To those outside of the Islamic faith many facts of Islam are a mystery. Within the last decade the religion of Islam has received bad publicity due to the actions of terrorists and Muslim extremists groups. Their actions have created a popular belief that Islam is a cult and Muslim people are hate filled militants that are mainly from one region. The history and practice of Islam is based from a set of beliefs that focus on good will and peace and belief in one God. Muslims all around the world follow these original beliefs however variations in Islam practice and beliefs can also be found depending on region. Islam,…
One can safely argue that the Canadian government was solely trying to protect its economy and its citizens. An important foundation of the global and political economy of any country is, of course, its people. Politics is fundamentally about how society and its people are organised in and for public life. A people are better understood by their culture and that culture helps to define and be defined by politics. To understand the politics of a society therefore requires understanding its culture, that is, the ways of life of its people - their beliefs, practices and values - and how these impact on politics and the global economy. (1)…
Sunnis and Shi’ites were united under Prophet Muhammad until 632. They had a common belief that Allah is the God and Prophet Muhammad is the messenger. In the year 632, Prophet Muhammad passed away and the Muslims divided themselves into two groups for having a difference of opinion. The difference of opinion was on whom to be the successor of Prophet Muhammad. Sunnis wanted the successor to be one of the followers of Prophet Muhammad whereas the Shi’ites wanted the successor to be one among the family members of Prophet Muhammad. Both these group appointed their own leaders as the successor and that was the starting point of the rift. Sunnis chose their new leader to be Caliph meaning head of the state. They selected Abu-bakar, a close follower and friend of Prophet Muhammad as the Caliph. The Shi’ites chose their new leader to be their Imam meaning head of the state. They selected Ali (Prophet Muhammad’s Son-in-law) as the Imam. After this division, both the groups wanted the power and Sunni’s being in majority was forcing on Shi’ias. Sunni become the majority with over 85% of the Muslims and Shi’ites was only 15%. The Shi’ias even though in minority was retaliating to the force of the Sunnis. This lead to the formation of various Terrorist groups and Militant Organizations…
|1. |Explain the way Islam began to fragment along three separate paths. What were these paths, and how were their beliefs different?|…
The difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims is not Islamic beliefs or spiritual differences, but politics. The division of Sunni and Shia Muslims started after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims believed that the new leader of the Muslim nation should be elected out of those most capable of the job. Shia Muslims believed that leadership should be passed to his cousin or son-in-law. The leader was elected out of those most capable of the job. Abu Bakr was the first Caliph of the Islamic nation.…
However, the conflict can be viewed as a call for political dominance, where one political elite (Sunni) seeks to maintain its dominance overtaken by a new one (Shia). Also, the divide can be attributed to ethnic differences between a majority and minority ethnicity that attempts to overthrow the social primacy of the other. The events were eclipsed by the growing Sunni ascendancy for both religious and political power (Nasr, 2004). It would seem that the U.S. invasion of Iraq only benefited the Shi’as’ and this led to further division among the two predominant Muslim groups.…
Both of the branches of Islam had famous rulers. When Muhammad died, Abu Bakr was elected caliph. The three successors to Abu were elected in a similar fashion. The second caliph, Umar I, founded the early doctrines of political administration in the conquered populations. They did not force the Islamic religion upon their conquered peoples, so the hierarchy of the conqueror and the conquered stayed distinct. This incompetence of power led to a long series of civil wars in the Middle East. The next caliph elected was Ali, even though there was much opposition. The Shiites supported this election while the Sunnis did not. After Ali was assassinated, the Sunni leader, Mu’awiya declared himself caliph. Although there were many powerful caliphs, these would probably be the most well-known.…
The Sunni Shia conflict started 1,400 years ago, yet the magnitude of the conflicts have not necessarily lowered. In fact, the conflict between Sunnis and Shias continues to influence the many current events that impact the middle east today. This schism was a major cause of the Saudi Arabia and Iran Cold War, the conflict even even has got the US tied into things which has caused more tension than ever, and finally the split has started the well known terrorist organizations,ISIS.…
Throughout history, most major religions have encountered splits into some forms of tangents, many due to social, political, or authoritarian unrest. Christianity was divided during the Protestant Reformation, and Judaism has split into various levels of practitioners who each favor a different level of historical development of their faith. Like its fellow Abrahamic faiths, Islam is not a “monolithic” (Smith, 259) religion; it too has been divided. But unlike Christianity and Judaism, who have split moreso over miniscule differences in their beliefs, Islam has diverged on account of how their faith should be worshipped and how their traditions should be practiced. Also unique to Islam is how it split; rather than dividing off into tangents,…
The first century from the inception of Islam, 622 CE – 719 CE, was marked by little political discord and social division as the community of believers constituted a non-Muslim group which drew on theists of various faiths and denominations beforehand. At the end of that century, the Islamic faith began to take on the form of its own distinct group. The period prior to the reign of Abd al-Malik, 685 CE -705 CE, was a tolerant and accepting model of the Islamic faith. Although, there is lack of historical evidence on the one hand and counter-arguments made in favor of a divisive and aggressive model of political discord and social division from the very inception of the Islamic religion. Evidence presented for the former view relies on the mention in the Quran, suggesting a diverse community in which Jews and Christians lived alongside Muslims.…
While in their earlier stages with smaller populations, it may have been appropriate for the community to have one multi-purpose' leader, it has become necessary to separate the fields of politics and faith as religious communities rapidly expanded and grew in power. This separation of church (in this context referring to any religious institution) and state has, over time resulted in gradual diminishing of the authority of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Sunni Caliphate. Stemming from corruption of authority, historical developments, and gradual deviation from founding principals, the decline of both of these institutions is seen in today's contexts as modernization', but whether or not this phenomenon is moving society in a positive direction has yet to be…
FOR two sects united by their belief in one Maker, one Book and one Prophet, the amount of blood spilt in the name of their respective faiths by Shias and Sunnis is truly staggering. This is specially so when one considers the tiny differences that define and divide them.…
A growing concern to many is the possibility of a civil war across countries between Sunnis and Shiites, in which “countries are divided along sectarian lines” (International Business Times). This would lead to a crisis, weakening the borders between countries as a result of a collapse of existing nation-states. The implications of this would be terrible - “goods, people, and weapons will move more easily” between many countries in the Middle East. Religion can cause people, such as Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East, to do irrational things, from discrimination to murder, in order to assert their opinion that their specific beliefs are more correct and more right than the beliefs of others. Religion causes people to do this because…
Kennedy (2012) The Influence of History and Puritanism on Young Goodman Brown Retrieved from http://sakridge.umwblogs.org/portfolio/the-influence-of-history-and-puritanism-on-young-goodman-brown/ on 14 February 2014…
During the 7th century, Islam was developed in Saudi Arabia and was founded on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. According to Islam’s teachings Muhammad was the last prophet sent by Allah, “the one and only true merciful God” with no partner or equal. Just as Islam taught, many other prophets that came before Muhammad which included: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, and additional prophets. Those who followed these prophets became followers of Islam, better known as Muslims. Islam has several branches but despite the varieties within the branches, there are a few things that all of the branches believe and…