Shia and Sunni divide

What is the main difference with Sunni and Shia Muslims?

• When the Prophet died in the early 7th century the Muslim world needed a new leader

• The majority chose a close friend of the Prophet as caliph - Sunni Muslims

• The minority chose a relative of the Prophet as their leader - Shia Muslims

What was the Shia and Sunni divide like in Palestine?

• Jews were seen by the British as an ethnicity defined solely by religion. The Arabs in Palestine were predominantly Sunni with a tiny Shia element.

• There was also a large Arab Christian community. They would all rally behind Arab nationalism and self-determination to counter increasing flux of European Jews.

What was the Shia and Sunni divide like in Syria?

• The new nationality sentiment against the occupying powers was often linked to appeals to Islam’s martial past. The most clearly seen in the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925

• This cut across sectarian divides with Sunnis with Sunnis fighting alongside Shia. The Shia sects, Druze, Alawites made up of 16% of population.

What was the Shia and Sunni divide like in Lebanon?

• The French made Lebanon into a primary Maronite state but there were also Druze, Shia and Sunni.

• The Constitution gave Maronites substantial power - Religious identity

What was the Shia and Sunni divide like in Iraq?

• 53% of population were Shia and 20% were Sunni and Jews and Christians were the ethnic minority

• There was extensive cooperation between Sunni and Shia after the British rule but when Sunni Muslims got more patronage power, Shia Muslims became resentful (tensions)

What was the domination ideology in the 1930s?

Arab Nationalism

What were the four key developments that led to a resurgence in religious identity?

• Wahhabi Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Sunni Kingdom

• Formation of Muslim Brotherhood in 1928

• Decline in nationalism after the defeat by Israel in 1967

• The 1973-4 oil price rise - Saudi Arabia could spend lots on spreading Wahhabi Islam with its hostility to Shiism.

Why was the united Islamic identity harder to maintain?

• Impact of the Wahhabism as the official state ideology meant that attitudes towards Shias remained distasteful

• The 1968 Baathist coup led to Sunnis getting key positions despite the fact that the party was secular. Whilst Shias did get more power in Iraq after the oil boom, rebellions made this rare.

• In Syria there was a discontented Sunni population with the Alawite population dominated

What occurred after the Iranian revolution in Iran?

Iran is a Shia country but other Muslim schools, Jews and Christian communities were embedded and accepted in the constitution

Who did Khomeini strongly support in Palestine?

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad were a Sunni organisation

What was Khomeini’s main aim?

He wanted political Islam

What did the Sunni MB start to do in Syria after the Iranian Revolution?

They began a low intensity guerrilla war against the regime leading to an uprising in 1982

What was Hussein afraid after the Iranian revolution?

That the Shias in Iraq would rise up against him

Who are the Alawites?

An offshoot of Shia Islam but they also incorporate other religions in theirs

Where are most Alawites found?

• In Syria - 10% of population

• Also in Turkey and Lebanon

In Syria what does the education system still promote?

Sunni Muslims

Why is there tension between Sunni and Alawites?

Many Sunni clerics have denounced their religion as heretic and years of persecution meant that Alawites are heretics