Saturday, February 23, 2008

The Myth Of Sunni-Shia Unity

When you ask an Iraqi if he is Sunni or Shia, he gets annoyed and pissed off as if it is a huge insult, however, you should keep in mind that he is not insulted because he believes Sunnis and Shias are united and that we are all Muslims, he is afraid that you will realize how much of a conflict is suppressed behind closed doors, in public venues, Iraqis of various sects pretend the same moronic hypocrisy, however, as soon as they are behind closed doors they start to curse the shit out of each other's sect. Sure, Iraqis may be united by language, customs, or culture, but religion will always be a throng in that unity's foundation ; because Sunnis and Shias, religiously speaking, are mortal enemies. However, because Shias have long been oppressed, and because their vengeance is postponed until the Mahdi arrives, they have learned to go about their lives with caution, in spite of that, the Sunnis view them with the utmost distrust, and it's very easy today to visit any Shia website and read those facts. The fact is, Sunnis and Shias are hostile, and they only keep their peace because they are reluctant to speak out about their disunity. A person like Yassir al-Habib might be considered an extremist in that vein, but what he is doing is only being frank about it.

I will recount a short-short summary of the history of Islam as seen by both Sunnis and Shias, you can decide after that if there is any chance that Sunnis and Shias are united, (and which side's version is funnier.) Please remember that people who are ruling Iraq today take this very, very seriously.


1. THE SHIA VIEW (cuz it's more exciting)


Once upon a time, there was a prophet called Muhammed.
Before Muhammed died, he appointed his cousin, Ali, as his successor.
Unfortunately, a homosexual [1], scheming, bastard, early companion named Umar conspired with another prominent companion, Abu Bakr, and they usurped the caliphate.
Every companion of Muhammed agreed with them, except four, who remained Muslims (=Ali should be Caliph.)
Ali, who is infallible, naturally did not agree, he kept in his house.
the bastard homosexual and his old geezer friend Abu Bakr went to force Ali to accept their rule.
When he did not come out Umar broke the door, and held Ali's also infallible wife, Fatima, behind the door, crushing her, breaking her rib, causing her pregnant son to die, only to die six months later.
Ali, the bravest companion of all responds to all this by....grudgingly accepting their rule "to preserve the unity of Muslims, and because Muhammed told him to." You can't argue with the dead, or the divine.
On top of this, Ali actively works as a judge and an advisor for Abu Bakr and Umar.
22 years later, Ali becomes Caliph.
He is opposed by a [Sunni] Umayyad ruler called Muawiya,
Ali is killed in the battle and Muawiya rules.
Ali's son al-Hasan decides to stop the fight, because "he is infallible and you can't argue with the divine." Muawiya poisons him and gets rid of him. Muawiya dies and appoints his drunken son Yazid as successor.
As soon as this happens, Hussein, immediately decides to fight again, he marches to fight and is killed by Yazid's army, it is this battle which Shias commemorate every year with much flagellation, crying, and outcries for vengeance, as you know, Yazid wasn't a Jew or a pagan, he was a Sunni.

Hussein's son, the 4th Infallible Imam, as well as his son, are poisoned by another Sunni Umayyad called Hisham.
6th, al-Sadiq, is also poisoned by Abu Jaffar al-Mansur, the Sunni Abbasid who built Baghdad, five days after Shia assumed power in 2005, his statue in Baghdad was destroyed. (note how this link gracefully ignores this fact, thinking it is the work of the usual suspects: Americans and Zionists.)
the 7th Imam, al-Kadhum, was poisoned by the infamous Sunni caliph Harun al-Rashid.
the 8th Imam, al-Rida, was tricked by Harun's son, al-Ma'mun, who feigned Shia inclinations, only to poison him.
the 9th Imam, al-Taqqi, was posioned by Sunni caliph al-Mu'tasim, builder of Samarra.
the 10th Imam, Ali al-Hadi, was poisoned by Sunni al-Mutawwakil, on top of that, al-Mutawwkil was a supreme hater of Shias who levelled Hussein and Ali graves to the ground.
the 11th infallible....poisoned...Sunni....
the 12th, the Mahdi, hid in a cave because the Sunni Abbasids were about to kill him, he is still in hiding until today and will come out one day.
Ever since then, the Shias have been oppressed and squashed, remember that those who oppressed them were not Christians or Jews.
And so Shias call upon him to come out and set right all the injustice that have been heaped upon them, the Mahdi will resurrect all those enemies I just mentioned and kill them, he will also "kill the sons of Umayyads because of the oppression of their fathers."

