Knowing Differences Between Sunni, Shiía Helps in Understanding of Islamic World by Deryl Davis Ask Imam Yahya Hendi about the differences between Sunni and Shiía forms of Islam, and he may invite you to visit his mosque in Frederick, Md. There you can hear Hendi preach sermons invoking both Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, and Abu Bakr, a close friend of the prophet and early leader of the Muslim community. If you know your Islamic history, you know that Hendi is invoking two of the most important and sometimes contested figures in Shiía and Sunni Islam, respectively. Itís a measure of how well the two traditions mixóin Washington and elsewhereóthat Hendi can easily talk about both figures before his congregation, which includes both Shiía (also referred to as Shiites) and Sunnis. ìOn the ground, thereís really little theological difference,î said Hendi, a Sunni who has studied Shiía legal theory and is a member of the Islamic Jurisprudence Council of North America, the leading organization for interpreting Islamic law, or sharia. ìWe pray together, and we go to the same schools and the same mosques. In reality, Sunni and Shiía arenít two different forms of Islam, but two schools of thought.î Images of Iranian students storming the U.S. Embassy in Tehran 25 years ago led many Americans to assume there was a big divide between Islamís two major traditions. The unhelpful stereotype developed that Shiía Islam, as represented in Iran, was a restrictive and often violent form of belief that was generally unfriendly to American interests. On the other hand, Sunni Islam, represented in countries such as Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, came to be perceived as being more moderate and pro-American, at least until the Sunni-dominated Taliban rose to power in Afghanistan. ìAt the time of the Iranian Revolution, American experts were predicting that the revolutionary fervor would spread across the Muslim world,î recalled Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic studies at American University. ìOf course it didnít, because the experts didnít understand how the Muslim world worked.î In Ahmedís opinion, American observers failed, then as now, to understand the real distinctions within the Islamic world as well as the fundamental principles that unite all Muslims. ìThereís no theological dispute between the Shiía and Sunni,î Ahmed said. ìThey all believe in the Five Pillars of Islam [confession of belief, ritual prayer, giving of alms, Ramadan fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca]. The differences are really sociological and political. The Shiía are more hierarchical, with the clerics having more power. The Sunni are more egalitarian, and the mullahs [clerics] have less of it.î According to Imam Hendi, who is also the Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University, both Shiía and Sunni clerics hold the same general values, with little debate on the range of moral and ethical questions including abortion, euthanasia, or war. ìThe difference is really strong when it comes to power, to politics, and who should be in charge,î Hendi said. ìItís a historical difference about the interpretation of events that happened 1,400 years ago.î The events to which Hendi refers are the death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632 and disagreements over the succession of leadership within the rapidly expanding Muslim community. Some followers believed the prophet had designated Ali, his son-in-law and cousin, as his political and religious successor. They became known as the ìShiíati ëAli,î the supporters of Ali, and eventually, the ìShiía.î However, the majority of Mohammedís followers chose to elect a new leader, or imam, from among the prophetís earliest companions. Abu Bakr, one of Mohammedís first converts, was elected to succeed him, establishing a form of succession that future generations would follow. Although Ali did eventually succeed to the political and religious leadership of the Muslim community, becoming the fourth ìcaliphî or ruler, Shiía tradition holds that he was the first legitimate leader, followed by a succession of 11 others, all direct descendants of Mohammed through his daughter Fatima (also Aliís wife). ìThe leadership of the progeny of Mohammed is a disputed concept,î said Abu Nahidian, director of the Manassas Mosque in Virginia, which has a large Shiía population. ìThis is the real difference. The school of Shiía says that, if there is disagreement between the teaching of Mohammedís progeny and his companions, you take the progenyís view. The only authentic ëhadithí [tradition handed down from the prophet] is that quoted by his progeny.