Transcript The Split between the Muslims

The Split between
the Muslims
The Issue with who should be
the first caliph
• Caliph = successor to Muhammad
• Should it be Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-inlaw?
• Abu Bakr fought those who withdrew their loyalty
to Islam over his take over.
• Abu Bakr won in uniting Arabs under one leader
• Under the first 4 caliphs, the Muslims beat the
Byzantines and Persians! (take over of
Jerusalem and Egypt)
Abu Bakr
Divisions within Islam
Shi’ite Muslim
• 15% of the World’s Muslims are Shi’ites
• Mohammed was the founder of Islam. Shi’ites believe that
the leadership of Muslims should have been passed down
to someone in Mohammed’s family.
• Quarrels over who should be the leader resulted in the
death of Mohammed’s grandson, Hussein.
• Imams are very important leaders among Shi’ites. Many
Shi’ites, called “Twelvers” believe that the 12th imam,
who disappeared in the 800s A.D. did not die. They believe
he will return as “the Mahdi” at the end of the world.
• Experts among Iranian Twelver Shi’ites are called
“
” (Look at their leaders) Iranians are
89% Shi’ites.
ayatollahs
Sunnis
• About 90% of the world’s Muslims are Sunnis.
• Sunnis believe that it was right for leadership to be
passed from Mohammed down to leaders called
“caliphs”
• Caliphs were chosen by elders among the Sunnis.
• Friday is the Muslims’ holy day.
• While the Sunnis wait for the return of the caliph of
Islam to earth, the Shi’ites think that he is already
on Earth but has yet to be found.
Sunni Muslim
Israel’s Defense
Shi’ite Muslims
Iraq
• Once the ruler– Saddam Hussein
• Religion lied behind his instability.
• The distrust that can exist between Sunni and
Shi’ite Muslims was his instability.
• The majority of Iraqis are Shi’ite, but minority
Sunni Muslims like Saddam have long been rulers
and administrators
• There are other sizeable minorities who are
disposed against the Arab Sunnis, mainly Kurds(
who are Sunnis but not Arabs) and Christians
• The very make-up of Iraq contains the seed of
rule by paranoia, terror and persecution.