Sunni vs. Shia
Deconstructing Islam for the
Classroom
What Do We Know about
Sunni and Shia Islam?
Images of Sunni and Shia Violence
Islam-The Big Picture
 The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)receives
the revelation of the Qu’ran in 610
 612 Prophet Muhammad (phuh)begins
preaching
 The Qu’ran holds 114 chapters or
“surahs”. It took 21 years for the
Qu’ran to be fully revealed. The
Qu’ran’s surahs are not ordered
chronologically but according to lengthlongest to shortest.
Five Pillars of Islam
 Shahada- the Declaration of Faith. One
becomes a Muslim by saying the
following with conviction and belief: “La
ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu
Allah.” “There is no god but Allah and
Muhammad is his messenger.”
 Salat- Prayer. Muslims are to pray five
times a day in the direction of the
Kaabah in Mecca. Prayers are
performed at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and night.
Five Pillars of Islam
 Zakat- Alms-giving to benefit the poor and
needy, required every year (normally at the
end of Ramadam). 2.5% of wealth, volunteer
time can count towards this.
 Sawm- Fasting. For the entire month of
Ramadan (on the lunar calendar) believers
abstain from food, drink and impure thought
and deeds during the daylight hours. The
month commemorates the first revelation of
the Qu’ran and is seen as spiritually purifying.
The end of Ramadan is a holiday, Eid al-Fitr
Feast of Breaking the Fast.
Five Pillars of Islam
 Hajj- The Pilgramage to Mecca during
the month of Dhu al-Hijjah. If able
every Muslim is expected to make the
Hajj at least once in their lifetime, if
unable many sponsor someone to go in
their place. It is common for a village
to pull together their money to pay the
way for one individual to go on behalf of
all. The end of Dhu al-Hijjah is another
holiday, Eid al-Aida, Feast of the
Sacrifice.
Additional Component
 Jihad- Important concept in both Sunni
and Shia Islam, signifies a struggle.
Two types, the struggle within (which
the Qu’ran deals mainly with), and the
struggle (wars of religion) without. Shia
consider the inner Jihad an essential
element of the faith.
 Jihad is often misused in terminology
and in its purpose. Terrorist group AlQaida is a Sunni organization.
Definitions
 PBUH- Stands for
“Peace Be Upon
Him” and is
commonly said or
written after using
the Prophet
Muhammad’s name
by Muslims.
 Qu’ran- the Holy
book of the Islamic
faith, the word
means “recitation”.
Many believers, as
well as Muhammad
himself, were
illiterate and learned
all teachings orally.
 Surah- a chapter




within the Qu’ran
Islam- means
“surrender”
Muslim- means “one
who surrenders”
Ummah- the
religious community
Ahl al-Kitab- “People
of the Book”, refers
to Jews and
Christians or ‘people
of an earlier
revelation’
The Sunni-Shia Split
-It’s All About FamilyMuhammad and Khadija are credited with having several daughters, although the
parentage of them is questioned by scholars; they may have been adopted by Muhammad
rather than sired by him. Uthman (the 3rd Caliph) was married to one of these daughters,
Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad. However, historically these daughters have
been marginalized, most likely because they did not bear any surviving children or survive
their father. For the purposes of this presentation, all family relations have been simplified,
thus we can state that Fatima was the only surviving daughter of Muhammad.
Khadija
First Wife
Prophet
Muhammad
Fatima
The Sunni-Shia Split
-It’s All About FamilyAbu Bakr
Abu Talib
Muhammad’s Uncle
Friend and Early Convert
Khadija
(First Wife)
Ali
Muhammad’s Cousin
Prophet Muhammad
Fatima
Aisha
The Sunni-Shia Split
-It’s All About Family-
Hassan
2nd Imam
Fatima
Ali
1st Imam
Hussein
3rd Imam
Zaynab
Ali Zain Al-Abideen
4th Imam
All Other Imams
Descend from this
Line.
Umm Al-Kaltum
Muhammad’s Succession
 632- Muhammad dies, leaving no
confirmed successor*
 Disagreement among clans on who will
lead the faith- bloodline (Ali) or the one
most capable
 The Ummah (the Islamic community)
elects Muhammad’s father-in-law
(through his wife Aisha) Abu Bakr to
lead the faith. He becomes the first
Caliph - the leader of the Ummah.
The Rashidun (632-661)
The Rule of the Four Righted Guided Caliphs
Name
Ruled
Died
Known For
Abu Bakr
1st Caliph
632-634
elected
Natural causes,
appointed his
successor
Quelled rebellion
and united
Arabia
Umar ibn alKhattab
2nd Caliph
634-644
appointed
Stabbed in a
Medina mosque
by a POW with a
personal grudge.
Wars of expansion
(power not religion
but religion
followed) to the
greater Middle East
Uthman ibn
Affan
3rd Caliph
644-656
elected
Assassinated by those
from the elite of
Medina over the rise
of status and power of
the Umayyad clan.
Expanded the empire
to North Africa and
Central Asia- but with
much political cost.
Standardized the
Qu’ran.
