Sunni vs. Shia

Sunnis & Shias: Lets understand each other

today, Iraq is depicting a very sad tragedy that nobody can pass on it with ignorance.

'why did US attack Iraq? was it good or not? what if Saddam were not executed? was this country a real threat to international security?'

these questions are yet to be answered, but I think that everybody would agree that US is not the sole cause of Iraqis' problems.

while considering other factors which might affect the current situation of Iraq (foreign intervention, globalized terrorist groups, etc.), the Shia-Sunni conflict is to be ranked within most important causes of chaos.

there may be many political debates in Sunni/Shia relations in Iraq, but it generally remembers me the very chronic ideological clashes between two groups; or at least there are some signs which show that the current problem in Iraq is not only political but also some old problems are in its root.

conflict between these two important parts of Islam's Nation throughout history has caused desperate results which not only affected several generations in many countries, but also paved the way for some foreign agents to achieve their malicious goals.

but what are the real problems between Shia and Sunni? is there anything unsolvable in its essence?

I don’t think so. though you can find Shia minorities in Sunni countries and vice versa (which means that these 2 groups have lived together for a very long time), there is a very wide gap between people. as I see, neither Sunni understand Shia, nor do Shia understand the other part.

there is a pile of mis-understanding between two groups which works as a very efficient mean to divide them and provide some others with the opportunity to rule. and I wonder why even distinguished scholars do not try to solve these simple problems. in many cases, these problems can be solved very easily, because they don’t enjoy even a bit of truth. these false beliefs which do exist in each side about the other can be solved in a collaborative work.

check out an example of these false accusations right here:

original resource
it's google cache

in this page (which seems to be the script of a recorded speech), Sheikh Muhammd Hassan (the famous Quran recitor?) says:

"فهم يعتقدون أن القرآن الذي بين أيدينا الآن قرآن محرف، ... وليس هو القرآن الذي أنزله الله على نبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم"

which means:

"then, they [Shia] believe that this Quran currently in our hands is distorted,... and is not [exactly] what Allah descended to our prophet (peace be upon him)."

then, what is the story if it is a false accusation?

there are some Hadith books of Shia scholars (like: Bihar-al-Anwar which means 'seas of lights'), which gathered too many so-called Hadiths, both true and false ones, and did not distinguished between original and fake quotes attributed to Holy Prophet and Shia Imams (indeed, there is a long story why these books were made, and why they did gather even those Fake Quotes). now, those who review these quotes in these books can accuse Shia of very stupid beliefs of this kind very easily, while No Shia believes in such stories.

and also we can find some other similar facts at the root of these accusations which are completely nonsense.

with regards to the fact that right now I am in daily contact with the world through web and also the other fact that I have lived for more than 2 decades in a Shia society, I feel that there is a hidden hand which tries to spread these words; which tries to divide and rule.

"people tend to live in peace with each other. they were born that way. when you see even a drop of blood, you should seek for the dirty hands of some politicians."