Meyer

David Meyer
Professor Du Bois
HIST 2220
1 March 2016
Sunni-Shia Relations in History
It is March 2nd 2004; the streets of Baghdad are packed with thousands of Shia

Muslims celebrating the holy day of Ashura. Suddenly, a car in the distance, rushes

towards the densely packed congregation. The car detonates upon impact; dozens are

injured and killed. Why? Islam, emerging from the Arabian Peninsula during the seventh

century, is a fairly new religion that went through a violent schism split into two

primary sects: Sunni and Shia. This violent schism was first caused by the death of

Islams prophet, Muhammad ibn `Abd Allah, in 632 CE.1 Hostilities between Muslims

grew as arguments continued over whom the successor to Muhammad should be thereby

creating these two separate sects of Islam. This paper argues that there has been three

major turning points in Shia-Sunni relations: the schism of Islam, the Iranian Revolution,

and the Iran-Iraq war. As demonstrated by the 2004 Ashura bombings in Iraq2, the

significance of these three turning points is still evident in contemporary Islamic

relations.

The death of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad ibn `Abd Allah, in 632 CE marked

the first major turning point in Shia-Sunni relations. To summarize, Muhammad

introduced Islam to the people of the Arabian Peninsula in 610 CE and had successfully

gained control of the region while alive.3 Following his death, according to Nasr, the

forebears of the Sunnis followed the tribal tradition according to which a council of

elders would choose the most senior and respected elder to become the head of the
 Meyer 2

Islamic community or umma.4 Sunnis believed that the successor to Islam only needed

to be exemplary in nature. This meant that the successor did not have to be blood related

to Muhammad. The Sunnis chose Abu Bakr as the next successor, or caliph. Abu Bakr

was the father-in-law to Muhammad. A small group of Muhammads companions were

unhappy with this decision and believed that his son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib, was better

suited as the next caliph. This marked the beginning of the schism and conflicts between

Muslims escalated over the years and centuries to come. Shias emerged from this conflict

as the opposing sect. The term Shia stems from shiatu Ali, which roughly translates to

partisans of Ali. Shias believe that the descendants of Ali are part of a divine order.5

Moving forward, in 656 CE, Ali eventually became caliph but only to be murdered five

years into his rule by extremists. The blood spilled further perpetuated the divide between

the two sects of Islam. The Battle of Karbala in 680 CE can be referred to as the first

major conflict between the Sunnis and Shias. Alis son, Husayn, was murdered and

eventually power was shifted over to the Sunnis via the Umayyad dynasty. The other

Imams of Shia, or descendants of Husayn continued on to tell the tale of battle and

captivate their sect of Islam. Despite Sunni control, the Shias still honored the Imams as

the real religious leaders. This insubordination to Sunni rule further perpetuated hatred

between the sects and conflict continued for nine centuries while Sunnis remained in

power. During this time, the Imams were believed to go into hiding.6 When the Persians

formed the Safavid dynasty in 1501; they made the state religion Shia, thus granting

notable control back to the sect. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was in power, with

their religion set as Sunni. Push-pull conflict between these empires ensued for two more

centuries. It is clear now that the initial divide beginning at Muhammads death triggered
 Meyer 3

centuries of conflict due to these two sects battling for control and hoping to instill their

rightful version of Islam. However, the Shias today point back to these historical events

as reasons for their oppression in society. From their point of view, Sunni extremists

often start all hostilities. Today these extremists associate with terror cells nested within

Wahhabi-Sunni Islam. They promote violence in order to impose control over a region

and use a literal interpretation of the Quran as a justification for their actions.7 Pertaining

back to the Ashura bombings, the primary suspect, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a member of

Al-Qaeda, associated heavily with this sect of Islam.8 In conclusion, without

Muhammads null statement about the next successor, this conflict would never have

gotten so out of hand.

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 marked the second major turning point in Shia-

Sunni relations. The Iranian Revolution refers to the overthrow of the Pahlavi Dynasty,

which was under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavis control. Pahlavi, known as the Shah,

was the pro-western leader of Iran between 1941 and 1979. Friendly to the United States,

the Shah implemented many western-ideals and was considered a secular Muslim.9 The

primary resistance against the Shahs regime, headed by Ayatollah Khomeini, believed

that Irans government should not impose western ideals and rather create a

conglomeration between government and Islam in order to form an Islamic Republic.

