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So, why exactly do they hate each other so vehemently, at least in Iraq? Everything I've read indicates the following differences between them:
1. A disagreement over which bloodline should inherit the Caliphate; now irrelevant, as there hasn't been a Caliph for either sect in centuries. And I don't think there's going to be one anytime soon either.
2. Various minor ceremonial differences, interpretations of dietary law, etc., which also vary widely within each sect itself depending on local practice.
Even the silliest and most trivial things I've heard of other religions killing each other for have some theological import. Which is not to say that I approve of religious violence in any case, but I can at least comprehend how people might get upset over, say, a disagreement over which parts of the Koran were canon or something. As it is, this sounds like a thousand-odd-year vendetta based on bureaucratic procedures.
Or is it primarily ethnic, rather than religious? That is, are the Sunnis and Shi'ites typically members of ethnically distinct groups with widely varying customs? In that case, it could be that the religious difference, minor as it is, became a label for the general concept of "dirty foreigner." Or it could just be sustained by a lot of old unpaid blood-prices and ancient grudges. Any guesses, or better yet, clear knowledge of the subject?
1. A disagreement over which bloodline should inherit the Caliphate; now irrelevant, as there hasn't been a Caliph for either sect in centuries. And I don't think there's going to be one anytime soon either.
2. Various minor ceremonial differences, interpretations of dietary law, etc., which also vary widely within each sect itself depending on local practice.
Even the silliest and most trivial things I've heard of other religions killing each other for have some theological import. Which is not to say that I approve of religious violence in any case, but I can at least comprehend how people might get upset over, say, a disagreement over which parts of the Koran were canon or something. As it is, this sounds like a thousand-odd-year vendetta based on bureaucratic procedures.
Or is it primarily ethnic, rather than religious? That is, are the Sunnis and Shi'ites typically members of ethnically distinct groups with widely varying customs? In that case, it could be that the religious difference, minor as it is, became a label for the general concept of "dirty foreigner." Or it could just be sustained by a lot of old unpaid blood-prices and ancient grudges. Any guesses, or better yet, clear knowledge of the subject?
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