Compare And Contrast Abu Bakr And Shiites

Abu Bakr or Ali ibn Abi Talib? The chasm between Sunnis and Shiites is deeply etched in the earliest histories of Islam. Muhammad, during his life time as a prophet spread word of Islam and Allah which united several tribes in the Islam world. Following Muhammad’s death there was heavy controversy on who would be named the prophets successor. The Sunnis, believed Abu Bakr, a friend of Muhammad should be the successor whereas the Shi’ites wanted Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law and cousin. Doctrine from the Qur’an was their primary source of supporting each successor. The split between the Shia (Shiites) and Sunni sects of Islam originated from unresolved issues determining a successor after Mohammed’s death which was later antagonized through Western
Imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries and evolved into a power grab by factions of people in the Middle East.
The standards and qualities of leader and a Prophet are held at a high level.
When Muhammad passed there was heavy debate over what type of person would be able to perform the job as well as Muhammad. Muhammad's parents both died either before his birth or shortly after and his grandfather died a couple years later. His strength during this time was well respected and he eventually was seen as a very honest man termed as al-Amin, or "the faithful." This characteristic is what primarily defined Muhammad as a good leader. In his early years after the death of many family members, he accompanied his uncle to a monastery where a monk told him that "al-Amin" would be a leader of his people. Later on, after Muhammad's death, discovering someone who possessed the same characteristic appeared to be a difficult task. The type of person who would take on leadership over the Islamic people became a central argument for conflict between the Sunni's and the Shiites, but during the early stages of the Islamic State, the Arabs were also going through a transitional period of tribalism to "national existence." This transition resulted in a need for laws to be developed for the whole Islamic community. The idea behind those laws was to maintain discipline. Laws were generally put into place with the authority of local gods in each community as seen in Semitic history. When Muhammad died unexpectedly in 632, there was no longer a main source for laws. The different tribes of the Islam
communities would have to then decide what rules/laws to obey by and who should be the new authority figure to cultivate laws. Along with an absence of laws after Muhammad's death his followers were no longer given "divine revelations" and therefore had to consult back to Qur'an which did not include laws applicable of an expanding empire. Thus, the people of Islam were forced to resort to the traditions of Muhammad's life known as "sunna (t) al-Rasual" for direction. There was a wide search shortly after his death that tried to discover people who had stories of Muhammad's life that were not fabricated or exaggerated and that could guide the followers of Islam. Conflict started to arise in response to what stories were true and what type of guidance/direction a new leader would have to push for during his or her time. Muhammad was a very knowledgeable, honest, and faithful leader who over time left his mark on the Islamic people. Determining a successor who could live up to such high standards would prove to be exceedingly tough.
Arabs were strongly associated with their tribes and the beliefs that were correlated to it prior to exposure to the Islam faith. Their ways of life, hierarchies and ideals laid the foundation for their tribes. Muhammad was a mediator of sorts and a strong believer in eliminating tribalism. Muhammad noted his fight against tribalism with his role in the Meccans versus Moslems controversy. After battle and smaller conflicts, he fought for equal terms among the two groups. The prophet gave a sermon in the “Farewell Pilgrimage” declaring that all people in the Muslim community were brethren in principle regardless of any tribal affiliation. He said, “Know ye that every Moslem is a brother to every other Moslem, and that ye are now one brotherhood. It is not legitimate for any one of you, therefore, to appropriate onto himself anything that belongs to his brother unless it is willingly given him by that brother." Instead of tribal kinship being the source of relationships, Muhammad pushed for faith kinship to be more prominent. It wasn't until his death that tribalism began to strengthen and become a common way of association once again, which can be observed through the Sunni and Shiite chasm. There was no leader or successor that could appease both groups making tribalism definite within the Islamic community.
