Islamic History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succession_to_Muhammad

>>2019766
According to my Iraqi friend:
>Shias dindu nuffin and are true successors of Mohammed
>12er Shias are not real Shias, and are probably crypto-Zoroastrian fire worshippers
>Sunnis are literally the devil. FUCK AISHA, WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE YUO

Funnily enough, she's an atheist. It's just that the tribal divisions have been burned into her brain so hard that she can't unlearn them.

>>2019766
One says the book is enough, the other wanted a dynasty set up. Practically speaking, they hate each other.

>>2019766
Shi'a believe the rightful successor to Muhammad was his cousin Ali, not Abu Bakr (citing the hadith of the pond of Khumm as their evidence). Initially they weren't exactly 'versions' of Islam but rather different parties supporting the two different claims to the Caliphate, hence the Arabic name شيعة علي (shi'atu Ali) or 'followers/party of Ali. The idea of them existing as a more distinct religious sect emerged after Ali's son, Husayn, was killed by the Sunni Caliph at Karbala.
They believe Ali was designated as the true Imam and as such he was infallible and had some mystical divine understanding of the Qur'an. The title of Imam from Husayn onwards was passed from father to son, as was this secret knowledge of the Qur'an. Thus the office of Imam for Shi'as holds a greater religious importance than for Sunnis, who would often see the role of the Imam as nearly identical to that of the Caliph. There were 12 Imams, with the last supposedly going into hiding rather than dying. They believe he will return as the Mahdi. Most Shi'as believe this, but not all (there are sects within Shi'ism depending on which line of succession from Ali you wish to follow).
As I said above, Shi'ism has a heavier focus on ritual, martyrdom and the role of the Imam than Sunnis do.
Throughout their history, Shi'a have been a minority and it's often led to violence. These days the main leaders of the Shi'a and Sunnis in the ME are Iran and Saudi arabia respectively. They try and counter each others influence through various proxies in small wars and it's one of the reasons the region is so fucked up.

>>2019766
Ali and his sons got BTFO and Shias are still mad 1400 years later

The end

Ex-Muslim here.

Sunni believes the caliph should be decided by the Muslim community. Shia believes the caliph should be through the direct decedents of Muhammad.

There's really not much else difference between 99% of Muslims. My Sunni Brother married a Shia woman.

Keep in mind that 90% of Muslims don't know anymore about Islam than that what their Mother has taught them, which isn't very much. I don't get this whole misconception about Islam. It's like assuming because your parents go to Sunday church once a month, they must memorize the bible front and back, pray lord thank ya jesus every 2 minutes, never cuss, never gamble, etc.

A majority of Muslims are just as white washed as any other person is. Their culture takes precedent over Islam. We aren't allowed to have sex until after our Paki wedding, even though after the nikah it's religiously fine.

>>2019766
they're both shiite my friend