What Causes The Sunni-Shia Conflict

The main purpose of religion is said to be to maintain and promote peace, compassion, and dignity among the interactions of the common people. However, that unfortunately has not been the situation, as the Sunni-Shia divide that has been present in the religion of Islam since the late 600’s has resulted in severe conflict. After the death of Muhammad, the final Prophet in Islam, Muslims began to develop differing views as to who should be the Prophet’s successor. The differing views in opinion resulted in the formation of two groups: the Sunnis and the Shiites. The Sunnis believed the successor should be a direct descendant of Muhammad, while the Shias favored the idea of the community choosing the best candidate for obtaining the leadership

Therefore, the Sunni-Shia conflict in the religion of Islam has been the major cause of the people reacting towards one another with violence, hatred and discrimination, and has caused political leaders to exaggerate the differences of others.

Firstly, the Sunni-Shia conflict has caused the people of the two opposing groups to react with violence towards one another as a result of the constant fight for political power.

The article titled “The Origins of the Sunni-Shia Split,” states, “Eventually, Ali was chosen as the fourth caliph, but not before violent conflict broke out. Two of the earliest caliphs were murdered. War erupted when Ali became caliph” (NPR.org). As seen in the late 600’s after the death of Muhammad, Muslims began interacting with one another through violence in the fight to gain political power. The focal point of the two groups had been getting their designated leader to be chosen as Muhammad’s successor, causing people who in