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| IN THIS SECTION | The Origins of Islam | Shi'a-Sunni Schism | Early Islamic Scholarship |
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Shi'a-Sunni Schismby HANK SIMS The Islam of the Islamic Republic's government, and of the majority of Iranian citizens, is known as Shi'a, often referred to in English as "Shiite Islam." |
Women pray in a Teheran mosque |
| Though it
has much in common with the more prominent and widespread Sunni Islam, which
is practiced in Saudi Arabia, North Africa, and most of Asia, Shi'ites have
longstanding differences with Sunnis regarding the interpretation of Muhammad's
words and prophecies, and these differences, though based in arguments that
occurred over thirteen centuries ago, are the basis of the most significant
schism within the Islamic world.
The seeds of the schism were planted shortly after the death of Muhammad. When "the Prophet" died suddenly and unexpectedly in 632 AD, he left no instructions as to who should succeed him as head of the Islamic movement, or how his successors should govern the territorial empire that he and his followers had consolidated. Just 23 years after his death, a major dispute over the leadership of Islam erupted between the followers of Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, and Uthman, a rich nobleman who was a member of the powerful Umayyad family. Though the Umayyad faction eventually vanquished Ali, his followers, the shi'at Ali (party of Ali), lingered on throughout the Uthman years, and their teachings eventually galvanized a movement known as Shi'a or Shi'ite. Today, Iran is the world's principal bastion of Shi'ite Islam; a few smaller Shi'ite sects such as the Druze, in Lebanon, and the Ismailis also survive. Iranian Shi'ism maintains that the blood descendants of Muhammad are the only legitimate heirs to his authority, both spiritual and temporal. Iranian Shi'ism is sometimes called "twelver" Shi'ism because Iranians generally recognize only twelve imams, or supreme religious leaders, since the death of Muhammad. The twelfth of these, Mahdi, the "hidden imam," is believed to be alive today in some celestial state, where he waits to assume his position as the legitimate heir to the prophet of Islam. The ayatollahs - the highly respected scholars and teachers of Islam - are understood to be standing in for Mahdi when they interpret the words of the Prophet. The religious practices and beliefs of Shi'ites differ from those of the Sunni Muslims. Foremost, Shi'ites revere the twelve imams. The tombs of the eleven earthly imams are visited by worshippers, though a trip to the tombs is still not as important to a devout Shi'ite as a pilgrimage to Mecca. Despite political and military hostilities, Iranians customarily cross the border into Iraq to visit the tomb of Ali, the first imam and the favorite of many. But though Shi'ite Islam is Iran's state religion and the faith of a great majority of Iranian citizens, there are in Iran people who hold different beliefs. The Kurdish people, who live in the northern areas of Iran and Iraq and in eastern Turkey, are Sunni Muslims. Pockets of Jews and Christians, some of whom trace their lineages back to pre-Islamic Persia, are scattered throughout present-day Iran. The Zoroastrian religion, a monotheistic faith that predates even Judaism, is still practiced by a small community that is dispersed throughout much of Iran. _______________ Hank Sims is a graduate student of political science at Humboldt State University. _______________ |
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