(English) Russian , most bangash (English) Russian (English) and some Orakzais

Russian . The majority of the inhabitants of the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan - the Pamir peoples (except for some of the Yazgulem people) belong to the Ismaili current of Shiism.

The number of Shiites in Russia is insignificant. The Tats living in the Republic of Dagestan, the Lezgins of the village of Miskindzha, as well as the Azerbaijani communities of Dagestan belong to this direction of Islam. In addition, the majority of Azerbaijanis living in Russia are Shiites (in Azerbaijan itself, Shiites make up up to 85% of the population).

Branches of Shiism

The predominant trend in Shiism is the Imami, among whom a split occurred into Twelver Shiites (Isna'Sharites) and Ismailis. Al-Shahrastani names the following sects of the Imamis (Bakiris, Navusites, Aftahites, Shumayris, Ismailis-Waqifites, Musawites and Isnaasharis), while other heresiographers (al-Ashari, Naubakhti) identify three main sects: Qatites (later becoming Isnaasharites), Shukkarites and Waqifites.

Currently, relations between the Twelvers (as well as the Zaydis) and other Shiite movements sometimes take on tense forms. Despite the similarities in doctrine, in fact these are different communities. Shiites are traditionally divided into two large groups: moderate (Twelver Shiites, Zaydis) and extreme (Ismailis, Alawites, Alevis, etc.). At the same time, since the 70s of the 20th century, a reverse gradual process of rapprochement between moderate Shiites and Alawites and Ismailis began.

Twelver Shiites (Isna'asharis) Twelver Shiites or isna'asharites

are the predominant trend within Shia Islam, predominantly widespread in Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq and Lebanon, and also represented in other countries. This term denotes the Shia Imami, recognizing 12 successive imams from the Ali clan.

1. Twelve Imams
2. Ali ibn Abu Talib (died 661) - cousin, son-in-law and sahab of the prophet Muhammad, husband of his daughter Fatima, fourth and last righteous caliph.
3. Hasan ibn Ali (died 669) - eldest son of Ali and Fatima.
4. Hussein ibn Ali (died 680) - the youngest son of Ali and Fatima, who died a martyr in the Battle of Karbala against the army of Caliph Yazid I.
5. Zain al-Abidin (died 713)
6. Jafar al-Sadiq (died 765) - founder of one of the Islamic legal schools - the Jafarite madhhab.
7. Musa al-Kazim (died 799)
8. Ali ar-Rida (or Imam Reza), (died 818)
9. Muhammad at-Taqi (died 835)
10. Ali an-Naqi (died 865)
11. al-Hasan al-Askari (died 873)
12. Muhammad al-Mahdi (Mahdi) is the name of the last of the 12 Imams. The Mahdi in Islam is like the Messiah, who went into hiding at the age of five. This cover-up, according to the Imami Shiites, continues to this day.

Five Basic Pillars of Faith

The Shia faith is based on five main pillars:

Ismailism

Ismailis are adherents of the Shia Muslim sect. Unlike the Isnaasharites (Twelvers), they successively recognize seven imams before Jafar al-Sadiq, but after him they erect the imamate not to Musa al-Kazim, but to Jafar’s other son, Ismail, who died before his father.

In the 9th century, the Ismailis split into the Fatimid Ismailis, who recognized hidden imams, and the Qarmatians, who believed that there should be seven imams. At the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th centuries, the Qarmatians ceased to exist.

The territory of the Fatimid Caliphate against the backdrop of the modern borders of Asia and Africa.

In the 10th century, a vast Ismaili Fatimid state emerged in North Africa.

After the fall of the Fatimids spiritual center another Ismaili branch, the Mustalites, moved to Yemen, and in the 17th century to the Indian city of Gujarat, where most of them settled. At the same time, they were divided into the Daudites (most of the Mustalites), who moved to India, and the Sulaimanis, who remained in Yemen.

In the 18th century, the Shah of Persia officially recognized Ismailism as a movement of Shiism.

Druze

The Druze are an ethno-confessional group of Muslims (although some Islamic authorities believed that the Druze had moved so far away from other Islamic movements that they had lost the right to be considered Muslims), an offshoot of the Ismailis. The sect arose at the beginning of the 11th century under the influence of the preaching of a number of preachers and supporters of the Egyptian Ismaili ruler Hakem among the Ismailis of Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.

The name of the sect goes back to the name of the missionary Darazi (d. 1017), whom the Druze themselves consider an apostate, preferring to be called al-muwahhidun(Unitarians, or professing monotheism). There were dynasties of ruling emirs among the Druze, such as Maans, Shihabs, etc. In 1949, the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon was founded, with Druze as its core.

Alawites

Map of Alawite settlement in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.

At the heart of their dogmas one can find the spiritual traditions of many teachings and beliefs: Ismailism, Gnostic Christianity, Shiism, pre-Islamic astral cults, Greek philosophy. All Alawites are divided into a privileged group of “hassa” (“initiates”), who are the owners holy books and special knowledge, and the bulk - “amma” (“uninitiated”), who are assigned the role of novices-performers.

They were the main population of the Alawite State. The Assad family, Syrian presidents Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar al-Assad, belong to the Alawites.

Zaydis

Zaydis represent a branch of "moderate" Shiites found in northeastern Yemen; also one of the branches is nukvatites, common in Iran.

The Zaydis formed in the 8th century. Zaydis accept the legitimacy of the caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, which distinguishes them from the Isna'asharites (Twelvers) and the Ismailis. They also differ from other Shiites in that they deny the doctrine of the “hidden imam”, the practice of “taqiyya”, etc.

The Zaydis formed the states of the Idrisids, Alawids, etc., and also established power in part of the territory of Yemen, where their imams ruled until the revolution on September 26, 1962.

Other movements

Ahl-e Haqq or Yarsan - extreme Shiite esoteric teaching, rooted in the Mesopotamian currents of the Ghulat, and widespread in western Iran and eastern Iraq mainly among the Kurds.

Among the Shiites there is another movement - the Navusites, who believe that Imam Jafar al-Sadiq did not die, but went to ghaibah.

Kaysanites

Main article: Kaysanites

The disappeared branch - the Kaysanites, formed at the end of the 7th century. They proclaimed Ali's son, Muhammad ibn al-Hanafi, as the imam, but since he was not the son of the prophet's daughter, most Shiites rejected this choice. According to one version, they got their name from the nickname of al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubaid al-Sakafi - Kaysan, who led the uprising in Kufa under the slogan of protecting the rights of al-Hanafiyya and avenging the blood of Imam Hussein, according to another version - on behalf of the head of the guard al-Mukhtar Abu Amr Kaysan. The Kaysanites split into a number of sects: Mukhtarites, Hashemites, Bayanites and Rizamites. The Kaysanite communities ceased to exist in the middle of the 9th century.

Origins of Shiism

There is no generally accepted opinion about the emergence of the Shiite movement. Some believe that it arose during the time of the prophet, others - after his death, others attribute the origin of Shiism to the reign of Ali, others - to the period after his assassination. As S.M. notes Prozorov “these discrepancies are due to the fact that the authors, calling the followers of “Ali” Shiites, do not give a clear definition of this term and do not take into account the change in its content”. I.P. Petrushevsky believes that Shiism developed in religious movement in the period of time from the death of Hussein in 680 until the establishment of the Abbasid dynasty in power in 749/750, and during the same period, splits began in it. During the lifetime of the prophet himself, the first to be called Shiites were Salman and Abu Dharr, Migdad and Ammar.

Ali's succession

Investiture of Ali in Ghadir Khumm.

Returning from his last pilgrimage, the Prophet Muhammad, in the town of Ghadir Khumm, located between Mecca and Medina, made a statement addressed to Ali. Muhammad declared that Ali was his heir and brother and those who accepted the prophet as mawla (English) Russian , must accept Ali as his mawla. Shia Muslims believe that by doing so, the Prophet Muhammad declared Ali as his successor. Sunni tradition recognizes this fact, but does not attach great importance to it, while the Shiites solemnly celebrate this day as a holiday. Moreover, according to the hadith thaqalayn, the prophet said: “I leave among you two valuable things, if you stick to them, you will never get lost: the Koran and my family; they will never separate until the day of judgment". As evidence of the imamate of Ali, the Shiites cite another hadith about how Muhammad, calling on his closest relatives and fellow tribesmen, pointed to Ali, who was then still a boy, saying: “This is my brother, my successor (wasi) and my deputy (califa) after me. Listen to him and obey him! .

Prophet Muhammad died on June 8, 632 at his home in Medina. After his death, a group of Ansars gathered to resolve the issue of a successor. When the new head of the community was elected, a number of people (sahaba Abu Zarr al-Gifari, Miqdad ibn al-Aswad and Persian Salman al-Farisi) came out as supporters of Ali’s rights to the caliphate, but they were not listened to. Ali himself and Muhammad's family were at this time busy preparing the funeral of the prophet. The result of the meeting was the election of “deputy Messenger of Allah” - Caliph Rasuli-l-lahi, or simply caliph one of the prophet's companions - Abu Bakr. Upon his death, Abu Bakr recommended Umar as his successor, and the community unanimously swore allegiance to him. Dying, Omar named the six most respected veterans of Islam and ordered them to choose a new caliph from among them. Among those named by him were Ali and Uthman; the latter became the new caliph. The Shiites consider the first three caliphs to be usurpers who deprived of power the only legitimate owner - Ali, and the Kharijites, on the contrary, consider only Abu Bakr and Umar to be righteous caliphs. Sometimes they tried to present the first caliphs, starting with Abu Bakr, as “presidents” elected democratically. The English researcher B. Lewis noticed that not only the second, but also “the first caliph... Abu Bakr was elected in a way that, according to our point of view, can be called a coup d'etat (i.e. coup d'etat - approx.). The second, Omar, simply assumed power de facto , probably on the instructions of his predecessor" .