Khomeini was known for his powerful speeches and was even named Man of the Year in

1979 by Time Magazine.10 Despite his International Influence, Khomeini took a strong

stand against the United States and any other country, which possessed pro-western

ideals. Khomeini referred to the United States as the Great Iblis, or Great Satan. By

creating an external enemy, Khomeini was able to rally Shia Muslims together. On April
 Meyer 4

1st 1979, Khomeini rose to power and was granted the title of Supreme Leader via

national referendum.11 Soon after, Sunni Muslims and leaders admired Khomeinis

success but condemned his leadership. Due to the significance of the Iranian Revolution,

Shias began to believe Khomeini was the Twelfth Imam due to his mystical aura.12 This

notion resurrected deep-rooted conflict between Sunnis and Shias. With Khomeini at the

helm of a dictatorial theocracy, he set forth to inspire Shia Muslims across the Middle

East and turned hostilities towards Saudi Arabia and other Sunni regimes. This is evident

today in Iraq with the fight against ISIS. Abu Azrael, also known as the Iraqi Rambo,

has said that he does not follow Iraqi military orders but rather the commands issued by

the Supreme Leader of Iran. If the Imam tells us [Shias] to march on Saudi Arabia, on

Mecca, well go.13 Iraqs population was and still is around 60-65% Shia.14 With a large

Shia population present in Iraq, Khomeini focused his efforts to slander the ruling Sunnis

by inciting uprising. This did not happen, but hostilities were evident during the Iran-Iraq

war and during the 2004 Ashura bombings. Zarqawi, the organizer of these bombings

was loyal to al-Qaeda, a group that despised Shias and followed Saudi Wahhabism.

Zarqawi followed fatwas, or assignation orders, against Shias issued by al-Qaeda. It is

now clear that without the Iranian Revolution and Khomeinis rise to power; Shia-Sunni

relations may have been less hostile today.

The Iran-Iraq war, an eight-year conflict starting in 1980, marked the third major

turning point in Shia-Sunni relations. By the ending of the Iranian Revolution, Baathists

party leaders feared Khomeinis rise to power would incite uprising within Iraq. More

specifically, the Sunni minority felt threatened by the possibility that Iraqs majority Shia

population might gain power.15 The Iran-Iraq war includes parallelisms back to the death
 Meyer 5

of Muhammad in 632 CE and the battles that followed. With the Saudis backing the

Iraqis, it became a two-pronged conflict. One side fought for religious freedom and the

other asserted their nationalism. Saddam Husseins Al-Anfal campaigns along with the

Iranian-launched Karbala Operations are in direct allusion with Islamic historical events.

The Shias of Iran most likely wanted to make a statement that Iraqs proxy aggression

from Saudi leadership was equivalent to that of the attempts to murder the Imams who

went into hiding during the original Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. Sunni leadership with

Iraq used the veil of war to distract the outside world of the genocide they committed

during the Anfal Campaign. This campaign was created in order to exterminate the

Kurdish population with Iraq.16 These two conflicts come together and show the

hostilities started by Sunni leadership. Even the tactics used within this war mimicked

that of strategies present during World War I. From an abstract context, this war was the

epitome of Sunni-Shia conflict within the 20th century. However, at the time Religion did

not seem to be at the core of this conflict. It seemed to be rather geared towards

nationalist intentions since Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq and the Baathist party,

made himself the symbol of his people.17 This directly correlated with Sunni beliefs since

they do not require the primary interpreter of Islam to withhold esoteric knowledge.

However, Iranians saw Khomeini as mystical in nature. The Iran-Iraq war allowed for

Shia-Sunni hostilities to be expressed through physical violence without further

consequence. This war was inevitable due to growing nationalism and Islamic

fundamentalism within the Middle East and only gave extremists, such as Zarqawi, more

reasons to incite violence within the 21st century.

 Meyer 6

In conclusion, the schism of Islam, the Iranian Revolution, and the Iran-Iraq war

are all major turning points in Shia-Sunni relations. Mohammads death, which sparked

the Schism of Islam, is primary and in some ways the root cause of the further conflict

between the two sects. The return of the supposed twelfth Imam, Ayatollah Khomeini,

resurfaced past conflict. This conflict soon turned into active violence during the Iran-

Iraq war and perfectly mirrored the historical conflicts that followed Mohammads death.

In many ways these turning points compiled together and became the pretext of the post-

9/11 world. Terrorist Organizations embody these Shia-Sunni conflicts in their most

literal form of violence. Now it is clear why Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a member of Al-

Qaeda, planned the 2004 Ashura bombings in Iraq all due to the hatred between these

two Islamic sects Shia and Sunni.

1
Nasr The Shia Revival 35
2
Reuters. "Thousands Mourn for Shiite Bombing Victims." ABC News. 2004.
3
"Origins of the Schism." Council on Foreign Relations.
4
Nasr 35
5
Nasr 37
6
Nasr 55
7
"Wahhabi". Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
8
"Abu Musab al-Zarqawi". Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
9
Nasr 137
10
Time "TIME Magazine Cover: Ayatullah Khomeini, Man of the Year - Jan. 7, 1980."
Time Inc.
11
"Iranian Revolution of 1978-79". Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
12
Nasr 134
13
FRANCE 24 English. "Meet Abu Azrael, 'Iraq's Rambo', the Most Reknown Fighter in
Iraq." YouTube 11:30 12:05
14
"The World Factbook for Iraq." Central Intelligence Agency.
 Meyer 7

15
"Iran-Iraq War". Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
16
"Kurd". Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
17
Marr The Modern History of Iraq 207