******* Now for the Sunni version********
Once upon a time a Prophet Muhammed died and went to heaven.
Everyone lived happily ever after, Abu Bakr, his closest friend and companion, ruled
followed by the Prince of Believers, the one who made Islam proud, Umar
followed by Uthman, the first six years of Uthman's rule were merry.
However the Joooz could not keep quite while the Muslims expanded.
A sneaky bastard Joo called Ibn Saba pretended to be a Muslim and started inciting people against Uthman. (remember that this unknown Ibn Saba manipulated the minds of thousands of Muslims while Muhammed's most prominent companions were still alive)
He started a belief that all prophets have viceroys, and Muhammed's viceroy, Ali, was denied his rights by Uthman (and Abu Bakr and Umar)
This nobody (Ibn Sabaa) is the reason why the companions (who are all awesome) beat the shit out of each other,
And why Uthman (another awesome dude) was laid to rot for three days, even though he was one of the 10 the prophet promised paradise
And why Aisha (the wife of the prophet who the West mainly remembers for being the six-year-old bride) waged war against Ali.
Soon the Persians caught up on this and began to incorporate their own beliefs into this filthy Joo Ibn Sabaa cult, and ever since then they have been allies for anyone fighting the Muslims.
For example, The Baghdadi vizier who opened the door for Mongols was Shia, called Ibn al-Alqami.
****
Yes yes, we are all Muslims, and Iraqis have been living peacefully for thousands of years (note that most of what had happened above occured in Iraq.) Har Har. If anything, Sunnis and Shias are even more far from each other than Muslims and Christians. They will forever be hostile to each other.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Abbas,

You shouldn't have posted about Nir's article so quickly, thus pushing this blog entry down the page. This was an engaging look -- to say the least -- at the sectarian issue. I mean, are you crazy? BT and Omar (24 Steps) are going to place a Rushdie-fatwa on your head for saying that the Peace and Serenity and Eternal Brotherhood between the Shia and the Sunna is a fool's illusion.

I hope some Iraqis stop by and comment on your entry.

*

Shams said...

therefore the only solution for Iraq is a secular ruling, the rest should be left for ppl's interpretation of how they view Islam.

But in the same time, not all Sunis and Shia's are alike in terms of their sect's archetype, there are Iraqis whom you can not pinpoint their sect's background bcz they simply feel like Iraqis.

I salute your cynical approach, however you can also go down and eliminate any sense of reform if one keeps on such cynicism.

Also, in addition to your great effort in contrasting the views of the two sects, you should have included a non partial, and neutral anecdote, to leave a slap on, never lasting impact.

For example Ibn Hanifa, is a pronounced suni scholar however he was against the omayad if i am not wrong? wasn't he lashed and died in prison...?

Just like how it is important to be cynical, one gota look at the common, shared plight and to stop historical propaganda done by both sunnis and shi's.
The shi'a prototype that equal of today's only developed later in history.

Back to the topic, if Iraqis are asked if they are this or that, there are ones who are truely genuine. You can not be entirely pessimistic.

Anonymous said...

It's kind of shallow to look at it this way. But I do not think that someone can deny the growing gap between the two sects, in Iraq at least.
I believe a lot of diversion in the history books took place over the years, and we can never know the true story after all.
But I think that tons of work need to be done to educate the people out of this condition.
Don't you think that somehow, someday Muslims in Iraq will be educated enough to work by the "Lakum Denukum wa Liya Deeni" rule?

ahmed said...

Gilgamish,

He3 He3, Abu Hanifa, you should really read what Shias say about him.
Yes you're right ; and who cares what course history had really taken, what's important is what people believe, and this is what Shia believe, and it cannot be 'reformed' because it is a religious fact.

There are many Iraqis who are friends, but that friendship is not built on religion ; and we all know how important religions is in the lives of Iraqis, so that is my point. This is why they get so angry when someone asks that question.

blogiraqi,
I dont think it's a shallow perspective, I just shortened everything to the basic facts ; many people decline to say it out so straightforwardly that's all.

Don Cox said...

"people who are ruling Iraq today take this very, very seriously."_____Back in the 1500s, Britain was ruled by people who took Catholic/Protestant sectarianism very seriously. It kind of settled down after a few hundred years, except in Northern Ireland. Have hope for the future.

Unknown said...

15.07.24daigege
gucci
cheap ray ban sunglasses
oakley store
ray bans
cheap jordans
gucci outlet
michael kors handbag
kate spade handbags
chanel bags
michael kors
oakley sunglasses discount
mcm outlet
coach outlet store online
tory burch outlet online
oakley sunglasses
ray ban uk
pandora outlet
air max shoes
replica watches
cheap ray ban sunglasses
pandora charms 2015
abercrombie
fitflops sale clearance
fitflops outlet
jordan homme
michael kors outlet
chanel outlet
nike blazer
jordan pas cher
michael kors
ed hardy clothing
ray ban sunglasses
christian louboutin outlet
kate spade outlet
soccer shoes
true religion outlet
longchamp pas cher
kate spade uk
replica watches cheap
oakley online

mmjiaxin said...

cheap jordan shoes
cyber monday 2015
ray ban outlet
pittsburgh steelers
michael kors canada
lacoste shirts
air max 90
minnesota vikings
longchamp handbags
rolex uk
louis vuitton handbags outlet
lululemon pants
atlanta falcons
beats by dre
roshe run men
nike outlet store
oakley,occhiali oakley,oakley italia,oakley occhiali,oakley sunglasses
michael kors outlet
moncler outlet
cheap soccer jerseys
mm1026

Unknown said...

