically, the facilities are cheap or free and can vary quite widely in standard, some being quite basic.

The private sector is run by businesses who aim to make good profits from providing those sport facilities that they view can be profitable for their companies. Facilities are typically of a high standard and are at the upper end of the price range. In the best scenario, private sector facilities are part of the overall provision for the local area and are co-ordinated with other sectors.

Most sport in many areas comes from the voluntary sector in which the sport and leisure facilities are run for the members by the members and includes most local sport clubs

Nothing except geography. Tropical storms occur in several of the world's oceans, and except for their names, they are essentially the same type of storm. In the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, they are called hurricanes. In the Western Pacific Ocean, they are called typhoons. In the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and Australia, these types of storms are called cyclones.

Technically, all hurricanes are cyclones but not all cyclones are hurricanes: if their wind speed is over 74 miles per hour, they're hurricanes, if not, they're just cyclones or tropical storms.

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Note:

Pressure systems that develop over tropical waters, with tropical-related characteristics are tropical cyclones, which include tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons (western Pacific), etc., are called tropical cyclones.

Systems that tend to develop in the multitudes with a jet stream, cold core, etc. are referred to as extra-tropical cyclones. These systems usually produce severe weather in the spring and fall, and severe winter weather in the winter.

Nothing except geography. Tropical cyclones occur in several of the world's oceans, and except for their names, they are essentially the same type of storm. In the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, they are called hurricanes. In the Western Pacific Ocean, they are called typhoons. In the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and Australia, these types of storms are called cyclones.