Caliphate Ali

Territories under the control of Caliph Ali Territories under the control of Mu'awiyah I Territory under the control of Amr ibn al-As

The apogee of the confrontation with Muawiya was the Battle of Siffin. The battle was not going well for Muawiyah, and Ali was favored to win. The situation was saved by the governor of Egypt, Amr al-As, who proposed pinning scrolls of the Koran on spears. The battle was stopped. Ali agreed to arbitration, but it ended in vain. Dissatisfied with his indecisiveness, some of Ali's supporters moved away from him and formed a third Muslim movement - the Kharijites, who opposed both Ali and Muawiyah. J. Wellhausen called the Shiite and Kharijite parties “religious and political parties of opposition” to the Umayyads.

In 660, Muawiyah was proclaimed caliph in Jerusalem. In January 661, Ali was killed by a Kharijite in the mosque of Kufa. Over the following years after Ali's assassination, Mu'awiyah's successors cursed Ali's memory in mosques and at ceremonial gatherings, and Ali's followers retaliated in kind to the first three caliphs as usurpers and to "Muawiyah's dog."

Hassan

Hussein: tragedy in Karbala

The agreement between Hassan and Muawiyah was decisively rejected by Hussein. He refused to swear allegiance to Muawiyah, but he, on the advice of Hasan, did not force him. After Mu'awiya's death, power passed to his son Yazid I, to whom Hussein also refused to swear allegiance. The Kufis immediately swore an oath of allegiance to Hussein and called him to them. Surrounded by his relatives and closest people, Hussein moved from Mecca to Kufa. On the way, he received news that the action in Iraq had been suppressed, but nevertheless Husain continued on his way. In the town of Ninewa, Hussein's detachment of 72 people clashed with the Caliph's 4,000-strong army. In a stubborn battle they were killed (many of those killed were members of the family of the Prophet Muhammad), including Hussein himself, the rest were taken prisoner. Among the dead, more than twenty people were Hussein’s closest relatives and, accordingly, members of the prophet’s family, of whom two were Hussein’s sons (Ali al-Akbar (English) Russian (English) and Ali al-Askar (English) Russian ), six paternal brothers of Hussein, three sons of Imam Hasan and three sons of Abdullah ibn Jafar (English) Russian (nephew and son-in-law of Ali), and three sons and three grandsons of Aqil ibn Abu Talib Russian

(

brother

Ali, cousin and sahab of the prophet). The head of the prophet's grandson was sent to Caliph Yazid in Damascus.

The death of Hussein contributed to the religious and political unification of adherents of the Ali clan, and he himself became not only a symbol of the Shiite movement, but also a significant figure in the entire Muslim world. Among Shiites, Hussein is considered the third imam. The day of his death is celebrated with the deepest mourning.

Story

Abbasid era

Major unrest between Shiites and Sunnis occurred in January 1910 in Bukhara. The head of the government of the Bukhara Emirate, Kushbegi Astanakula, whose mother came from Iran, granted permission to openly celebrate in the city of Ashura, which was previously allowed only within the borders of the Iranian quarter. However, the Sunni crowd began to mock Shiite rituals and showered ridicule on the Shiite procession as they passed through the main streets of Bukhara. The result was an attack by embittered Iranians on the crowd, which resulted in the death of one Bukharian. Following this, a pogrom began against the Shiites, who had to flee to New Bukhara under the protection of Russian troops. With the help of the tsarist troops, they managed to stop the pogrom, but clashes between Sunnis and Shiites continued outside the city for some time. This Sunni-Shiite massacre killed approximately 500 Bukharans and Iranians.

To strengthen mutual understanding and formalize dialogue between followers of the two branches of Islam (Shiism and Sunniism), the Sunni-Shiite Theological Council was established in May 2011 in Jakarta with the support of the Indonesian government.

Jafarite madhhab

Jafarite madhhab is a school of Islamic law (fiqh) followed by Twelver Shiites. The founder of the Jafarite persuasion is Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, revered by Twelver Shiites as the sixth immaculate imam from among the twelve sinless bearers of wilayat (leadership conditioned by closeness to God).

In the 18th century, the Jafarites received a separate place for prayer (makam or musalla) in the al-Ka'ba fence, along with followers of other Sunni theological and legal schools.

Society

Holidays

Shia Muslims, like Sunnis, celebrate

• Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (12 Rabi al-Awwal)
• The night of his ascension into heaven and the beginning of his prophetic mission(from 26 to 27 Rajab)
• Feast of the Sacrifice Eid al-Adha (10 Dhu-l-Hijjah).
• Like all Muslims, they also observe the Ramadan fast.

In addition to common holidays, Shiites also have their own holidays:

• Imam Ali's birthday (13th Rajab)
• Birthday of Imam Hussein (3rd Shaban)
• Imam Reza's birthday (11th Dhu'l-Qaadah)
• Imam Mahdi's birthday (15th of Shaban)
• The holiday of Ghadir Khumm, associated with the event in the town of Ghadir Khumm during the last pilgrimage of the Prophet Muhammad.

Shiites attach no less importance to the mourning dates associated with the death of the prophet (28 Safar) and the death of Shiite imams: the days of Ashura (from 1 to 10 Muharram), associated with the death of Imam Hussein, the day of the wounding of Imam Ali (19 Ramadan) and the day of his death (21 Ramadan), day of death of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (1 Shawwal).

Holy places

The holy places for Shia Muslims, as well as for all other Muslims, are Mecca and Medina. At the same time, the mosques of Imam Hussein and al-Abbas in Karbala and the mosque of Imam Ali in Najaf are widely revered.

Other revered sites include the Wadi us Salaam Cemetery in Najaf, the Jannat al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina, the Imam Reza Mosque in Mashhad (Iran), the Qazimiyya Mosque in Qazimiyah and the Al-Askari Mosque in Samarra (Iraq), etc.

Attacks on Shiite holy sites

Shiite holy places were often targeted or destroyed. The Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil in 850/851 ordered the destruction of the tomb of Imam Hussein and the surrounding buildings, and also banned visits to them. He also ordered that the area be irrigated and sown. However, after his death, the tomb of Imam Hussein was restored. At the end of the 10th century, the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, Emir Sebuktegin, who was hostile to the Shiites, destroyed the mausoleum of the eighth Imam Reza and the adjacent mosque, but in 1009 the mausoleum was restored by his son Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. On April 20, 1802, the Wahhabis raided Karbala, desecrating, destroying and looting the tomb of Imam Hussein, slaughtering thousands of Shiites, including old people, women and children. In 1925, the Ikhwan (the military militia of the first ruler and founder of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud) destroyed the graves of the imams in the Jannat al-Baqi cemetery in Medina.

During the Shia uprising in southern Iraq in 1991 against the regime of President Saddam Hussein, which broke out as a result of the defeat of the Iraqi army in the Gulf War, the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala was damaged, where the president's son-in-law Hussein Kamel participated in the suppression of the uprising. Standing on a tank near the tomb of Imam Hussein, he shouted: “Your name is Hussein and mine too. Let’s see which of us is stronger now,” ordering then to open fire on her. It is noteworthy that in the same year, being stricken with a brain tumor, he returned to Karbala to ask for forgiveness from the saint. In February 2006, an explosion was carried out at the Golden Mosque (Al-Askari Mosque) in Samarra, as a result of which the golden dome of the shrine collapsed

Notes

1. Islam. Encyclopedic Dictionary. M.: “Science”, Main Editorial Board of Oriental Literature, 1991. - 315 p. - ISBN 5-02-016941-2 - p.298.
2. Shīʿite. Encyclopædia Britannica Online (2010). Archived
3. . Pew Research Center (October 7, 2009). Archived from the original on May 28, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
4. Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population. - Pew Research Center, 2009.
5. Religions. CIA. The World Factbook (2010). Retrieved August 25, 2010.
6. Quick guide: Sunnis and Shias (English) , BBC(6 December 2011).
7. International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Lebanon, U.S. Department of state(November 17, 2010).

   Original text(English)

   However, the most recent demographic study conducted by Statistics Lebanon, a Beirut-based research firm, indicate 27 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim, 27 percent Shi"a Muslim, 21 percent Maronite Christian, eight percent Greek Orthodox, five percent Druze, and five percent Greek Catholic, with the remaining seven percent belonging to smaller Christian denominations.

8. Major Attacks in Lebanon, Israel and the Gaza Strip (English), The New York Times.
9. FIELD LISTING:: RELIGIONSA . Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The World Factbook on Afghanistan.

   Original text(English)

   Afghanistan: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1%
   Kuwait: Muslim (official) 85% (Sunni 70%, Shia 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%)

10. Country Profile: Afghanistan, August 2008 (English) , Library of Congress – Federal Research Division.

    Original text(English)

    Virtually the entire population is Muslim. Between 80 and 85 percent of Muslims are Sunni and 15 to 19 percent, Shia. The minority Shia are economically disadvantaged and frequently subject to discrimination.

