Do you understand the ideals and politics between the Suuni and the Shiites?

Do I understand the ideals and politics? No

However, I do understand that the area is driven by tribal loyalty more than it is by nationalism.

Um, yeah…when Muslims represent like 22% of the world’s population and span dozens of countries, it does matter where ‘one might come from in the Muslim world.’

It’s obvious it does matter to them. What disturbs me, as usual, are their religion based differences. I read it that Shia and Sunni simply differ on who should succeed Mohammad. And this led on to conflicts after conflicts. They only stop it seems when outside forces interfere with the writing of their own history and they unite temporarily to fight as Muslims. Then it’s back to their own infighting afterwards. Brilliant isn’t it?~

No, but from what I’ve seen, I came to the premature conclusion that it’s just another warring religious faction. Please feel free to correct me.

It shouldn’t matter, but it does. Very much like the bickering between Protestants and Catholics. Politically it is indeed an issue. IIRC, Iraq is or was at one time primarily Shia in population, but was controlled by Sunnis. A lot of political instability was caused by those imblances of power.

One of the major differences between the Sunni branch and the Shiites is their size. The Sunnis make up about 90 percent of the Muslims in the world. Osama bin Laden was a Sunni Muslim.

Another major difference between the Sunnis and Shiites is that the Shiites Muslims believe the Mahdi “the rightly-guided one” has already been here, is in hiding and will return. A sect of the Shiites, known as the “twelvers” are preparing for the reurn of the 12th imam, the son of the 11th imam who disappeared from his father’s funeral.

The Sunnis believe he has not yet come into this world.

What difference this makes is who they accept as their leader. All of Islam was founded by Mohammed. Ali is his son and was the fourth leader after his death. Sunnis believe every caliphate or leader from Mohammed to Ali were the legitimate successors. The Shiites believe only the heirs of Ali, the fourth caliph were the legitimate leaders of Islam.

This is where the major religious difference comes into play between the two and the caliphates who are the guardian of Islamic law and the entire Islamic state.

I do understand it. Islam and Middle East politics is one of my wife’s areas of expertise, so I get better analysis from her than the news quite regularly.

Shiites do have a personality cult. Sunnis don’t.

I don’t understand Muslim quarrels anymore than I understand christian one. I do know that below almost any conflict lies a territorial issue. It just one tribe or cult fighting people that outsiders can’t tell one for another. I have no compassion for any religious conflict whether it is in Ireland or Afghanistan. They are a total waste of time resources and constant danger to children on both sides. If the child survives to be a teenager it is likely brainwashed into what ever cult raised him. Generational war, is there anything dumber?