2015-11-4leilei

nike running shoes
michael kors bag
louis vuitton handbags
tory burch
michael kors handbags
michael kors bags
jordan retro 13
north face jackets
uggs outlet
fake oakleys
toms outlet
jordan 6s
moncler jackets outlet
michael kors outlet online
louis vuitton
ghd hair straighteners
nike air max 90
michael kors outlet
christian louboutin uk
cheap toms
air jordan homme
coach outlet store online
ray ban sunglasses
kate spade
mulberry uk
uggs on sale
cheap uggs
rolex replica watches
louis vuitton outlet stores
timberland uk
nike air max
coach factory
nike trainers
ed hardy
michael kors handbags
michael kors outlet

ghrshrtf said...

There's also the issue of invasiveness; phone calls are invasive by their nature, but according to Hutchby, video calls "are a whole extra level of imposition. Normally telephone calls are 'back stage' so you don't know what each other look like at that moment. But video calling is very much 'front stage', and there are going to be many more occasions where the person being called will wield that power they have not to accept the call."Ultrasound Probe
Holter ECG Cable Despite the fact that the recent explosion in popularity of social media means that young people love the idea of being permanently connected to each other, the new social uncertainties thrown up "Why won't they take my video call? Do I believe that they are where they say they are?" are something that we'll have to spend the next few years negotiating. It was just a point of contact for emergencies, or making shopping orders, and we turned it into a social thing. In the same way, we don't know how we'll end up using technology like FaceTime, but we'll be dictating it." Hints as to its possible deployment are already being seen; a company called 3G Doctor is already offering FaceTime consultations with health professionals for 35 a throw, and even if you balk at that, there are more mundane benefits not least the imminent replacement of the clunky, error prone and expensive MMS picture message as a quick way of saying "Look where I am right now!"

wholesale nfl jerseys said...

In May I was onehdmi extender of the first out of the traps to try Le Chabanais,hdmi wireless to all intents and purposes the London sibling of Le Chateaubriand, that has opened on Mount Street. We will draw a veilHDMI Series over that dinner. The restaurant closed soon after due to "mechanical issues" and reopened a month later.HDMI Series

Unknown said...

20160309meiqing
coach factorty outlet online
louis vuitton outlet
michael kors bags
longchamp le pliage
kate spade purses
louis vuitton
ralph lauren outlet
ray ban sunglasses outlet
ray-ban sunglasses
michael kors bags
louis vuitton outlet
coach outlet online
jordan 3 powder blue
jordan retro 11
fit flops
marc jacobs outlet
louis vuitton outlet stores
michael kors outlet
cheap ray ban sunglasses
air jordan shoes
louis vuitton
ray ban sunglasses
coach outlet online
prada outlet
coach factory outlet
michael kors outlet online
ray ban sunglasses
ugg boots
coach outlet
mont blanc mountain
louis vuitton
louis vuitton purses
adidas superstar
lebron james shoes 13
louis vuitton
ray ban sunglasses
abercrombie outlet
kate spade outlet
oakley outlet
beats by dre outlet

Unknown said...

vibram fivefingers
longchamp bags
michael kors handbags
nike air force
nike dunks
nike air zoom
adidas superstar
kobe 9
yeezy boost
adidas ultra boost
20170616

Obat Eksim Atopik said...

Thanks for sharing the information

Cara Mengobati Asam Lambung
Obat Atasi Alergi Dingin
Khasiat QnC Jelly Gamat
Pengobatan Herbal Penyakit Liver
Obat Paling Mujarab Diabetes Melitus
Obat Batu Empedu Alami

Riko JR said...

thank has been sharing this information. Do not forget to visit our website to share information and knowledge about health.
obat luka bakar alami
cara mengobati panu dan kurap
cara menyembuhkan abses payudara
cara mengobati cacingan

obat nyeri testis said...

Thanks please share this information if you are face any problem in Toshiba laptop. We will help you for more detail visit here
Cara Menghilangkan Benjolan di Payudara
Cara Menghilangkan Benjolan di Kepala
Cara Menyembuhkan Thalasemia

Obat Benjolan di Vagina said...

Your post has many detail information. I read all of your article and I genuinely like it. Thank you for discussing this great post.
obat keloid
obat ginjal bengkak
obat thalasemia
obat benjolan di kepala
obat benjolan di payudara

Cara menyembuhkan kutil kelamin said...

may be useful for all, helpful article once and pardon me permission to share also here :

Tips untuk kesehatan
Blog kesehatan QnC Jelly Gamat
Obat tipes tradisional
Khasiat walatra gamat emas kapsul
Harga walatra gamat emas kapsul
Produk walatra jelly gamat
Tanya QnC Jelly Gamat

Unknown said...

dig this 7a replica bags wholesale discover here replica bags online additional reading replica wallets

lakyd said...

their explanation buy replica bags online visit their website Louis Vuitton fake Bags site buy replica bags online