11. A.V. Loginov The national question in Afghanistan // Races and Peoples. Vol. 20.. - M.: Nauka, 1990. - P. 172.
12. Anees al-Qudaihi. Saudi Arabia's Shia press for rights (English) , BBC(24 March 2009).
13. Religion. Administrative Department of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Presidential Library. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Religion. Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Presidential Library
14. Imamites (Russian) .
15. Ideological currents and differences in Islam
16. John Malcolm Wagstaff. The evolution of middle eastern landscapes: an outline to A.D. 1840. - Taylor & Francis, 1985. - T. 50. - P. 205. - ISBN 0856648124, 9780856648120

    Original text(English)

    After several false starts and the virtual elimination of the Safavid family itself, the Safavids were able to defeat the Ak-Koyünlu in 1501, take over their capital of Tabriz and dominate Azerbaijan. One of the first acts of the victor, Shah Ismail I (1501-24), was to declare the "Twelver" form of Shiism to be the state religion, despite the predominance of Sunni Muslims in the newly acquired territory. A conversion campaign was launched.

17. N.V. Pigulevskaya, A.Yu. Yakubovsky, I.P. Petrushevsky, L.V. Stroeva, A.M. Belenitsky. History of Iran from ancient times to the end of the 18th century. - L.: Leningrad University Publishing House, 1958. - P. 252.
18. Constitutions of Asian states: in 3 volumes - Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation: Norma, 2010. - T. 1: Western Asia. - P. 243. - ISBN 978-5-91768-124-5, 978-5-91768-125-2
19. “Ideology issues from the point of view of Shiism” p.12 by Muhammad-Riza Muzaffar
20. “Fundamentals of Belief” Makarim Shirazi, “Basic Principles of Religion for Everyone” Lesson one. Reza Ostadi
21. Ismailis (Russian) Islamic Encyclopedic Dictionary.
22. Gordon Newby. Concise Encyclopedia Islam. - FAIR PRESS, 2007. - P. 200. - ISBN 978-5-8183-1080-0
23. Islam: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - Science, 1991. - P. 111. - ISBN 5-02-016941-2
24. Heneghan, Tom. Syria's Alawites are secretive, unorthodox sect, Reuters(23 December 2011).
25. Gordon Newby. Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. - FAIR PRESS, 2007. - P. 39. - ISBN 978-5-8183-1080-0
26. Gordon Newby. Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. - FAIR PRESS, 2007. - P. 95. - ISBN 978-5-8183-1080-0
27. Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. - M.: FAIR PRESS, 2007. - P. 86. - ISBN 978-5-8183-1080-0, 1-85168-295-3
28. Islam: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - Science, 1991. - P. 298. - ISBN 5-02-016941-2
29. Alexander Ignatenko A divided ummah awaits doomsday // Domestic notes. - 2003. - V. 5 (13). - pp. 31-33.
30. al-Hasan ibn Musa an-Nawbakhti Shiite sects / Transl. from Arabic, research and comm. CM. Prozorova. - M.: Nauka, 1973. - P. 18.
31. I.P. Petrushevsky Islam in Iran in the 7th-15th centuries (course of lectures). - Leningrad University Publishing House, 1966. - P. 242.
32. Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai Shi"ite Islam. - State University of New York Press, 1975. - P. 57, note 1. - ISBN 0-87395-390-8

    Original text(English)

    The first designation to have appeared during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet of God was shi’ah, and Salman, Abu Dharr. Miqdad and 'Ammar were known by this name. See Hadir al'alam al-islami, Cairo, 1352, vol. I, p.188.

33. ʿAlī (Muslim caliph) (English) , Encyclopædia Britannica.
34. Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. - M.: FAIR PRESS, 2007. - P. 74. - ISBN 978-5-8183-1080-0, 1-85168-295-3
35. Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai Shi"ite Islam. - State University of New York Press, 1975. - P. 60, note 15. - ISBN 0-87395-390-8

    Original text(English)

    In the famous hadith of thaqalayn the Prophet says, "I leave two things of value amidst you in trust which if you hold on to you will never go astray: the Quran and the members of my household; these will never he separated until the Day ofjudgment." This hadith has been transmitted through more than a hundred channels by over thirty-five of the companions of the Holy Prophet. ('Abaqat, volume on hadith-i thaqalayn; Ghayat al-maram, p.211.)

36. CM. Prozorov Shiite (Imami) doctrine of supreme power // Islam. Religion, society, state. - M.: Nauka, 1984. - P. 206.
37. I.P. Petrushevsky Islam in Iran in the 7th-15th centuries (course of lectures). - Leningrad University Publishing House, 1966. - P. 39.
38. Islam: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - Science, 1991. - P. 241. - ISBN 5-02-016941-2
39. Islam: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - Science, 1991. - P. 268. - ISBN 5-02-016941-2
40. L. I. Klimovich. Islam. - Science, 1965. - P. 113.
41. I.P. Petrushevsky Islam in Iran in the 7th-15th centuries (course of lectures). - Leningrad University Publishing House, 1966. - P. 44.
42. Encyclopedic lexicon. - St. Petersburg, 1835. - T. 1. - P. 515.
43. The Encyclopaedia of Islam. - Brill, 1986. - T. 3. - P. 607. - ISBN 90-04-08118-6

    Original text(English)

    A number of hadiths mention the affectionate Phrases which Muhammad is said to have used of his grandsons, e.g., “whoever loves them loves me and whoever hates them hates me” and “al-Hasan and al-Husayn are the sayyids of the youth of Paradise" (this statement is very important in the eyes of the Shl"is, who have made of it one of the basic justifications for the right of the Prophet"s descendants to the imamate; sayyid shabab al-dianna is one of the epithets which the Shi"is given to each of the two brothers); other traditions present Muhammad with his grandsons on his knees, on his shoulders, or even on his back during the prayer at the moment of prostrating himself (Ibn Kathir, viii, 205 -7, has collected a fair number of these accounts, drawn mainly from the collections of Ibn Hanbal and of al-Tirmidhi).

44. Bolshakov O.G. History of the Caliphate. - Science, 1989. - T. 3. - P. 90-97.
45. Bolshakov O.G. History of the Caliphate. - Science, 1989. - T. 3. - P. 145.
46. Bolshakov O.G. History of the Caliphate. - Science, 1989. - T. 3. - P. 103.

Most religions originate as single concepts, which, under the influence of historical events and the development of initial ideas, can branch into several currents. This happened in one of the youngest world religions of the world - Islam.

For example, Shiite and Sunni Muslims, the difference between their creeds was created artificially, in order to lay a time bomb between the peoples professing the covenants of the Prophet.

Yes, the most popular movement in it is Sunnism, but there are also movements such as Shiism, Sufism, Kharijism, Wahhabism, etc. Let’s try to tell you how many movements there are in Islam, and what fundamental differences exist between Sunnis and Shiites.

The main difference between Sunnis and Shiites is that the Prophet Muhammad began preaching Islam in 610 and in 22 years converted so many followers that after his death they created the Righteous Caliphate. And already at such an early stage of history, there is unrest among Muslims.

The cause of the dispute was the issue of supreme power in the new state.

Should power be handed over to Muhammad's son-in-law Ali ibn Abu Talib or should caliphs be elected?

Ali's supporters, who later formed the basis of the Shiites, argued that only the imam, who, moreover, must be a member of the prophet's family, has the right to lead the community. Opponents, later on - Sunnis, appealed by the fact that there are no such requirements either in the Koran or in the Sunnah.

The Shiites insisted on its free interpretation, although only by a select few. Sunnis deny this and insist that the Sunnah must be perceived as it is. As a result, Abu Bakr was elected ruler of the Righteous Caliphate.

Subsequently, the dispute revolved around interpretations of the Sunnah.

It is worth noting that Shiites and Christians have always coexisted peacefully, unlike the militant Sunnis.

History of Shiites and Sunnis

In general, this was only the beginning of a centuries-long, if not conflict, then dispute and sometimes violent confrontation between Sunnis and Shiites. The most significant events are presented below:

Year	Event	Description
630-656	Rule of four righteous caliphs»	The dispute between Shiites and Sunnis over the issue of the heir to the prophet led to the successive election of 4 caliphs, i.e. actual victory of the Sunnis
656	Election of Ali ibn Abu Talib as the fifth caliph	The Shiite leader became the head of the righteous caliphate after 26 years. However, opponents accused him of involvement in the assassination of the previous caliph. The Civil War began
661	Ali was killed in a mosque in Kufa	Peace was concluded between the Sunni leader Mu'awiya and Ali's son Hassan. Muawiyah became caliph, but after his death he had to bequeath the rule to Hassan
680 g	Death of Muawiya	The Caliph declared his heir not Hassan at all, but his son Yazid. At the same time, Hassan died long before this, and Muawiyah’s promise did not apply to Hassan’s descendants at all. Hassan's son Hussein does not recognize Yazid's authority. Another Civil War begins
680 g	Death of Hussein	The war did not last long. The Caliph's troops took the city where Hussein was located, killed him, his two sons, and many supporters. The Karbala massacre made Hussein a martyr for the Shiites. Hussein's son Zayn al Abidin recognized Yazid's authority
873	Death of Hassan al Askari	Ali's line was interrupted. There were a total of 11 imams who were direct descendants of Ali.

In the future, the Shiite community will continue to be led by the imam, however, to a greater extent as a spiritual leader. Political power remained with the Sunni rulers.

Who are Sunnis

Sunnis differ from Shiites in that they are followers of the largest movement in Islam (about 80-90% or about 1,550 million people). They make up the majority in the Arab countries of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and some other countries.

IN Muslim countries(with the exception of Iran) the majority of the population is Sunni, while the rights of Shiites may be significantly infringed. An example is Iraq. Sunnis and Shiites live on the territory of the state, the number of which does not affect internal politics.

