Sunnis and Shiites: what is the difference between these branches of Islam?

To many modern people, uninitiated in religious subtleties, Islam seems to be the most monolithic religion. Indeed, today more than one and a half billion people have united under the green banner of the Prophet. Citizens in 120 countries identify themselves with Islam. Moreover, in 28 countries, this religion is the main religious movement and is considered the state one. Against this background, it cannot be said that the Muslim world is an abode of peace and tranquility. Where the place of religion in society is determined by the person himself, contradictions inevitably arise. First it concerns differences in views on questions of interpretation of the cult. Later, on this fertile soil, shoots of irreconcilable hostility grow between branches of one people and tribe, which over time turns into hatred.

The centuries-old enmity and hatred that Sunnis and Shiites have for each other is a vivid example of how different interpretations of the same dogmas and postulates can create a gulf between co-religionists. Moreover, the roots of this enmity go back to hoary antiquity, at a time when Islam was just gaining its strength.

How to behave with Muslims?

Türkiye extends all its hospitality to visiting tourists. Religion plays a significant role in this. Muslims are always distinguished by their politeness and courtesy. Of course, they count on a similar reaction from guests of their friendly country.

Which religion is the main one in Turkey and determines the foundations and behavior of the modern population of the country is a question that should not be ignored by any person who intends to visit the state for tourism purposes. As a guest, it is important to take into account local traditions and people's views so as not to inadvertently offend anyone.

For example, respect for the views of the Turkish population may be manifested in wearing not too revealing clothing on their territory. The closer to the center of the country, the more seriously you should take this nuance. Visiting mosques is allowed to everyone, but for tourists there is a specially designated place at the entrance to the building, beyond which it is better not to go.

When entering a religious building, a woman must put a scarf on her head and make sure that her arms and legs are covered with clothes. You can only enter the building with your shoes off. It is better for visitors not to go to the mosque during prayer, especially not to try to photograph the event. Islam prohibits taking images of people. And although not all modern residents of Turkey adhere to this rule, before capturing one of them in a photo, it would be a good idea to ask permission.

Reaping the war

Traces of military operations that have been practically non-stop for 35 years - from the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan and ending with the ISAF operation - can be seen everywhere. They are also noticeable in the everyday life of Afghans. For example, this old Soviet tank stands in the middle of a field where a peasant is harvesting his crops.

Currents

Each of the two main Islamic movements is heterogeneous within itself and has many currents that differ markedly from each other.

Thus, Sufism, which arose in the bosom of Sunnism, due to its dilution with Hindu and Christian traditions, is considered by devout Muslims to be a distortion of the teachings of Muhammad. And certain practices - the veneration of dead teachers - or the concept - the dissolution of the Sufi in God - are completely recognized as contrary to Islam.

Wahhabis are also against pilgrimages to the graves of saints. In 1998, as part of a campaign to destroy idols, Wahhabis razed the grave of the mother of the Prophet Muhammad, which caused a wave of protests throughout the Islamic world.

Most Muslim theologians call Wahhabism the radical wing of Islam. The latter’s struggle to cleanse Islam of “alien impurities” often goes beyond the scope of true teaching and takes on an openly terrorist character.

Shiism could not do without radical sects. However, unlike Wahhabism, they do not pose any serious threat to society. For example, the Ghurabis believe that the cousins ​​Muhammad and Ali were similar in appearance to each other, and therefore the angel Jibril mistakenly gave a prophecy to Muhammad. And the Damiyats even claim that Ali was a god and Muhammad was his messenger.

A more significant movement in Shiism is Ismailism. His followers adhere to the concept that Allah infused his divine essence into the earthly prophets - Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. The coming of the seventh messiah, according to their beliefs, will bring universal justice and prosperity to the world.

The Alawites are considered one of the distant branches of Shiism. Their dogmas are based on a variety of spiritual traditions - pre-Islamic religions, Gnostic Christianity, Greek philosophy, astral cults. The family of the current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs to the Alawites.

Other religions of Turkey

It is not easy to express all religions in Turkey as percentages, since the available data are very approximate. Christianity, Judaism and Yezidism in combination unite no more than 3% of the country's population.

More than 300 Christian communities are registered, the members of which are 0.6% of the state's population. Among them there are Orthodox, Catholics and various Protestant denominations. Basically, they do not experience pressure or oppression of their rights.

A very small percentage of Jews in Turkey managed to build about 40 synagogues. Yezidism, the religion of the Kurds of Turkey, is the least numerous. The majority of this ethnic group, living in the north of the country, are Sunni Muslims.

The centuries-old influence of the teachings of Muhammad greatly affected the behavior and lifestyle of the population of the country called Turkey. After the reforms, religion no longer has such a strong influence on various spheres of people’s lives. However, many customs and views generated by the verses of the Koran have firmly settled in their consciousness. Those who strictly observe all religious customs and those who violate them in many respects coexist peacefully in the country.

Afghan police

Morning formation at the police academy in Kabul. For 10 years, Bundeswehr soldiers trained Afghan police officers - it was assumed that by the end of 2014, when the troops of the international coalition forces leave Afghanistan, a police force would be formed, focused on the principles of the rule of law.

The current state of affairs in the Muslim world

The existing contradictions between the two religious movements are so deeply rooted in the Islamic world that they continue to influence the internal political processes and foreign policy of states in the Middle East.

