Sunnis in Iran run multiple religious schools and own mosques that can accommodate thousands of worshipers at any given time. Saudi Arabia backed Iraq in the 1980–1988 war with Iran and sponsored militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan who—though primarily targeting the Soviet Union, which had invaded Afghanistan in 1979—also fought to suppress Shia movements. Ismail I initiated a religious policy to recognize Shiism as the official religion of the Safavid Empire, and the fact that modern Iran and Azerbaijan remain majority-Shia states is a direct result of Ismail's actions. Ali Ibn Abi Talib (Son in Law and cousin of Prophet Muhammad). Shia mourns and self-flagellate themselves. [57] (However, Abbasid persecution of Islamic lawyers was not restricted to the Shia. [144], ...information indicates Sunnis, along with other religious minorities, are denied by law or practice access to such government positions as cabinet minister, ambassador, provincial governor, mayor and the like, Sunni schools and mosques have been destroyed, and Sunni leaders have been imprisoned, executed and assassinated. Some Shia perform prayers back to back, sometimes worshipping two times consecutively (1+2+2 i.e. [107] But doing so in Saudi meant a more anti-Shia policies because Saudi's own native Sunni school of Islam is Wahhabism, which includes the prohibition of Shia Islam itself, as strict Wahhabis do not consider Shia to be Islamic. They form a hardcore of Islamic activists, ever-ready to carry out a similar Taliban-style Islamic revolution in Pakistan. The report notes that while some of the information received may be difficult to corroborate there is a clear impression that the right of freedom of religion is not being respected with regard to the Sunni minority. The book, which "became the gospel of Deobandi militants" in the 1980s, attacked Khomeini and argued the excesses of the Islamic revolution were proof that Shiism was not the doctrine of misguided brothers, but beyond the Islamic pale. The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic: أركان الإسلام) is the term given to the five duties incumbent on every Muslim. The casualty toll of the war's first three years has exceeded that of Iraq's decade-long conflict, and the fight has "amplified sectarian tensions to unprecedented levels". [52] Like Sunnis, some Shia women, such as those in Iran and Iraq, use their hand to hold the black chador, in order to cover their faces when in public. [233], Islam is the dominant religion in Indonesia, which also has a larger Muslim population than any other country in the world, with approximately 202.9 million identified as Muslim (88.2% of the total population) as of 2009. Shia in India faced persecution by some Sunni rulers and Mughal Emperors which resulted in the killings of Shia scholars like Qazi Nurullah Shustari[81] (also known as Shaheed-e-Thaalis, the third Martyr) and Mirza Muhammad Kamil Dehlavi[82] (also known as Shaheed-e- Rabay, the fourth Martyr) who are two of the five martyrs of Shia Islam. [200], Muslims in Yemen include the majority Shafi'i (Sunni) and the minority Zaidi (Shia). In some countries like Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and Bahrain, communities have mingled and intermarried. In February 1980 disturbances were "less spontaneous" and even bloodier. Though sectarian tensions in Lebanon were at their height during the Lebanese Civil War, the Shia–Sunni relations were not the main conflict of the war. [239], The majority adheres to the Sunni Muslim tradition mainly of the Shafi'i madhhab. Sunni does not self-flagellate or mourn, they consider it as a Sin. History records 10 such Taarajs also known as Taraj-e-Shia between the 15th and 19th centuries in 1548, 1585, 1635, 1686, 1719, 1741, 1762, 1801, 1830, 1872 during which the Shia habitations were plundered, people slaughtered, libraries burnt and their sacred sites desecrated.[80]. Another example is hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, who is considered by Shias as the enemy of Ali. [112] In Yemen, Houthi rebels have expanded their territory south of Saudi Arabia, and become the country's "dominant power". ), Shia sources further claim that by the orders of the tenth Abassid caliph, al-Mutawakkil, the tomb of the third Imam, Hussein ibn Ali in Karbala, was completely demolished,[58] and Shias were sometimes beheaded in groups, buried alive, or even placed alive within the walls of government buildings still under construction. Unfortunately, from 1987 to 2007, "as many as 4,000 people are estimated to have died" in Shia-Sunni sectarian fighting in Pakistan", 300 being killed in 2006. But the estimates are that they are about 5 to 10 percent of the Muslim world, which puts them somewhere between 50 and 70 million people..... Iran always had been a Shia country, the largest one, with a population of about 83 million. Abu Bakr (Father In Law and companion of Prophet Muhammad). Saudi officials had no comment about Ahmadinejad's statements, but the Saudi official government news agency did say: The two leaders affirmed that the greatest danger presently threatening the Islamic nation is the attempt to fuel the fire of strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and that efforts must concentrate on countering these attempts and closing ranks.[266]. This led to a wide gap between Iran and its Sunni neighbors, particularly its rival, the Ottoman Empire, in the wake of the Battle of Chaldiran. According to scholar Vali Nasr, as the Muslim world was decolonialised and Arab nationalism lost its appeal, fundamentalism blossomed and reasserted the differences and conflicts between the two movements, particularly in the strict teachings of Sunni scholar Ibn Taymiyyah. Some Wahabi groups, often labeled[by whom?] It is the home country of anti-Shia insurgent Raed Mansour al-Banna, who died perpetrating one of Iraq's worst suicide bombings in the city of Al-Hillah. [201] In 2013 a mob of several hundred attacked a house in the village of Abu Musallim near Cairo, dragging four Shia worshipers through the street before lynching them. There are Roots of Religion (Usūl al-Dīn) and Branches of Religion (Furu al Din). [61] However many of these Shias come from Sayyid families with origins in tribes from Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain, one of said tribes being al-Musawi, and two prevalent families that are descended from it and lived in Iran for some time before settling in Iraq are the al-Qazwini and al-Shahristani families. If you go up we will pull you down by your feet; if you hide below, we will pull you up by your hair. Third, through the school of Hillah under the leadership of Al-Hilli and his son Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin. As-Saffah assumed both the temporal and religious mantle of Caliph himself. [167], The Syrian Civil War, though it started as a political conflict, developed into a struggle between the Alawite-dominated Army and government on the one hand, and the mainly Sunni rebels and former members of the regular army on the other. [233] Its network is similar to that of Hezbollah in Lebanon, with a focus on Iran, its Supreme Leader, and fighting America as the enemy of Islam. Shias were also persecuted during the Ba'ath Party rule, especially under Saddam Hussein. [232] As of 2017, estimates of the number of Nigeria's 90–95 million Muslims who are Shia vary from between 20 million (Shia estimate), to less than five million (Sunni estimate).[233]. [101], Marc Lynch in his book The New Arab Wars: Uprisings and Anarchy in the Middle East, argues that as old regimes or political forces sought to control "the revolutionary upsurge" of the Arab Spring, sectarianism became “a key weapon” to undermine unity among the anti-regime masses. The emergence of these two sub-groups can be traced way back to 623 A.D, when the Islamic Prophet Muhammad died. [204] In response the Yemeni government has implemented a campaign to crush to the Zaidi-Shia rebellion"[205] and harass journalists. Power struggle for dominance in the fourth caliphs and the country 's and. Bombs, while Shia favored death squads groups by political differences between Shias and the country 's and. 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