Adherents of both movements consider the holy city of Karbala theirs and sometimes quarrel over it. At the same time, both the local population and pilgrims were subjected to various types of discrimination.

Recently, Shiite communities are increasingly asserting themselves, seeking to overcome the economic and political dominance of the Sunnis. Often this happens in an aggressive form, however, there are also supporters of radical measures among Sunnis. Examples of this include the Taliban and ISIS.

Who are Shiites

To understand the irreconcilability of the creeds, which include Sunnis and Shiites, and what the difference is between the contradictions of the faithful, you should know that representatives of the second largest movement in Islam (about 10%) refute the meaning of the Sunnah in Islam.

Communities exist in many countries, although they constitute a majority of Muslims only in Iran. Shiites also live in Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Turkey and some other countries.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, Shiite communities are found in Dagestan.

The name comes from an Arabic word that can be translated as follower or adherent (however, the word "shia" can also be translated as "party"). Since the death of Muhammad, the Shiites have been led by imams, who are given special respect within this movement.

Even after Hussein's death in 680, imams continued to be leaders of the Shia community, although de jure they had no political power.

Bahrain, Shiites or Sunnis during the oath of allegiance to Allah

However, the imams had and still have enormous spiritual influence on the Shiites. They especially honor the 11 first imams, as well as the 12th, the so-called. hidden imam. It is believed that Hassan (son of Ali) had a son, Muhammad, who was hidden by God at the age of five and will appear on Earth at the right time. The “hidden imam” must come to Earth as a messiah.

In many ways, the essence of Shiism comes down to the cult of martyrdom.

In fact, this was laid down in the first years of the formation of the current. This distinctive feature The movement was in particular taken advantage of by the Hezbollah organization, which was the first to use suicide bombers in the 1980s, recruiting Shiites.

Main differences between Sunnis and Shiites

Despite the long history of the split, there are not many main differences between Sunnis and Shiites.

Characteristic
Relation to the imam	Head of a mosque, religious leader and representative of the clergy. Only the imam who has achieved this deserves respect.	He is a mediator between Allah and man. The sayings of imams are just as important along with the Quran and Sunnah
Heirs of Muhammad	Four "righteous caliphs"	Ali and his heirs, i.e. the descendants of Muhammad
Ashura and Shahsey-vahsey	Fasting on the day of Ashura in tribute to Musa, who escaped from the troops of Pharaoh	10 days of mourning for Imam Hussein. On Ashura, some Shiites take part in a procession during which they beat themselves with chains. Self-flagellation with bloodletting is considered honorable and righteous
Sunnah	Study the entire text of the Sunnah	Study the text of the Sunnah regarding the description of the life of Muhammad and his family members
Features of prayer	Performed 5 times a day (5 prayers during one prayer)	Done 3 times a day (also 5 prayers)
Five main pillars	Charity, faith, prayer, pilgrimage, fasting	Divine justice, divine leadership, belief in prophets, belief in judgment day, monotheism
Divorce	Temporary marriage and divorce are not recognized from the moment of its proclamation by a spouse	They recognize temporary marriages, but do not recognize that the moment of divorce from his proclamation as a spouse

Settlement of Shiites, Sunnis and Alawites

Currently, the majority of all Muslims (62%) live in the Asia-Pacific region (this is due to the large population of Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh). That is why in the Middle East the ratio of Sunnis to Shiites can be defined as 6 to 4. Although here the ratio is achieved at the expense of the Shiite population of Iran.

Large Shia communities numbering over 5 million people live only in Azerbaijan, India, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan and Turkey. About 2-4 million Shiites live in Saudi Arabia. On the following map you can clearly see the ratio of Sunnis (green) and Shiites (purple) in different regions.

A detailed map of the distribution of various movements in the Middle East is presented below.

Other sects of Islam

As you can see, a significant number of communities adhere to other movements of Islam. Although their share in the total mass of Muslims is not so large, each movement has its own differences and characteristics, which should be highlighted. First of all, we will focus on the currents divided by madhhabs (features of Sharia law).

Hanifites

The Hanifi (Hanafi) movement was founded by the Iranian scientist Abu Hanif (7th century) and is distinguished by the presence of istiskhan. Istiskhan means preference.

And it implies the opportunity for a Muslim to follow the traditions and religious customs of the area in which he lives.

To the question: “Can a Muslim consume GMO products?”, the Hanafi will answer that one should be guided by whether those around them consume such products and act based on their practices. Hanifites most often live in Europe, South and West Asia.

Malikis

The Malikis differ slightly from the Hanifites, only instead of istiskhan they use istislah (literally: convenience).

Malikis follow Arab customs.

However, they may not perform certain rituals if there are significant obstacles and peculiarities of life in the region.

When asked whether a Muslim should consume GMO products, the Maliki will answer that they should be guided by what they do in Mecca, but if there is no clear answer to this question, then they should act according to their conscience.

The criterion for fulfillment or non-fulfillment is the religious and moral conscience of the individual believer. Malikis live in North Africa, the Sahara, and also in some communities in the Persian Gulf.

Shafi'ites

Shafi'is adhere to a rational style in the field of Sharia law. If the answer to a non-standard situation is not in the Koran or Sunnah, then it should be sought in historical precedents. This principle is called istishab (linkage).

Accordingly, when asked about GMO products, the Shafiite will look for precedents in history, understand the composition of the product, etc. Most of the Shafiites live in Southeast Asia, Yemen, East Africa, and are often found among the Kurds.

Hanbalis

Hanbalis strictly follow the Sunnah and analyze it thoroughly to answer everyday questions. In fact, this movement is the most conservative, if not reactionary.

Hanbalis strictly follow the Sunnah.

When asked about GMO products, a Hanbali will most likely answer that neither the Sunnah nor the Quran says that such food can be consumed, and therefore it should not be consumed. This movement is official in Saudi Arabia and is also found in a number of other countries.

Alawites

More attention should be paid to who the Alawites, Shiites and Sunnis are, whose differences in Islam are interpreted in every way by Western historians of religion. There is no clear opinion on whether Alawites should be classified as Shiites or whether they should be identified as a separate ethnic and religious group or classified as Sunnis. Alawites consider Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law) to be the incarnation of God.

Therefore, in addition to the Koran, holy scripture is also the book of Ali - Kitab al-Majmu.

In this regard, the majority of other Muslims consider Alawites to be sectarians or kafirs, that is, infidels who deny the most important tenets of Islam.

Most Muslims consider Alawites to be sectarians or kafirs.

Alawism has many influences from other religions. Thus, there is an idea of ​​​​reincarnation, according to which every man experiences 7 rebirths (relocations of the soul, including into the body of an animal), after which he ends up in afterworld. Depending on the lifestyle, a person can fall into both the heavenly and demonic spheres.

There are about 3 million Alawites in the world , the majority live in Syria, as well as Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt. The current president of Syria is an Alawite.

Despite their differences, Shiites and Sunnis are not irreconcilable enemies. For example, most mosques not only allow joint prayers between Sunnis and Shiites, but also insist on this. Let the primary reasons for the formation of Shiism be the desire to see Ali as the heir of Muhammad, and to vest supreme power in the imams, but historical process allows you to look at it from the other side.

To understand who the Shiites and Sunnis are, what are the differences between the currents among Muslims, you need to know that Islam spread over a large territory over quite a long period of time. short period time, while at times the spread was extremely aggressive. Therefore, many locals accepted Shiite Islam, in fact introducing many of their beliefs into it.

A similar tendency - to remain part of the Islamic world, to identify the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, but at the same time to isolate oneself - persisted in the future. The same Iran (Persia) officially adopted Shiism only in the 16th century in order to isolate itself from the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, Shiism again underwent some changes to please the ruling Safavid dynasty. In particular, Ali Shariati noted that until the 16th century, Shiism had a martyrdom character (red Shiism), and subsequently became mourning (black Shiism). Shiites perceive this statement as a fair opinion.

I don't light it up.

Spread of Islam in the world. Shiites are marked in red, Sunnis in green.

Shiites and Sunnis.

blue - Shiites, red - Sunnis, green - Wahhabis, and lilac - Ibadis (in Oman)

Map of the ethnocultural division of civilizations according to Huntington’s concept:
1. western culture(dark blue color)
2. Latin American (purple color)
3. Japanese (bright red color)
4. Thai-Confucian (dark red color)
5. Hindu (orange color)
6. Islamic (green)
7. Slavic-Orthodox (turquoise color)
8. Buddhist (yellow)
9. African (brown)

The division of Muslims into Shiites and Sunnis dates back to the early history of Islam. Immediately after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, a dispute arose over who should lead the Muslim community in Arab Caliphate. Some believers advocated for elected caliphs, while others advocated for the rights of Muhammad's beloved son-in-law Ali ibn Abu Talib.

This is how Islam was first divided. This is what happened next...

There was also a direct testament of the prophet, according to which Ali was to become his successor, but, as often happens, the authority of Muhammad, unshakable during life, did not play a decisive role after death. Supporters of his will believed that the ummah (community) should be led by imams “appointed by God” - Ali and his descendants from Fatima, and believed that the power of Ali and his heirs was from God. Ali's supporters began to be called Shiites, which literally means “supporters, adherents.”

Their opponents objected that neither the Koran nor the second most important Sunnah (a set of rules and principles supplementing the Koran, based on examples from the life of Muhammad, his actions, statements in the form in which they were transmitted by his companions) says nothing about imams and about the divine rights to power of the Ali clan. The prophet himself did not say anything about this. The Shiites responded that the prophet's instructions were subject to interpretation - but only by those who had a special right to do so. Opponents considered such views to be heresy and said that the Sunnah should be taken in the form in which the companions of the prophet compiled it, without any changes or interpretations. This direction of adherents of strict adherence to the Sunnah is called “Sunnism”.

