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Sunnis and Shiites
Shia and Sunni are two major sects of Islam. Shias or Shiites as commonly known share most of the fundamental beliefs with Sunnis but there are differences in practices, rituals and some beliefs as well, due to which they are considered two completely different sects. These differences are however not considered as major as probably with some other sects like Ahmedis, Bohras, and Ismailis but are still enough to keep the sects separate and usually people from one sect wouldn't want to marry a person from the other sect, even though it is not prohibited in Islam.
Differences begin with the kalma, the first and foremost declaration that brings a person into Islam. Kalma shahadat, explicitly declares that Allah is the only God to worship and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is His messenger.(Molloy) For Sunnis, the kalma states just this and nothing more. It is not altered and no additions of any sort have ever been made. However for Shiite, a major addition has been made which is one reason Sunnis do not consider them as strictly the followers of Prophet Mohammad's (pbuh) religion as they do themselves....
This addition states that Ali, the last Caliph is the friend of Allah and was the first Caliph. However history records that it was Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddique, a very close friend of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and a highly pious man who was the first Caliph. The bone of contention lies in this very fact. Shiites know that Hazrat Ali was not the first Caliph but feel that he should have been.
The differences then extend to prayers, Imams (religious scholars) that they two sects follow or consider important, fasting timings, religious months of celebration etc. According to Shiite faith, Moharram, the first month of Islamic Calendar is the month of mourning since that is when Ali's (May God be please with him) son Hazrat Imam was killed on the battleground of Karbala. However Sunnis do not share the same beliefs and feel that Moharram is one of the four extremely important months of Islamic Calendar and is a month that should be accorded respect but mourning is definitely not allowed. The concept of mourning is not accepted in Islam and at the most Muslims can mourn for three days. It is for this reason that Sunni…
Reference
1. Hussein Abdul-waheed Amin, Editor of IslamForToday.com, The Origins of the Sunni/Shia split in Islam, accessed 28th April 2005: http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm
2. What's the Difference Between Shia and Sunni Muslims? Accessed on 28th April 2005: http://islam.about.com/cs/divisions/f/shia_sunni.htm
3. Zafar Abbas, Pakistan's schisms spill into present, accessed on 28th April 2005: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3724082.stm
4. Michael Molloy, Experiencing the world's religions; Tradition, Challenge, and Change, Second edition (Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company [McGraw Hill], 2002).
5. "Sunni Islam" accessed 28th April 2005: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islam
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