And this despite the fact that Muslims professing Shiism account for only 10-15% of the total number of believers for whom Allah is the only God. Sunnis, on the contrary, make up the vast majority - 1.550 million people. Such a huge numerical advantage does not give Sunnis the right to have the first say in the Muslim world. Hence the constantly emerging contradictions and conflicts that arise between Islamic states.

Map of the spread of Islam

The problem is that Shiites, who largely make up the population of Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain, are surrounded by a belt of states where the state religion is Sunnism. Historically, the modern borders of the states of this huge region are not a clear ethnic border for the peoples. In the process of world order, enclaves were formed in other countries of the Near and Middle East, in which populations professing Shiism live. Today, Shiites live in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Yemen and Afghanistan. Many Shiites live in the territory of modern Syria, torn apart by civil conflict.

The main difficulty is that all Shiites from Syria or Yemen, from Saudi Arabia or Turkey, consider imams their spiritual guides. If Sunnis consider imams simply spiritual guides, then Shiites revere the imam on a par with the Prophet. In their opinion, the head of the Shiites is a person who is necessarily related to the legendary Caliph Ali. How one can trace the ancestry of an imam these days is a question, but in Shiism there is a special emphasis on this. Shiites believe that the appearance of each subsequent ruler and spiritual head of the community is destined from above. The authority of the imam is unquestionable, and his opinion becomes an immutable truth for Shiites. This accordingly leads to manifestations of dual power in those territories where Shiites live. Nominally, Shiites are subject to the laws of the state in which they live, but in socio-political issues and in matters of faith for Shiites, the opinion of the imam comes first.

On this basis, Muslims lack unity. The entire Muslim world is conventionally divided into spheres of influence, ruled not by heads of state, but by spiritual leaders.

Ayatollah

Imams play a huge role among Shiites in governing the state. Now they are in charge not only of religious issues, but also of managing the secular life of the Shiite community. This feature is most clearly manifested in Iran, where the imam, also known as the ayatollah, is not only a spiritual leader, but also sometimes performs the unspoken functions of a state leader. In Iran, for a long time the Shah combined secular and spiritual power. After the Islamic revolution, secular power was established in Iran, headed by the President of the Republic, but the unofficial head of the state remains the Ayatollah, who is also the head of the Shiites. His opinion and speeches are immutable for all Shiites, regardless of where they live, in Iran or Yemen, in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia.

Two thirds of the population is illiterate

35 years of war destroyed not only cities, people’s lives, but also the education system. In the summer of 2011, data from a study conducted by the German government were published: 72 percent of Afghan men and 93 percent of women do not have a high school diploma. More than 70 percent of the population cannot read or write.

Stroke of fate

Akram lost both his arms while collecting scrap metal at a garbage dump. At that moment, he and his family lived in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, like many other Afghan refugees. The boy accidentally touched an exposed electrical wire. Due to multiple burns, doctors were forced to amputate both of his arms. After this, the family returned to Kabul. The International Red Cross helped Akram get prosthetics.

Essence of the question

The beginning of the split takes its roots in the territory of modern Iran - then Persia. After the conquest of Persia by the Arabs, the territory of the country became part of a new huge state - the Arab Caliphate, in which Islam became the state religion. Even then, areas of schism emerged among Muslims. After the death of the last Caliph Ali ibn Abu Talib, whom some considered a relative and associate of the Prophet Muhammad, the question of succession to the throne arose. In some regions of the Caliphate, political groups appeared that believed that the new Caliph should be a person who was a descendant of the Prophet. Such kinship a priori allowed the new ruler to have the best spiritual and human qualities.

Ali ibn Abu Talib

In opposition to this trend, groups appeared in the country that advocated that the country should be ruled by an elected person - a person with authority and worthy of the title of Caliph. The bulk of the population of the Caliphate are representatives of the poor, who have little understanding of the political situation. The people liked the idea of ​​appointing a person directly related to the Prophet as head of state. Therefore, after the death of Caliph Ali ibn Abu Talib, his place should have been taken by a person from the same family. The emphasis was placed on the fact that Caliph Ali himself was born in Mecca and became the first of the men to convert to Islam. Those who preached this idea began to be called Shiites, from the word shiya - i.e. first. In their teaching, they relied on the Koran, as the only and indisputable source of righteous thought in Islam.

Koran

Note: among the Shiites themselves there are also contradictions about where the birthright of the ruler should be considered. Some prefer to take the account from the Prophet Muhammad himself. Others believe that they are reporting from the companions of the Prophet. The third group, the largest, considers the birthright to be from Caliph Ali ibn Talib.

The Sunnis represented another layer of civil society in the Arab Caliphate, which held completely different views on things. The significant difference between Sunnis and Shiites was that the former rejected the exclusive right of kinship between Caliph Ali and the Prophet. In their arguments, religious leaders from this camp relied on texts taken from the Sunnah, the sacred book for all Muslims. Hence the name of the new religious movement - Sunnism. It should be noted that it was precisely the discrepancies that became the stumbling block, which later became a red line that divided Islam into two irreconcilable camps.

Sunnah

Sunnis revere only the Prophet, Shiites canonize him as a saint. Even then, contradictions on religious grounds reached their highest intensity, which quickly escalated into a bloody civil conflict that tore the caliphate apart.

However, times are changing. The Arab Caliphate disappeared, the Ottoman Empire and Persia appeared. The settlement territories of Sunnis and Shiites were either part of some states or became the territory of other countries. Rulers and political systems changed, but religious divisions between Sunnis and Shiites continued to persist, despite changing times and a different political system.