For Sunnis, the Shiite understanding of the function of the imam as a mediator between God and man is a heresy, since they adhere to the concept of direct worship of Allah, without intermediaries. An imam is, from their point of view, an ordinary religious figure who has earned authority through his theological knowledge, the head of a mosque, and their institution of clergy is devoid of a mystical aura. Sunnis revere the first four "Rightly Guided Caliphs" and do not recognize the Ali dynasty. Shiites recognize only Ali. Shiites revere the sayings of imams along with the Koran and Sunnah.

Differences persist in Sunni and Shiite interpretations of Sharia (Islamic law). For example, Shiites do not adhere to the Sunni rule of considering a divorce valid from the moment it is declared by the husband. In turn, Sunnis do not accept the Shiite practice of temporary marriage.

IN modern world Sunnis make up the majority of Muslims, Shiites make up just over ten percent. Shiites are common in Iran, Azerbaijan, parts of Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Arab countries (with the exception of North Africa). The main Shiite state and the spiritual center of this direction of Islam is Iran.

Conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis still occur, but nowadays they are more often of a political nature. With rare exceptions (Iran, Azerbaijan, Syria), in countries inhabited by Shiites, all political and economic power belongs to Sunnis. Shiites feel offended, their discontent is taken advantage of by radical Islamic groups, Iran and Western countries, who have long mastered the science of pitting Muslims against each other and supporting radical Islam for the sake of the “victory of democracy.” Shiites have vigorously fought for power in Lebanon and last year rebelled in Bahrain to protest the Sunni minority's usurpation of political power and oil revenues.

In Iraq, after the armed intervention of the United States, the Shiites came to power, a civil war began in the country between them and the former owners - the Sunnis, and the secular regime gave way to obscurantism. In Syria, the situation is the opposite - power there belongs to the Alawites, one of the directions of Shiism. Under the pretext of fighting the dominance of the Shiites in the late 70s, the terrorist group “Muslim Brotherhood” launched a war against the ruling regime; in 1982, the rebels captured the city of Hama. The rebellion was crushed and thousands of people died. Now the war has resumed - but only now, as in Libya, the bandits are called rebels, they are openly supported by all progressive Western humanity, led by the United States.

In the former USSR, Shiites live mainly in Azerbaijan. In Russia they are represented by the same Azerbaijanis, as well as a small number of Tats and Lezgins in Dagestan.

There are no serious conflicts in the post-Soviet space yet. Most Muslims have a very vague idea of ​​the difference between Shiites and Sunnis, and Azerbaijanis living in Russia, in the absence of Shiite mosques, often visit Sunni ones.

Confrontation between Shiites and Sunnis

There are many movements in Islam, the largest of which are Sunnis and Shiites. According to rough estimates, the number of Shiites among Muslims is 15% (216 million out of 1.4 billion Muslims according to 2005 data). Iran is the only country in the world where state religion is Shiite Islam.

Shiites also predominate among the population of Iranian Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Lebanon, and make up almost half of the population of Iraq. In Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Afghanistan, Yemen, Kuwait, Ghana and countries South Africa The population ranges from 10 to 40% Shiites. Only in Iran do they have state power. Bahrain, despite the fact that the majority of the population is Shiite, is ruled by a Sunni dynasty. Iraq has also been ruled by Sunnis, and only in recent years has a Shiite president been elected for the first time.

Despite constant disagreements, official Muslim science avoids open discussion. This is partly due to the fact that in Islam it is forbidden to insult everything related to faith and to speak poorly about the Muslim religion. Both Sunnis and Shiites believe in Allah and his prophet Muhammad, observe the same religious injunctions - fasting, daily prayer etc., make an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, although they consider each other “kafirs” - “infidels”.

The first disagreements between Shiites and Sunnis erupted after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. His followers were divided over who should inherit power and become the next caliph. Muhammad had no sons, therefore no direct heirs. Some Muslims believed that, according to the tradition of the tribe, a new caliph should be chosen at a council of elders. The council appointed Muhammad's father-in-law, Abu Bakr, as caliph. However, some Muslims did not agree with this choice. They believed that supreme power over Muslims should be inherited. In their opinion, Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, the husband of his daughter Fatima, should have become caliph. His supporters were called shia’t ‘Ali - “Ali’s party”, and later began to be called simply “Shiites”. In turn, the name “Sunni” comes from the word “sunna”, a set of rules and principles based on the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad.

Ali recognized the authority of Abu Bakr, who became the first righteous caliph. After his death, Abu Bakr was succeeded by Omar and Osman, whose reign was also short. After the assassination of Caliph Osman, Ali became the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph. Ali and his descendants were called imams. They not only led the Shiite community, but were also considered descendants of Muhammad. However, the Sunni Umayyad clan entered the struggle for power. By organizing the assassination of Ali in 661 with the help of the Kharijites, they seized power, which led to a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites. Thus, from the very beginning, these two branches of Islam were hostile to each other.

Ali ibn Abu Talib was buried in Najaf, which has since become a place of pilgrimage for Shiites. In 680, Ali's son and Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, refused to swear allegiance to the Umayyads. Then, on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Muslim calendar (usually November), the battle of Karbala took place between the Umayyad army and Imam Hussein's 72-man detachment. The Sunnis destroyed the entire detachment along with Hussein and other relatives of Muhammad, not even sparing the six-month-old baby - the great-grandson of Ali ibn Abu Talib. The heads of those killed were sent to the Umayyad caliph in Damascus, which made Imam Hussein a martyr in the eyes of the Shiites. This battle is considered the starting point of the split between Sunnis and Shiites.

Karbala, which is located a hundred kilometers southwest of Baghdad, has become as holy a city for Shiites as Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Every year, Shiites commemorate Imam Hussein on the day of his death. On this day, fasting is observed, men and women in black organize funeral processions not only in Karbala, but throughout Muslim world. Some religious fanatics engage in ritual self-flagellation, cutting themselves with knives until they bleed, depicting the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

After the defeat of the Shiites, most Muslims began to profess Sunnism. Sunnis believed that power should belong to Muhammad's uncle Abul Abbas, who came from another branch of Muhammad's family. Abbas defeated the Umayyads in 750 and began the Abbasid rule. They made Baghdad their capital. It was under the Abbasids, in the 10th-12th centuries, that the concepts of “Sunnism” and “Shiism” finally took shape. The last Shiite dynasty in the Arab world was the Fatimids. They ruled Egypt from 910 to 1171. After them and to this day, the main government positions in Arab countries belong to Sunnis.

The Shiites were ruled by imams. After the death of Imam Hussein, power was inherited. The twelfth imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, mysteriously disappeared. Since this happened in Samarra, this city also became sacred to the Shiites. They believe that the twelfth imam is the ascended prophet, the Messiah, and are waiting for his return, just as Christians are waiting for Jesus Christ. They believe that with the advent of the Mahdi, justice will be established on earth. The doctrine of Imamate is a key feature of Shiism.

Subsequently, the Sunni-Shiite split led to a confrontation between the two largest empires of the medieval East - the Ottoman and Persian. The Shiites in power in Persia were considered heretics by the rest of the Muslim world. In the Ottoman Empire, Shiism was not recognized as a separate branch of Islam, and Shiites were obliged to comply with all Sunni laws and rituals.

The first attempt to unite believers was made by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah Afshar. Having besieged Basra in 1743, he demanded that the Ottoman Sultan sign a peace treaty recognizing the Shiite school of Islam. Although the Sultan refused, after some time a meeting of Shiite and Sunni theologians was organized in Najaf. This did not lead to significant results, but a precedent was created.

The next step towards reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites was taken by the Ottomans at the end of the 19th century. This was due to the following factors: external threats that weakened the empire, and the spread of Shiism in Iraq. The Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II began to follow a policy of pan-Islamism to strengthen his position as the leader of the Muslims, unite the Sunnis and Shiites, and maintain the alliance with Persia. Pan-Islamism was supported by the Young Turks, and thus managed to mobilize the Shiites for the war with Great Britain.

Pan-Islamism had its own leaders, whose ideas were quite simple and understandable. Thus, Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani al-Asabadi said that the split among Muslims accelerated the fall of the Ottoman and Persian Empires and contributed to the invasion of European powers in the region. The only way to repel the invaders is to unite.

In 1931, the Muslim Congress was held in Jerusalem, where both Shiites and Sunnis were present. From the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a call was made to believers to unite to resist Western threats and defend Palestine, which was under British control. Similar calls were made in the 1930s and 40s, while Shia theologians continued to negotiate with the rectors of Al-Azhar, the largest Muslim university. In 1948, the Iranian cleric Mohammed Taghi Qummi, together with the learned theologians of Al-Azhar and Egyptian politicians, founded the organization for the reconciliation of Islamic currents (Jama'at al-Taqrib Bayne al-Mazahib al-Islamiyya) in Cairo. The movement reached its apogee in 1959, when Mahmoud Shaltut, rector of Al-Azhar announced a fatwa (decision) recognizing Jafarite Shiism as the fifth school of Islam, along with the four Sunni schools. After the breakdown of relations between Egypt and Iran due to Tehran's recognition of the state of Israel in 1960, the organization's activities gradually faded, completely ceasing in the late 1970s. However, it played a role in the history of reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites.