As with many other religions, interpreting a document of faith can be quite controversial. The Qur’an was originally spread by word of mouth, beginning with Muhammad. Following the Prophet’s death and the Battle of Yamama which killed a large amount of people who had the Qur’an memorized, Abu Bakr demanded that a written copy be made of the material so that it could be passed down and remembered by others. There was a potential during the compilation of Qur’anic material that some of it would be lost. That material could have given insight on the determination of successors. The Shia believe that when Muhammad took his last visit to the mosque at Mecca where the Angel Gabriel appeared to give a message to Muhammad from God. The message told Muhammad to proclaim his son-in-law as his successor. Then the Angel appeared to Ali in Madina and told him that if he were to return to Mecca he would be appointed as successor by his father-in-law. Before announcing the successor publicly, Muhammad grew sick and told Ali to return to the Mosque for prayers. Upon arrival, Abu Bakr had already taken the throne and refused to allow Ali his rightful position. A fundamental text of the Shia sects includes “an avowal that Ali was Khalif next in order after Muhammad.” This Shi’ite belief was never placed in the Quran. This incident led to little understanding among Sunnis as to why Abu Bakr could not take the role as successor. Consequently, this belief has brought the Shia to dispute with the Sunnis. Whereas the word of Muhammad not reaching his followers before death caused controversy, a lack of Qur’anic aid in determine laws and societal goals caused further trouble. The Quran consists of around 6,200 verses total, of which only about 100 deal with ritual practices, 70 deal with civil laws and 20 deal with judiciary matters and testimony. With only 20 out of 6,200 versus including insight on who and how to determine laws, there was bound to be conflict. The Quran has a very specific writing style to it that can prove to be controversial. The material alludes to events without any historical background. The people who directly heard the Qur’an at the time of its revelation during Muhammad’s time as Prophet were fully aware of the circumstances that surrounded the words. Later, after the Battle of Yamama and general time passing, people would have to rely on the written Qur’an to understand those conditions. This leaves room for misinterpretation. The Qur’an has a highly concise style which often would include proverbial language. That language can be used to take certain statements out of context. The verse “Slay them wherever you find them” can be taken out of context and interpreted to mean that Muslims should kill anyone who is not Muslim wherever they can find them. Several statements are taken out of context in order for certain groups to have reasoning behind doing wrong or immoral activities. The Shi’ites specifically believe in free judgment within the religion and have a “general tendency among them to superstitious beliefs unwarranted by the Quran.” This can be seen today with groups directly choosing what to believe and not believe out of the Islam bible. Sunnis and Shia have plenty of room for open interpretation and in time when a beloved Prophet had passed, the chances of people jumping to conclusions with misinterpretations of the Quran are highly possible. Non-accepting followers in choosing a successor followed by misinterpretation are central points to conflict between Islamic sects.
Even though discrepancy amongst Sunnis and Shia continued following the death of Muhammad, “Caliphs” continued to be named.
A caliphate was to be considered as the leader of the Islamic community as a successor to Muhammad. The first to be named was Abu Bakr which the Sunnis favored. Then it was Umar, Uthman and Ali. (Encyclopedia Article) Uthman ibn Affan was the third caliph and a major influence on Muslim society. Uthman during the time of Muhammad was the first convert that held a high social standing. He was named a caliph by a council under the authority of Umar, the second caliph. Uthman tried to create a “central authority to replace the loose tribal alliance” formed during Muhammads time, but failed. Violence began to rage when the Sunni accused the Shia of assassinating Uthman in 656 and later Ali, the fourth caliph would be said to have been killed by the Sunnis. The death of Ali’s son Husayn would mark the official beginning of the Shi’ite sect of Islam. The death of Uthman would be the beginning of intense violence and harsh controversy between the two Islamic sects that would continue to affect them for centuries. (2nd Encyclopedia
article)
For centuries the Middle East would be developed into the Ottoman Empire where various areas would strictly consider themselves Islamic and several caliphs would be named. As Europeans attempted to control much of the World, they took huge tolls on the Middle East. Western imperialism is ultimately what caused the decline of the Ottoman Empire. Following the decline came hardship for all who inhabited the Middle East. People that lived in the Middle East were victimized by European domination and control which resulted in a lack of understanding and increased vulnerability of the future. Hardship caused conflict among the Middle Eastern people in a struggle for independence. The “European powers converted . . . the Ottoman Empire into some of the least stable and internationally explosive states” which led to internal difficulties. The League of Nations imposed a mandate system on the Middle East (Class A Mandates) and other countries so that they could be carefully ruled by European powers until they met the expectations of holding their own “self-government at some future time.” The hardship that birthed from western imperialism grew into conflict among the Islamic population.
Prior to the Iraq War, the Sunni and Shiite chasm developed in the late 600’s stayed fairly dormant till the 19th and 20th centuries. The United States led war in Iraq caused majors issues to flow into the already deteriorated social fabric of the Muslim Community. Sunni's represent 85 to 90 percent of the world's Muslims whereas only 10 to 15 percent are Shi'ites. When the American army “toppled a Sunni tyrant” the Shia were given huge opportunities to regain power, despite their smaller population. Iraqi’s fled the country during this time, of which 60% were Sunni. A Shi’ite religious site called the Golden Dome Mosque was bombed shortly after and the Shia became angry so they took revenge on Sunnis. The conflict between the two factions continues to take its toll in a vengeful manner. They are fighting for power over each other.
Following Muhammad’s death, the Sunnis and Shi’ites argued over determining who would be the Prophets successor. Muhammad presented himself in an honest and righteous manner; so much so that after his passing the Islam Community was apprehensive to choose a successor that would be able to proclaim laws and be trustworthy. Although leadership qualities were of great value, the interpretation of the Quran became even more imperative as the Shi’ites argued that Ali was proclaimed successor by the Prophet prior to death. The faith that had once bound the Islamic Community together had broken apart into tribal kinship once again and attempted to be reconciled by Uthman, the third caliph who ultimately failed. Uthmans murder brought violence between the Muslims. Centuries later, the Ottoman Empire would fall to Western Imperialism and the Middle East would be exposed to adversity creating conflict. It wasn’t until the Shi’ites were given an opportunity for power when the American Army attacked the Sunnis that the Shia made a power grab and ran with it. The two factions continue to fight for power. The controversy between the Sunnis and Shia was instigated after Muhammad’s death in pursuit of a rightful successor, antagonized by western imperialism and developed into a contemporary power grab by factions of people in the Middle East.