mysteryman wrote:Quote:Doesn't know a sunni from a shia
Does anyone not an expert on the Muslim religion really know the difference?
Are there identifiers they wear to mark them as different?
Since so many on here are experts, then tell all of us...
What are their different holy days?
What are the diferences in the two sects?
Who are the different holy men?
What are the different traditions between them?
Since so many of you are self professed experts, perhaps you can tell all of us the differences.
I'm no expert, but my understanding is that the split between the two sects is based, primarily, on the political dispute that arose from issues of succession when the Prophet died.
The Shia, who at the time supported his son-in-law Ali, lost.
I'm sure a Believer can explain to us the doctrinal differences that either fueled the succession dispute or later arose to justify it, but it's tough to imagine that power for the sake of power was not a contributing factor.
I could easily be wrong, but I do not believe the schism was anything like that which occurred with the Christian Church. In that case there were more orthodox believers "protesting" against the rampant corruption in the Catholic Church. A major doctrinal dispute for them was whether salvation was dependent solely upon belief in Jesus as the son of God, or whether "good deeds" could buy one a ticket to heaven.
It's hard to imagine anyone really believed that the Pope or his bishops could actually sell someone a seat in heaven, so what was probably on the block was the support of the Church. Thus the "doctrinal" dispute was really theological cover for reformists (who may or may not have wanted a share of the power of the Church for themselves) efforts to sweep clean a quite corrupt institution.
So, the historical divide was predicated on a battle of succession. The current divide is predicated on the manner in which the winners, the Sunni, generally oppressed the losers, the Shia.
Witness Iraq: a Sunni minority, thanks to Saddam, generally lauded it over second class Iraqi Shia.
There is a reason the biggest slum in Baghdad, Sadr City, is named after a Shia leader.
There is a very important reason for McCain or any other candidate to understand, at least, the current political and social divisions between Sunni and Shia:America's most dangerous foes now reside within the world of Islam; it makes sense to understand your foes. Having said this, a couple of public comments are not an indication of whether or not McCain does appreciate the various differences.
This is Gotcha politics at work, and Gotcha politics is a tool of the intellectually weak or dishonest.
Even the Silver Tongued Obama has not been free of gaffes, nor will he be in the future. Are the crtics, in this matter, of McCain willing to concede that each and every slip of the tongue is a window into the soul or brain of their candidate? I doubt it, and even if they are, we're voting for a president, not a radio announcer.
I am convinced McCain understands the crucial difference between Sunni and Shia and there will be plenty of opportunties for him to prove this. Unfortunately, when he does, it won't make the headlines.
Then there are the really unseemly insinuations that these gaffes are evidence that McCain is halfway to senility.
I guess until old people are a clear constituency of the Democrats, agism, unlike racism or sexism, will not be much of a sin.
Imagine if Republicans made subtle and not so subtle comments that Obama's race or Hillary's gender was a reason not to vote for them.