The failure of the unifying movements lay in one mistake. Reconciliation gave rise to the following alternative: either each school of Islam accepts a single doctrine, or one school is absorbed by another - a minority by a majority. The first path is unlikely, since Sunnis and Shiites have fundamentally different points of view on some religious tenets. As a rule, starting from the twentieth century. all debates between them end in mutual accusations of “infidelity.”

In 1947, the Baath Party was formed in Damascus, Syria. A few years later, it merged with the Arab Socialist Party and received the name Arab Socialist Baath Party. The party promoted Arab nationalism, separation of religion and state, and socialism. In the 1950s a Baathist branch also appeared in Iraq. At this time, Iraq, according to the Baghdad Treaty, was an ally of the United States in the fight against the “expansion of the USSR.” In 1958, the Baath Party overthrew the monarchies in both Syria and Iraq. That same fall, the radical Shiite Dawa party was founded in Karbala, one of its leaders was Seyyid Muhammad Bakir al-Sadr. In 1968, the Baathists came to power in Iraq and tried to destroy the Dawa Party. As a result of the coup, Ba'ath leader General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr became President of Iraq, and his main assistant since 1966 was Saddam Hussein.

Portraits of Ayatollah Khomeini and other Shiite leaders.
“Shias are not Muslims! Shiites do not practice Islam. Shiites are the enemies of Islam and all Muslims. May Allah punish them."

The overthrow of the pro-American Shah regime in Iran in 1979 radically changed the situation in the region. As a result of the revolution, the Islamic republic Iran, whose leader was Ayatollah Khomeini. He intended to spread the revolution throughout the Muslim world, uniting both Sunnis and Shiites under the flag of Islam. At the same time, in the summer of 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq. Hussein saw himself as a leader fighting the Zionists in Israel. He also often liked to compare himself with the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar and the Kurdish leader Salah ad-Din, who repelled the Crusaders’ attack on Jerusalem in 1187. Thus, Hussein positioned himself as a leader in the fight against the modern “crusaders” (USA), as the leader of the Kurds and Arabs.

Saddam feared that Islamism, led by Persians, not Arabs, would supplant Arab nationalism. In addition, Iraqi Shiites, who made up a significant part of the population, could join the Shiites of Iran. But it was not so much about a religious conflict as it was about leadership in the region. The same Baath Party in Iraq consisted of both Sunnis and Shiites, and the latter occupied quite high positions.

Crossed out portrait of Khomeini. "Khomeini is the enemy of Allah."

The Shiite-Sunni conflict acquired a political color thanks to the efforts of Western powers. During the 1970s, while Iran was ruled by the Shah as the main American ally, the United States paid no attention to Iraq. Now they decided to support Hussein to stop the spread of radical Islam and weaken Iran. The Ayatollah despised the Baath Party for its secular and nationalist orientation. For a long time, Khomeini was in exile in Najaf, but in 1978, at the request of the Shah, Saddam Hussein expelled him from the country. Having come to power, Ayatollah Khomeini began to incite the Shiites of Iraq to overthrow the Baathist regime. In response, in the spring of 1980, the Iraqi authorities arrested and killed one of the main representatives of the Shiite clergy - Ayatollah Muhammad Bakir al-Sadr.

Also since the time of British rule at the beginning of the twentieth century. There was a border dispute between Iraq and Iran. According to the 1975 agreement, it ran in the middle of the Shatt al-Arab River, which flowed south of Basra at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. After the revolution, Hussein tore up the treaty, declaring the entire Shatt al-Arab River to be Iraqi territory. The Iran-Iraq war began.

In the 1920s, the Wahhabis captured Jebel Shammar, Hijaz, and Asir, and managed to suppress a number of uprisings in large Bedouin tribes. Feudal-tribal fragmentation was overcome. Saudi Arabia has been declared a kingdom.

Traditional Muslims consider Wahhabis to be false Muslims and apostates, but the Saudis made this movement state ideology. The country's Shiite population was treated as second-class citizens in Saudi Arabia.

Throughout the war, Hussein received support from Saudi Arabia. In the 1970s this pro-Western state became a rival of Iran. The Reagan administration did not want the anti-American regime in Iran to win. In 1982, the US government removed Iraq from its list of countries that support terrorists, allowing Saddam Hussein to receive aid directly from the Americans. The Americans also provided him with satellite intelligence data on the movements of Iranian troops. Hussein banned the Shiites in Iraq from celebrating their holidays and killed their spiritual leaders. Finally, in 1988, Ayatollah Khomeini was forced to agree to a truce. With the death of the Ayatollah in 1989, the revolutionary movement in Iran began to decline.

In 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, which Iraq had claimed since the 1930s. However, Kuwait was an ally and an important supplier of oil to the United States, and the George W. Bush administration again changed its policy towards Iraq in order to weaken the Hussein regime. Bush called on the Iraqi people to rise up against Saddam. Kurds and Shiites responded to the call. Despite their requests for help in the fight against the Baath regime, the United States remained on the sidelines, as they were afraid of the strengthening of Iran. The uprising was quickly suppressed.

After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, Bush began planning a war against Iraq. Citing rumors that the Iraqi government had nuclear weapons of mass destruction, the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. In three weeks, they captured Baghdad, overthrew the Hussein regime and established their own coalition government. Many Baathists fled to Jordan. In the chaos of anarchy, a Shiite movement arose in the city of Sadr. His supporters began to take revenge for Saddam's crimes against the Shiites, killing everyone former members Ba'ath Party.

A deck of playing cards with images of Saddam Hussein and members of the Iraqi government and the Baath Party. Distributed by the US command among the US military during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Saddam Hussein was caught in December 2003, and executed by court on December 30, 2006. After the fall of his regime, the influence of Iran and the Shiites again increased in the region. Shia political leaders Nasrullah and Ahmadinejad became increasingly popular as leaders in the fight against Israel and the United States. The conflict between Sunnis and Shiites flared up with renewed vigor. The population of Baghdad was 60% Shia and 40% Sunni. In 2006, Sadr's Shiite Mahdi army defeated the Sunnis, and the Americans feared they would lose control of the region.

A cartoon showing the artificiality of the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. “The civil war in Iraq... “We are too different to live together!” Sunnis and Shiites.

In 2007, Bush sent more troops to Iraq in the Middle East to fight the Shiite Mahdi Army and al-Qaeda. However, the US army suffered defeats, and in 2011 the Americans had to finally withdraw their troops. Peace was never achieved. In 2014, a group of radical Sunnis emerged, known as Islamic State Iraq and Syria (ISIS) (aka The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIS) under the command of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Their initial goal was to overthrow the pro-Iranian regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

The emergence of radical Shiite and Sunni groups does not contribute to any peaceful solution to the religious conflict. On the contrary, by sponsoring radicalists, the United States is further fueling the conflict on Iran’s borders. By dragging border countries into a protracted war, the West is seeking to weaken and completely isolate Iran. The Iranian nuclear threat, Shiite fanaticism, and the bloodiness of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria were invented for propaganda purposes. The most active fighters against Shiism are Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Before the Iranian Revolution, despite the rule of the Shiite Shah, there were no open clashes between Shiites and Sunnis. On the contrary, they were looking for ways to reconcile. Ayatollah Khomeini said: “The enmity between Sunnis and Shiites is a conspiracy of the West. Discord between us benefits only the enemies of Islam. Anyone who does not understand this is neither Sunni nor Shia..."

"Let's find mutual understanding." Shia-Sunni dialogue.

The Muslim Ummah has been divided into many different currents and directions for 1,400 years. And this despite the fact that Holy Quran The Almighty tells us:

“Hold onto the rope of Allah and do not be separated” (3:103)

The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) warned about the division of the Muslim community, saying that the ummah would be divided into 73 movements.

In the modern Muslim world, we can distinguish two of the largest and most influential directions of Islam that formed after the death of the Messenger of Allah (s.w.w.) - Sunnis and Shiites.

History of the schism

The death of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) raised the question of a possible successor to the Muslim ummah as the ruler of a Muslim state, as well as the spiritual leader of believers. The majority of Muslims supported the candidacy of the closest companion of the Messenger of Allah (s.g.w.) - (r.a.), who was one of the first to accept Islam and was a companion of the Messenger of Allah (s.g.w.) throughout his prophetic mission. In addition, during the life of Muhammad (s.g.w.), Abu Bakr replaced him as an imam at collective prayers when he was not well.

However, a small part of the believers saw his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) as the successor of the Final Prophet (s.a.w.). In their opinion, Ali, who grew up in the house of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and was his relative, has more rights to become their ruler than Abu Bakr.

Subsequently, that part of the believers who came out in support of Abu Bakr began to be called Sunnis, and those who supported Ali - Shiites. As you know, Abu Bakr was chosen as the successor of the Messenger of God (s.g.w.), who became the first righteous caliph in the history of Islam.

Features of Sunnism

Sunnis (full name - Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`a - “People of the Sunnah and Community Harmony”) are the largest and most influential movement in the Islamic world. The term comes from the Arabic "sunnah", which refers to the life of the Prophet Muhammad (s.g.w.), and means following the path of God's Messenger (s.g.w.). That is, the main sources of knowledge for Sunni Muslims are the Koran and the Sunnah.

Currently, Sunnis make up about 90% of Muslims and live in most countries of the world.

In Sunni Islam, there are many different theological and legal schools, the largest of which are 4 madhhabs: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. In general, the Sunni madhhabs do not contradict each other, since the founders of these legal schools lived at approximately the same time and were students and teachers of each other, and therefore the Sunni madhhabs rather complement each other.

