We have all heard of the
traditional Sunni/Shia difficulties within Islam. This feud has been on-going
for over a millennium. It’s been the cause of strife and war within the Mideast
for centuries. It is into the midst of this internal Islamic strife that we
plunged during the Iraq war under the Bush Administration. It became a mess. The
Obama Administration continued to flounder, as well, because of this internal
Islamic rift.
My wife and I were away to visit
India and the United Arab Emirates – especially the cities of Abu Dhabi and
Dubai. It was quite a contrast between India and her 3,500 years of history and
the UAE, barely 50 years old. But I finally was able to make sense of the
Sunni/Shia difficulties. Since the Mideast conflict(s) is such an important
aspect of our current political and security concerns, I want to share my new
understanding with you in this message.
As we toured Abu Dhabi, the
capital of the United Arab Emirates and the wealthiest of the UAE, our Guide
kept referring to the tolerance the Sunni Islamists offered to all Abu Dhabi
residents. All religious beliefs are welcome as long as they, including Islam,
do not try to proselytize other residents. That can get you removed from the
country. I began asking questions of our Guide about the Sunni branch of Islam
as opposed to the Shia Branch. He gave me little snippets of answers here and
there, as were appropriate to what is was we were currently touring.
Finally, on the last day we
visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. I had heard of this
fabulous mosque, but I really didn’t know what to expect. When we saw the mosque, I was blown away, as
was everyone else in our tour group. I told a companion traveler, “I really
didn’t know what to expect, but I surely didn’t expect this!” He felt the same
way.
As
an aside: Google “Sheikh
Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi” and click on the Wikipedia entry. Check out
the details of the Mosque in Wikipedia – especially the sections entitled
Design, Dimensions and Statistics, as well as Key Architectural Features. The
information presented is very much in line with what we heard from our tour Guide,
who functions as an Imam (which simply means prayer leader) in his local mosque.
Most of the world’s Muslims are
Sunni (85-90%) by recent estimates while the remaining 10-15% are Shia or
Shi’ites. The Sunnis are throughout most of the Arab world, Southeast Asia
(including Indonesia) and Africa. Saudi Arabia has the largest Sunni
population. Pakistan has the second-largest Sunni population. The Shi’ites are
primarily in Iraq and Iran. Pakistan also has the second-largest Shia
populations in the world.
Although the Sunni/Shia animosity
is a very, very complicated issue, our Guide tried to explain it as succinctly
as possible. After the Prophet Mohammad died circa 650AD some of the Islamic
community thought his successor should come from his family – it should be an
inherited line of succession. This successor would be the Caliph of the Islamic
community. Additionally, there should be a hierarchy of imams (or mosque
leaders), culminating in the highest, most potent, position – that of Ayatollah.
Those favoring this approach were the Shia, or Shi’ites. Shias also believe
special spiritual qualities have been granted not only to Muhammad but also to
the other Imams, especially the Ayatollah, who can understand and interpret the
hidden inner meaning of the teachings of Islam.
Others believed that the
successors to Mohammed should be determined by the method of choosing or
electing leaders, as endorsed by the Quran, by the consensus of the Muslim
community. These are the Sunni. The foundation of Islam for them is the
inherent equality of all believers before God. Hence tolerance. In Sunni mosques the men
stand hip-to-hip and foot-to-foot with their neighbors – regardless of social
position. This equality before God and a sense of Oneness with all present is
very dominant and critical for the Sunni. Women are separated from men in the
mosques – not because they’re inferior – but because they are there to pray and
sexual distractions can affect both a man or a woman if they are in close
proximity to each other.
ISIS/ISIL is not Islamic but
simply a terrorist group fulminating the Sunni/Shia tensions and trying to
manipulate the seething anger and resentment between the two groups for their
own political interests. Most of the people ISIS/ISIL kills are Muslims. Although
ISIS/ISIL inflicts much of their terror on Shia populations in Iraq, they also
target any group in Syria that will encourage the continuity of the civil war
there. Any unrest is seen as a good thing to ISIS/ISIL – something that can be
exploited for their political benefit.
The understanding of the Sunni
Islamic view as one of tolerance was also pointed out as we passed the
Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi, where there is a marvelous sculpture of the
word “Tolerance.” Equality and tolerance also explain the care taken by the
government to protect the indigenous Emirati population, which is only about
20% of the residents of the UAE. Education, health care, housing, and
employment are all considered a right of native Emirati citizens. The remaining
80% of the population consists of immigrant workers and employees of outside
companies. These, too, are afforded a great many benefits because the UAE
demands their contracts contain a living wage, adequate housing, health care
coverage and a paid month-long leave (with round trip airfare) so the workers
can go home each year. Violations of that contract with an employee can result
in the cancellation of the company’s ability to continue to do business in the
UAE.
Tolerance and equality before
God are the hallmarks of the Sunni. Top-down Islamic dictates from the Ayatollah
is the hallmark of the Shia. They can (and do) detest each other and play for
political gain by keeping their differences inflamed.
This explanation helped me. I
hope it is helpful to you as well.
Although these messages are mostly for me,
thanks for listening to me and getting to know me – warts and all. As always,
feel free to forward this message to your friends, family, and those
accompanying you on your spiritual journey.
Don
#3 Sep 2016
Copyright 2016