î By contrast, the majority Sunni school of Islam (representing about 90 percent of all Muslims) accepts the entire teachings of the first three caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman), who are believed to have maintained Islamic orthodoxy or common practice (ìsunnaî) based upon the revelation of the Koran. In general, Sunni Muslims take the Koran as the final authority on spiritual matters, while Shiías accept Ali and his 11 hereditary successors as divinely inspired and infallible interpreters of Islamic teaching and practice. ìThe Shiía developed a concept of infallible imams who became the people speaking on behalf of God,î Hendi explained. ìItís a bit like the Catholic Church with the pope. What they say is considered absolutely true.î According to Shiía tradition, the 12th imam mysteriously disappeared in the ninth century. Todayís ìayatollahs,î or high-ranking religious authorities, are viewed as temporary caretakers of his office, interpreting Shiía doctrine until the 12th imam (the ìmahdi,î or hidden one) eventually returns to restore peace and justice. ìIf you have a question about Islamic law or jurisprudence, you write to one of these ayatollahs,î Nahidian explained, pointing out that individual Shiías decide for themselves which ayatollah they will turn to for explication of religious matters. According to Nahidian, there are eight ayatollahs worldwide, six of them in Iran. Another distinction between Sunni and Shiía Islam is what Islamic scholar Ahmed calls ìthe Karbala paradigm.î The term refers to the defeat and death of Aliís son Hussain and his family in a lopsided battle against the caliph Yazid at Karbala in 680 in present-day Iraq. ìHussainís death is seen as a martyrdom which in turn becomes something glorious,î Ahmed said. ìItís really a starting point for the Shiía, because many of the following imams and prophets are also martyred. The concept of sacrifice, of giving oneís life for an important principle, becomes central in Shiía Islam.î Ahmed pointed to the annual Shiía observance of Ashura, commemorating Hussainís death, as an example of the power of history in present-day religious observance. Each year, tens of thousands of pilgrims converge on Karbala (a practice forbidden during the Saddam Hussein regime) to mourn, flagellate themselves, and carry symbols of Hussainís martyrdom at the hands of an oppressor. In his book ìIslam Today,î Ahmed argues that many aspects of revolutionary Iran, too, can be understood through the lens of the Karbala paradigm: the need to stand against oppression, the readiness for martyrdom, and the acceptance of tragedy as an inevitable part of history. However, Ahmed was quick to point out that in the United States, political and sectarian differences between Sunni and Shiía are largely invisible and are instead replaced by ethnic and cultural distinctions. ìHere you canít really tell the difference between Shiías and Sunnis,î Ahmed said. ìItís a matter of culture. For example, Shiía and Sunni from South Asia will look the same to us, speak the same language, eat the same foods, and for all practical purposes be the same.î Khalid Iqbal, former vice president of the Islamic Society of North America and a long-time associate of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) in Northern Virginia, believes the media has made too much of Sunni-Shiía distinctions. ìIíve heard more about divisions between them in America than I did growing up in Pakistan,î said Iqbal, who grew up in the Sunni tradition but was always familiar with Shiía practices. ìIn Pakistan, if you were going by a mosque and wanted to pray, it didnít matter whether the mosque was Shiía or Sunni. Prayer is prayer wherever you do it.î Iqbal said he is often invited to preach at the Manassas mosque where Nahidian is director. Similarly, Nahidian often preaches at ADAMS, which has a larger Sunni population in its community of more than 5,000 families. Neither mosque makes any distinction among religious observers. In fact, one of the first things visitors to the ADAMS Web site may see is the centerís policy of not discriminating between Shiía and Sunni denominations. Imam Hendi, who estimates that about 30 percent of his congregation in Frederick is Shiía, pointed out that in reality, all mosques have a mixed group of adherents, and the clericís job is to serve all of them. ìAt the end of the day, Iím their imam, and theyíre my community,î Hendi said. ìTheir theology is my theology. There are no real distinctions. Abu Bakr and Ali, they are both important to me.î Hendi added that it doesnít help the American government to assume major distinctions between Shiía and Sunni, either, because that can create division where none previously existed. ìBy allying ourselves with one group in Iraq, like the Shiía, and putting them against another, we are coming across as dividers rather than uniters,î Hendi said. ìWeíre not trying to uplift the unempowered, and that isnít good for the U.S. or the war in Iraq.î Hendi, Iqbal, Nahidian and Ahmed agree that more needs to be said about the fundamental unity of Muslims and the ways their faith brings them together across ethnic, cultural and national lines, especially in this country. ìWe laugh together, pray together, talk together,î Nahidian said. ìWhat point is there in trying to identify us as just this group or that one?î Deryl Davis is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.