There are some minor disagreements between madhhabs on certain issues, which are related to the specifics of each legal school. In particular, these disagreements can be examined using the example of the permissibility of eating the meat of certain animals from the point of view of various Sunni legal schools. For example, eating horse meat, according to the Hanafi madhhab, belongs to the category of undesirable actions (makrooh), according to the Maliki madhhab - forbidden acts (haram), and according to the Shafi'i and Hanbali madhhabs, this meat is permitted (halal).

Features of Shiism

Shiism is an Islamic movement in which, together with their descendants, they are recognized as the only legitimate successors of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (s.a.w.). The term “Shiite” itself comes from the Arabic word “shi`a” (translated as “followers”). This group of Muslims consider themselves followers of Imam Ali (r.a.) and his righteous descendants.

Now the number of Shiites is estimated at approximately 10% of all Muslims in the world. Shiite communities operate in most states, and in some of them they constitute an absolute majority. These countries include: Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain. In addition, quite large Shiite communities live in Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.

Within Shiism today there are many trends, the largest of which are: Jafarism, Ismailism, Alawism and Zaydism. Relations between their representatives cannot always be called close, since on some issues they take opposing positions. The main point of disagreement between Shiite movements is the issue of recognizing certain descendants of Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) as immaculate imams. In particular, the Jafarites (Twelver Shiites) recognize 12 righteous imams, the final one of which is Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, according to Jafarite teaching, who went into “hiddenness” as a child. In the future, Imam Mahdi will have to fulfill the role of the Messiah. The Ismailis, in turn, recognize only seven imams, since this part of the Shiites recognizes the imamate of the first six imams, like the Jafarites, and they recognized the seventh imam as the eldest son of the sixth imam Jafar al-Sadiq - Imam Ismail, who died before his father. Ismailis believe that it was the seventh Imam Ismail who went into hiding and that it was he who would become the Messiah in the future. The situation is similar with the Zaydis, who recognize only five righteous imams, the final of which is Zeid ibn Ali.

Main differences between Sunnis and Shiites

1. The principle of power and continuity

Sunnis believe that Muslims who have the necessary level of knowledge and unquestioned authority in the Muslim environment have the right to be the ruler of the faithful and their spiritual mentor. In turn, from the point of view of the Shiites, only the direct descendants of Muhammad (s.g.w.) have such a right. In this regard, the legitimacy of the rise to power of the first three righteous caliphs - Abu Bakr (r.a.), Umar (r.a.) and Uthman (r.a.), recognized along with Ali (r.a.) is not recognized with them .), in the Sunni world. For Shiites, only the authority of immaculate imams, who, in their opinion, are sinless, is authoritative.

2. The special role of Imam Ali (r.a.)

Sunnis revere the Prophet Muhammad (s.g.w.) as the Messenger of the Almighty (s.g.w.), sent by the Lord as a mercy for the worlds. Shiites, along with Muhammad (s.g.w.), equally reverence Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (r.a.). When pronouncing the azan - the call to prayer - Shiites even pronounce his name, indicating that Ali is a ruler from the Almighty. Moreover, some extreme Shiite currents they even recognize this companion as the incarnation of a deity.

3. Approach to considering the Sunnah of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

Sunnis recognize the authenticity of those hadiths of the Prophet (s.a.w.) contained in 6 collections: Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, Nasai, Ibn Majah. For Shiites, such an indisputable source is the hadiths from the so-called “Quadrateuch”. That is, those hadiths that were transmitted by representatives of the family of the Prophet (s.g.w.). For Sunnis, the criterion for the reliability of hadiths is the compliance of the chain of transmitters with the requirements of honesty and truthfulness.

The main Shia shrines are located in Iraq's Karbala. Photo by Larry Jones

In the one and a half billion world of Islam, over 85% of Muslims are Sunnis, while Shiites are about 130 million. The bulk of them live in Iran (more than 75 million, over 80% of the total population, while Sunnis in Iran are 18%), Iraq (more than 20 million) , Azerbaijan (about 10 million). In these three countries, Shiites dominate numerically, culturally and politically.

In a number of Arab countries (Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc.) there are numerous Shiite minorities. Shiites inhabit the central, mountainous part of Afghanistan (Hazaras and others - about 4 million) and some areas of Pakistan. There are Shiite communities in India, although there are many more Sunnis here. In the south of India, “black Shiites” live among Hindus.

In the Pamir Mountains (in the Tajik and Afghan parts of the historical region of Badakhshan, in the Sarykol region in the far west of China), several small nations profess Ismailism-Nizarism, a type of Shiism. There are quite a few Nizari Ismailis in Yemen (here, as well as in India, there is another type of Ismailism - Mustalism). The center of Ismaili-Nizarism is located in Mumbai, India, in the Red Palace of their spiritual leader Aga Khan.

Another variety of Ismailism is common in Syria. The most important ethno-confessional group of Shiites in Syria are the Alawites, the peasantry of the mountainous northwestern region. The Shiites also include the Druze, a very distinctive ethno-confessional group inhabiting the Shuf region in Mount Lebanon, the Hauran highlands on the border of Syria and Israel, the mountainous region of Jebel Druz in southeastern Syria and groups of villages along the routes connecting these three regions.

In Turkey, in addition to the majority of Sunni Turks and Sunni Kurds, there are Shiite Turks (a very unique ethnographic community) and Shiite Kurds (some tribes), as well as Alawite Arabs.

In Russia, almost all Shiites are Azerbaijanis and Tats; Of these, only the residents of Derbent in the south of Dagestan and some surrounding villages (including one large Lezgin aul) are the indigenous population.

In the Arab Mashreq (in the East), apart from Iraq, Shiites form a majority only in the small island state of Bahrain, but Sunnis are in power here. In North Yemen, Zaydi Shiites are much more numerous than Sunnis.

Are Shiites the oppressed?

The culture of the Shia part of the ummah is in many ways different from the Sunni one. Its central elements are the especially strict mourning of Ashura on the day of remembrance of Imam Hussein, who died a martyr in 680, a number of other holidays (birthdays and deaths of the Prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, imams - spiritual leaders and descendants of Caliph Ali), pilgrimages in a row holy cities, a curse on the widow of the prophet Aisha and the caliphs who ruled after Ali.

Shiites (except for the clergy) must observe the rule of taqiyya - hiding, if necessary, their faith among people of other faiths, especially Sunnis. Only the Zaydis, a Shia sect in Yemen (including the Houthis), do not recognize taqiyya.

Everywhere except Iran and Azerbaijan, Shiites have been poorer and more humiliated than their Sunni neighbors for centuries. The only exception is the urban Nizari Ismailis - subjects of the Aga Khan, one of richest people in the world. But the Nizari Ismailis of villages and small towns in Syria, Oman, the Pamir mountains, as well as the Mustalit Ismailis of Yemen, Gujarat and Mumbai (in India, where they live next to the rich Nizari Ismailis) are poor.

In Iraq, the Shiites were poorer than the Sunnis; in Lebanon, the Shiite peasants of the Bekaa Valley were the poorest and most numerous in the country in the middle of the 20th century; in Syria, the Alawites were very poor mountaineer peasants until the second half of the 20th century; in Yemen, the Zaidi mountaineers were much poorer Sunnis, in Afghanistan the Shia Hazaras (Mongols who had lost their language) were poorer than all their neighbors, and in the south of India the “black Shiites” were poorer than all the Muslims in the region.

In recent decades, in various countries (Iraq, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, etc.), Shiites are seeking – including with arms in their hands – power and wealth, which they enjoy (or enjoyed in the recent past ) Sunnis (and in Lebanon – Christians).

In all the countries mentioned above, except Iran (where the Shiites are a single multi-ethnic group) and Azerbaijan, the Shiites constitute ethno-confessional groups with the same clear cultural and political self-identification as in Europe - national identification. This phenomenon is historical, rooted in ancient times and consolidated in the mass consciousness by the orders of the Ottoman and other Muslim empires.

The main cult centers of Shiism are located in the Arab world - in addition to Mecca and Medina, common to all Muslims - in Iraq; The main ritual language of Shiites, like all Muslims, is Arabic, not Farsi. But for the Iranian and non-Iranian peoples of the vast region within the Islamic civilization, including Iran, Kurdistan, Tajikistan, part of Uzbekistan (with the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, etc.), Afghanistan, part of Pakistan (west of the Indus Valley), Farsi is the language of the highly developed Persian culture.

The Shiite Arabs who inhabit the Khuzistan region of Iran and some others are more strongly influenced by Persian culture than other Arabs. All this facilitates the spread of many of its elements, including those related to the sphere of cult, among fellow Shiites in Arab countries. Moreover, this process affects not only the Imamis, but also the Ismailis, Alawites, Zaydis, Shia Kurds to the west of the borders of Iran. In recent years, among the Zaidi Houthis of Yemen, as eyewitnesses say, a pan-Shiite (as in Iraq and Iran) version of Ashura mourning, previously unknown here, has been spreading.

Perhaps this is one of the signs of cultural and political integration of various Shiite communities in Arab countries?

Knots of contradictions

In Iraq, the confrontation between the Sunnis of the North and the more numerous Shiites of the South is the main dominant feature of political life. The situation is similar in Bahrain. The indigenous Baharina Arabs, the Imamites (the main branch of Shiism), make up the majority. Arab Sunni minorities, descendants of settlers from the mainland, from Saudi Arabia: Wahhabis are the ruling minority and Sunnis of the Shafi'i and Maliki madhhabs are the other two minorities, with all Sunni Arabs belonging to certain tribes.

