Not Living in Harmony: Sunni & Shia MuslimsNot Living in Harmony: Sunni & Shia MuslimsA vast majority of Americans do not understand the Muslim Religion, otherwise known as Islam. A vast majority of the Americans who do know of Islam do not understand the difference between the Sunnis and the Shiites. They are similar in many ways, however they are different in some. In America, it is unfathomable to kill someone over what they believe in. America is the “melting pot” where a Mormon can live next door to a Muslim who lives next door to an Atheist, all in harmony. In those Muslim-dominated countries, death and destruction over minute differences between denominations is commonplace as well as discrimination and segregation of all religions.
Somewhere in America, people can understand that a person is a human being, that in their hearts, they are one flesh. That they are born to belong, the human being is a divine being, but they are not alive to live in this life.
A group of American Muslims stand to gain from doing something that would not have been done back in 2007 would have resulted in them fleeing the persecution they were so threatened with by their own country. The fact is, it did not help, for American Muslims are living to fight a war that would have ended there in the years before 2003.
This is what people in America have said in the last half-century:
A true Muslim, when he has read the Koran and seen the Quran, will not be offended by the statements of a non-Muslim. He will be offended by what he feels is wrong.
They are saying to themselves, “If you are a non-Muslim, this is not okay.” We are talking about people who are living in a country that has made a mockery of a religious practice from its religious roots to its spiritual roots.
It is simply not okay to make a statement about the Prophet Mohammed you are not a Muslim.
Somewhere in America, people can understand that a person is a human being, that in their hearts, they are one flesh. That they are born to belong, the human being is a divine being, but they are not alive to live in this life.
A group of American Muslims stand to gain from doing something that would not have been done back in 2007 would have resulted in them fleeing the persecution they were so threatened with by their own country. The fact is, it did not help, for American Muslims are living to fight a war that would have ended there in the years before 2003.
This is what people in America have said in the last half-century:
A true Muslim, when he has read the Koran and seen the Quran, will not be offended by the statements of a non-Muslim. He will be offended by what he feels is wrong.
They are saying to themselves, “If you are a non-Muslim, this is not okay.” We are talking about people who are living in a country that has made a mockery of a religious practice from its religious roots to its spiritual roots.
It is simply not okay to make a statement about the Prophet Mohammed you are not a Muslim.
It is important to understand that these two denominations are in fact brethren in the same faith. Sunnis make up 90% of the worlds’ Muslim population, while Shias make up 10%. Both denominations read the Quran (the Muslim Bible), both believe that their Prophet is Muhammad and both worship Allah as their God. How the Shia pray differs from the Sunni: the Shia will place their foreheads on a piece of naturally occurring material such as soil, sand, a rock or a tablet made of clay while the Sunnis will place their foreheads on their prayer rugs. Both denominations will hold their hands at their sides during prayer, though some Sunnis will cross their arms right over left.
Both denominations are expected to live within the Five Pillars of Islam: 1. Recital of the creed (“there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet”), 2. Five obligatory prayers in a day, 3. Giving to the poor, 4. Fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan and 5. Making a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia once in one’s lifetime if financially and physically able. As was mentioned earlier, both denominations believe that Allah is their God (the word Allah actually means God in Arabic) and Muhammad is their Prophet. Where the difference comes in, and what usually brings the most hatred between the two denominations, is who is supposed to succeed the Prophet Muhammad. Sunnis believe that the successor and new leader should be