The Unending Feud: Shi'ites vs. Sunnis

There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God."

That confession of faith, the shahada, is professed by all Muslims, be they the 700 million Sunnis who dominate the Islamic world from Morocco to Indonesia or the 90 million Shi'ites who rule Iran and form majorities in Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq. To the shahada, however, the Shi'ites add, "And Ali is the Friend of God." Those additional words in praise of Ali, whom the Shi'ites passionately claim is Muhammad's true successor, epitomize the complex and often bloody feud between Islam's two branches.

Among the close disciples of the Prophet, his son-in-law Ali was the most familiar with the teachings of Islam's founder. Yet when Muhammad died in A.D. 632, his followers bypassed Ali for the succession. However, the Shi'at Ali, the partisans of Ali, argued that the Prophet had designated Ali and his family the hereditary rulers of Islam. Persevering with his claim, Ali became Islam's leader in A.D. 656, only to be assassinated five years later. Hussein, Ali's son, eventually pressed his own claim to the leadership. But he and most of his family were killed in battle with rival forces at Karbala in Iraq. To the horror of all Islam, the Prophet's grandson was cruelly tortured before being beheaded.

To the Shi'at Ali, who later became known as Shi'ites, Hussein's tragic attempt to establish the Prophet's true succession was the supreme sacrifice for the faith. Martyrdom thus offers Shi'ites a chance to imitate their sainted hero. In Iran, which is more than 90% Shi'ite, passion plays depicting Hussein's last hours are performed regularly. Each year, on the date of Hussein's death, thousands of penitents march through Iranian streets whipping themselves with chains and branches, seeking purification through suffering.

Faithful Shi'ites admit only to the authority of Muhammad and the Twelve Imams, who comprise Ali, Hussein and certain of their direct descendants. The Shi'ites consider the Twelve to be mediators between God and man. Though the Twelfth and last Imam went into hiding in A.D. 940, Shi'ites believe that he will re-emerge to rule the world as the messianic Mahdi. Until that time, the Shi'ite clergy are responsible for interpreting Islam. The Ayatullah Khomeini, however, has gone one step further by establishing his government as a regency for the Mahdi. Khomeini, who claims descent from Muhammad through the Seventh Imam, has never claimed to be the Twelfth Imam, but he has done nothing to discourage his followers from hailing him as such. Some Shi'ites consider that zeal misplaced and heretical.

While they honor Ali, the Sunnis do not venerate their imams as divine intercessors. Sunni imams mainly conduct community prayers. Each Sunni (from sunna, "the tradition of the Prophet") believes he can have a direct relationship with God. While the Sunnis scorn emotional outbursts and engage in private, meditative piety, Shi'ites are more likely to indulge in displays of religious ardor. Indeed, the Sunnis, who consider themselves the orthodoxy, did not accept Shi'ism as a legitimate school of Islam until 1959.

Among some Arab states on the Persian Gulf, the relationship between Sunni rulers and Shi'ite subjects remains volatile. After all, in the eyes of the Shi'ites, any regime not under the rule of the Prophet's true heirs is an abomination. Indeed, Bahrain, which is more than 70% Shi'ite, defused a 1981 coup attempt allegedly inspired by Tehran. Kuwait, which is 24% Shi'ite, has been victimized by a wave of bombings believed to be the work of pro-Iranian terrorists.

In the war between Iraq and Iran, however, Iraqi Shi'ites, who make up almost 60% of their country's population, have chosen to be Iraqis first and Shi'ites second. The ancient animosity between Arabs and Persians apparently transcends religious sympathies. Nonetheless, the Iraqis receive constant reminders of Iranian Shi'ite fervor. Tehran's major offensives are named Karbala, after the place where Hussein died, and captured Iranian soldiers proudly show off the "keys to Heaven" issued to them when they enlisted. The celestial keys: dog tags. Observes an Iraqi official: "The Iranians are still fighting the Battle of Hussein."