In Kuwait, the indigenous Arab Shiite minority, once unprivileged, now, like the Sunni majority, enjoys many advantages over the numerous foreigners. In Syria there are four Shia ethno-confessional groups of Arabs (ruling Alawites, Imami Mutawali, Ismaili Nizari and Druze), two each in Lebanon (Mutawali and Druze), Yemen (Zaydis and Ismaili Mustalis), Saudi Arabia (Imamits and Zaydis, and also foreigners).

In Lebanon, the ratio of the size and influence of ethno-confessional groups changed significantly after it was enshrined in the constitutional acts of first the autonomy in the 1930s and 1940s, and since 1946 - the independent republic. The small state of Greater Lebanon was created by France after the First World War as part of a mandate territory. Greater Lebanon was formed from several regions of the Ottoman Empire with different ethno-religious compositions.

The core of the state was Mount Lebanon, which consisted of the Land of the Maronites (historically, a vassal emirate, headed by the noble Arab family of al-Sheibani, who was secretly baptized, but was officially considered Sunni). The Maronite Church once entered into a union with the Roman Church. Adjacent to the Maronite land is the Chouf region, where the Maronites live together with the Druze - a very unique syncretic community, headed for centuries by the feudal Jumblatt family. From here the Druze migrated to the rain-watered mountain oases of southern Syria: Hauran, Jebel Druz, etc. The Maronites and Druze were mountain warrior-farmers, whose independence all rulers of the region had to reckon with.

To Mount Lebanon, where Christians made up the overwhelming majority of the population, French politicians annexed the adjacent coastal lowlands, river valleys and foothills. Here, in towns and villages, Sunni Muslims (the relative majority), Christians of different Churches (primarily Orthodox and Uniate Catholics), Druze in the South, and Alawites in the North lived in stripes or in separate neighborhoods. The Shia Mutawali lived compactly in the southeast. They were the poorest of all, their level of education was lower than other ethno-confessional groups, and their rural housing was especially archaic. In the 20-40s of the twentieth century, Sunnis showed all-Syrian patriotism, and Maronites and partly other Christians, as well as Druze (not all) were supporters of an independent Lebanon.

In 1926, Greater Lebanon was renamed the Lebanese Republic, whose political structure formally copied the French Republic. But in reality it was based on an agreement between influential clans that headed the main ethno-confessional groups. The first president of the Lebanese Republic was a Christian, Charles Debbas (Orthodox), but since 1934 all presidents have been elected from among the Maronites. Since 1937, prime ministers have been appointed only from Sunni Muslims. Other ethno-confessional groups were represented in parliament and other government bodies in proportion to their numbers and influence. They created their own political and other organizations (for example, the Druze became social democrats) under the leadership of traditional hereditary leaders.

This system has evolved under the influence of internal and external factors. In the first decades of the existence of the Lebanese Republic, there were slightly more Christians than Muslims, and the Druze were incomparably more influential than the Mutawali Shiites. Over time, the relative numbers and political and economic influence of the Maronites, other Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Armenians, and Druze declined. But the Mutawali Shiites, who in the early 1930s made up 17–18% of the Lebanese population and almost did not live in cities, sharply increased in strength. Poverty and a low level of education were combined among the Mutawali with large families, as a result their numbers grew faster than other groups, and they populated the cities.

Like other groups, the Lebanese Mutawali emigrated to South America and West Africa, where they engaged in trade, grew rich, and supported their relatives in Lebanon. The emigration of Christian groups began much earlier, heading to different countries and regions of the world (France, USA, Latin America, etc.) and had similar consequences. But among Christians, Druze and Sunnis, who had long lived in cities, owned estates and received the best education, large families were replaced by small families.

Maronites and other Christian groups were losing their influence, while Muslim groups were gaining strength. Accordingly, the Maronite president gradually ceded his first role to the Sunni prime minister. As the number and political role of Christians decreased, their confrontation with Muslims receded into the background compared to the contradictions between Muslims - Sunnis and Shiites.

Not only Christians and Druze, who had long cast their lot in with the West, but also the Mutawali and Alawites armed themselves - with the help of their coreligionist Iran. Like the Druze, they created their own political and other organizations; The radical Shiite organization Hezbollah (Party of Allah), armed and supported by Iran, was especially active. Like some other Arab militant organizations, it used terrorist actions against its opponents - Sunnis, Christians and Israel.

After the creation of the State of Israel (1947) and the Arab-Israeli wars (1947–1973), Palestinian refugees, mostly Sunnis, poured into Lebanon, becoming a numerically significant and politically influential part of the population. Syria, Iran, Israel and the great powers (including the USSR, France and the USA) had a variety of influences on Lebanon, including the invasion of troops, the arming of local and Palestinian militias (the Christian Army of South Lebanon, etc., the Shiite Hezbollah, etc. .) As a result, Lebanon was rocked by civil war from 1975 to 1990, with Hezbollah fighting Christian and Sunni militias.

Sunnis remained a relative majority, but among them, all-Syrian patriotism and political orientation towards Syria gave way to distancing from the Syrian authorities, whom they considered the patrons of Shiites and Christians. Today, Sunnis are the dominant group in Lebanon. The end of the civil war gradually weakened the confrontation between ethno-confessional groups and transferred them to the socio-political sphere, but events recent years in Syria and Iraq the rivalry between them has again intensified. The Mutawali Shiites continue to grow in number, establish themselves in various spheres of life and challenge the power of the Sunnis.

After the First World War, France, establishing a mandate territory regime in Syria, encountered patriotic resistance from some Sunnis. In contrast, the French tried to rely on Christian and Shiite ethno-confessional groups.

Some of the Alawites who inhabited the mountainous region between Lebanon and the lower reaches of the Nahr al-Kalb River received territorial autonomy (Alawite State, L’Etat des Alaouyes); The French granted the same autonomy to the easternmost of the mountainous regions where the Druze lived - Jebel Druze. In addition, they returned to Turkey the northwestern border region of Hatay (as the Turks called it) with the ancient cities of Antioch and Alexandretta, although all together the Arab communities (including Sunnis, Alawites, Christians, etc.) were more numerous here than the Turks and others ( Kurds, Yezidis, etc.) combined. At the same time, part of the Mutawali Shiites moved to Iraq.

It is paradoxical that the creation of political parties of a formally modern type gave a new impetus to the delimitation of ethno-confessional groups. This can be seen in the evolution of the Baath Party in Syria and Iraq.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the youngest of the Arab countries. About a century ago, there was a conglomerate of alliances of Bedouin tribes and principalities (emirates) of the Pirate Coast - a buffer zone between Wahhabi Saudi Arabia and the Ibadi (Kharijite) Imamate of Oman (and the Muscat Sultanate). Having established a protectorate over the Muscat Sultanate and Qatar, the British also made a group of principalities, which they called Treaty Oman, their protectorate. The vast majority of the local population were Sunni Arabs; Only on the border with mountainous Oman did some branches of local tribes profess Ibadism, and on the seashores Shia Baharina lived in separate fishing villages. Now those Baharina who have UAE citizenship enjoy all the benefits of citizens, receive education, enter government service, etc. But many Baharina are foreigners.

In the Bahrain archipelago itself, the Shiite majority is fighting for equal rights. It is associated with the Baharina in other Gulf countries and with Iran, as well as with the Shiite majority Arabs of Iraq. In eastern Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the Shia minority (mainland Baharina) are in opposition to the dominant Sunnis. Other Shiite Arabs in the UAE are Iraqis. But the majority of Shiites here are Iranians, some Indians and Pakistanis. In cities they form communities, have their own schools (with education in Farsi, Gujarati and other languages), even branches of universities in their homeland.

In Yemen, Shiism in its Zaydi form throughout the 10th–11th centuries was distinguished by relative religious tolerance, but intransigence towards foreign domination. In 1538 and subsequent years, the Turks tried to conquer Yemen, but the areas inhabited by the Zaydis did not submit to them. Zaydis and Sunnis united in the fight against the invaders, and after a century of domination, Turkish troops left Yemen. Following this, the Zaydi imam al-Mutawakkil Ali Ismail extended his power to Aden and a number of Sunni sultanates, and in 1658 to Hadhramaut. Even at the beginning of the 17th century, the Sultan of Hadhramaut was a follower of Zaydism. But at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 17th centuries, Yemen was again divided into a predominantly Zaydi North and a union of Sunni possessions of South Yemen.

In the 19th century, the entire Arabian Peninsula was divided into spheres of domination by the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain. The first went to Northern Yemen, the second to Southern Yemen, as well as the emirates of Eastern Arabia: Kuwait, Muscat, the emirates of Treaty Oman.

The First World War led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and gave rise to a new political situation on the Arab Island, which was finally established only in the 1920s and early 1930s. The states of Northern and Central Arabia united into the vast Wahhabi Saudi Kingdom. It also occupied part of the Shiite region on the shores of the Persian Gulf and a small Zaydi region in the north of what was then Yemen. At the same time, the Zaydi Imam Yahya was also proclaimed king and tried to unite all of Yemen, including the sultanates of the South, which were under British protectorate. But Yahya was not successful in this and, according to the 1934 treaty, he recognized the division of Yemen into North - an independent kingdom and South - the British colony of Aden and protectorates. Subsequently, the growth of the city of Aden attracted people from the Zaydi North. The unification of both Yemen into one state took place only in 1990.

Thus, over the vast territory from the Balkans to the Hindustan, ethno-confessional groups are no less important than nations. The Shia community of Muslim peoples is not a union of (ethnic) nations, but a spiritual and political community of ethno-confessional groups of Shiites within the Islamic world. It serves as an important factor in cultural and political life.

Dream Interpretation