Ali ibn Abu Talib
4th Caliph/1st
Imam
656-661
elected
Assassinated by
Kharajiites, a
group of dissenters
to Ali’s rule
Ruled during the first
Fitnah (civil war). His
place in history is
denoted more for who
he was rather than
what he did.
First Fitnah
A 5 Year Civil War that lasted through Ali’s Reign
 Angered over Ali’s reluctance to seek revenge
in the death of Uthman, Aisha and her
kinsman lead a revolt against Ali in the Battle
of the Camel, which was lost by the rebels.
 Ali’s rule was not supported in Syria (where
Uthman had appointed members of the
Umayyad clan in power). Mu’awiya, governor
of Syria, also wanted revenge for Uthman’s
death. The Battle of Siffin (657) ended in
arbitration between the two sides, which
seriously hurt Ali politically.
A Community Divided
 The Shia (followers of Ali) had been supporting Ali as
the rightful head of the Islamic faith since the death of
Muhammad. Now as Ali was being persecuted
politically, the idea of being unfairly treated was being
ingrained in the Shia psyche.
 As Ali was not actively seeking retribution for Uthman’s
death, the Ummah was growing more and more
discontent with the Caliph, garnering more support for
challengers to the Caliphate like Mu’awiya.
 The Ummah was also horrified by the infighting between
those that had once been a part of Muhammad’s inner
circle, the community wanted a strong leader, not only
for their protection but for the preservation of the faith.
 The true split in Islam came with the death of Ali. The
Shia, who supported Ali went one way, and the Sunni,
who followed Mu’awiya I (who declared himself Caliph
and began the Umayyad dynasty) went the other.
Second Fitnah
 Mu’awiya I had managed to reconsolidate the
Ummah, although in order to keep the
community intact long-term, a new style of
government closer to a monarchy than of an
Arab Chieftain was needed. Mu’awiya
arranged for his son Yezid to succeed him.
 Outraged at the choice of succession, Hussein
(the son of Ali) and his followers demanded
their rights to the Caliphate, which culminates
in the Battle of Karbala in 680.
The Battle of Karbala
and its outcomes
 Supporters of Hussein ibn Ali against
Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph.
 Horribly outnumbered: under 100 vs.
4000+
 Results- all men were massacred,
women and childern in capitivity and
made to march to Damascus, including
Hussein’s sister Zaynab
 The Martyrdom of Hussein is celebrated
by Shia, this day is called Ashura.
Sunni and Shia Today
 Population statistics (Sunni 90%,
Shia 10%)
 Cult of Martyrdom- the 12 Imams
 Concept of the Mahdi
 Areas of the World where conflict
between the two exist. Iraq and
Bahrain
Sunni and Shia Today
 Concealing Faith for Self Protection
 Temporary Marriages
 Frequency of Prayer
Holidays
 Sunni: Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr
 Shia: Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Ashura
 Ashura- a day of mourning. Men would
beat their chests, and cut their bodies
with knives. As most religious elite ban
the cutting practice it still happens,
they encourage the Shia to donate
blood instead to commemorate the
blood spilled at the battle of Karbala.
Holy Places
 Sunni: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem
 Shia: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem,
Najaf (Site of Ali’s Tomb), Karbala
Recap Sunni
 The Sunni branch believes that the first
four caliphs--Mohammed's successors-rightfully took his place as the leaders
of Muslims. 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.
Recap Shia
 Shiites, in contrast, believe that
only the heirs of the fourth caliph,
Ali, are the legitimate successors
of Mohammed. In 931 the Twelfth
Imam disappeared. This was a
seminal event in the history of
Shiite Muslims.
Recap Shia
 According to R. Scott Appleby, a
professor of history at the
University of Notre Dame,"Shiite
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.
Recap Shia
 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.
Loss of a Leader
 for Sunni Muslims, approximately
90 percent of the Muslim world,
the loss of the caliphate after
World War I was devastating in
light of the hitherto continuous
historic presence of the caliph, the
guardian of Islamic law and the
Islamic state.
Osama Bin Laden
 Osama bin Laden is a Sunni
Muslim. To him the end of the
reign of the caliphs in the 1920s
was catastrophic, as he made clear
in a videotape made after 9-11.
On the tape, broadcast by AlJazeera on October 7, 2001, he
proclaimed
Taliban
 Radical Muslim group
 Based in Afghanistan
Osama Bin Laden Quote
 :"What America is tasting now is
only a copy of what we have
tasted. ... Our Islamic nation has
been tasting the same for more
[than] eighty years, of humiliation
and disgrace, its sons killed and
their blood spilled, its sanctities
desecrated."
9/11
 The Taliban came into conflict with
the United States. Investigation
on the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks on New York City
and Washington D.C. Led to
terrorist leaser Osama Bin Laden.
9/11
 Osama bin Laden led a terrorist
network called Al Qaeda network
which was based in Afghanistan.
 U.S and British forces attacked
Taliban and Al Qaeda targets and
toppled Afghanistan’s Taliban
government.
Pakistan
 Believed to work with terrorist
groups and to have been hiding
bin Laden.
 Bin Laden was recently found and
killed by a U.S. special operations
group.
Thank you for Coming!
 All of the Powerpoint presentation
and handouts for this presentation
can be found on our website:
www.mec.utah.edu/outreach