Enlisting the
help of Muslims to defeat terrorists is what Trump is initiating with his trip
to Saudi Arabia. The timing is right, because the governments of our allies are
ready to begin. Terrorists exist in both Sunni and Shiite groups and they are
identifiable.
The plan is
to sell military equipment to Saudi Arabia to enable it to deter terrorist
aggression. In addition, the Saudis are gathering support from moderate Imams
to discredit and remove extremist Imams.
The Saudis are working to dry up the funding of terror. Finally, the
Saudis are working to diversify their economy and establish a larger private
sector.
The following
articles should give you the lay of the land on Muslim beliefs
Differences
between Shiite and Sunni, by Matt Bradley and Ali A. Nabhan 1/4/16
The growing diplomatic feud between Iran
and Saudi Arabia has escalated
historic tensions in the Muslim world, as the Sunni kingdom and its allies
scale back their diplomatic ties with Shiite Iran.
While the
dispute appears politically grounded, it also derives from Islam’s central
ideological division. While many Muslims consider Saudi Arabia as the leading
power in the Sunni Muslim world, Iran and its theological regime is often
thought of as its chief Shiite rival.
Both sects
consider themselves Muslims and their beliefs, symbols and religious practices
are very similar, but there are a few important differences between them.
Questions of Hereditary Succession
Shiites believe the Prophet Mohammed
should have been succeeded by his son-in-law, Imam Ali, and leadership of the
Muslim world should pass through the prophet’s descendants. Sunnis don’t
believe the leadership of the Muslim world should necessarily pass through
hereditary succession.
Reverence of Imam Ali and His Family
Shiites continue to observe what they
consider to be Imam Ali and his descendants’ persecution and to revere his
family, making annual pilgrimages to shrines to the Imam and his 11
descendants.
The Sunni Majority
Sunnis greatly outnumber Shiites,
constituting nearly 90% of the global community of Muslims. The governments of
some Persian Gulf countries—including Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates—are Sunni, while Iran
and Iraq are ruled by Shiites. Syria’s regime is Alawite, a Shiite offshoot.
Styles of Prayer
Shiites and Sunnis pray
differently: Sunnis cross their arms, while Shiites keep their arms
by their sides. Sunnis observe five daily prayer sessions; Shiites
condense the five prayers into three sessions.
Governance
Shiites are governed by more hierarchical structures, following living religious leaders. But Sunnis typically follow scholarly texts penned by past religious leaders.
https://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2016/01/04/5-differences-between-sunnis-and-shiites/
Extremist
Islamic Terrorism movement
In Egypt, the Muslim
Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist religious,
political, and social movement was founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in March
1928. The group spread to other Muslim countries and was subjected to a
succession of government crackdowns in 1948, 1954, 1965, and 2013 after plots,
or alleged plots, of assassination and overthrow were uncovered.
This group assassinated Anwar Sadat after he
released them from prison
Wahhabism is an Islamic doctrine and religious movement founded by Muhammad ibn Abd
al-Wahhab
(1703–1792). It has been
variously described as ultraconservative. Austere, fundamentalist or puritanical. It advocated a purging of such widespread Sunni
practices as the veneration
of saints,
the seeking of their intercession, and the visiting of their tombs, all of which were practiced all over the
Islamic world, but which he considered idolatry.
Comments
Both
Shiites and Sunnis will need to reject terrorism, but Trump is starting with
our traditional allies the Shiites in Saudi Arabia and other Shiite countries.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment