Differences Between Sunni/Shiite...Pashtun/Hazara

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English Response Essay: Sunni/Shiite Pashtun/Hazara In the Islam religion, there are a few subgroups that are different from each other. The two main subgroups in the Muslim world are Sunni and Shiite. Their differences mainly stem from political reasons, not so much differences in religious beliefs. Over 80% of Muslims around the world are Sunni. Because the Shiite is the minority, they are susceptible to attacks from the Sunni. The whole Sunni-Shiite conflict started right after Muhammad’s death. Muhammad, who was the prophet and leader of Islam died at around 632 A.D. Abu Bakr became his successor as he was Muhammad’s closest companion. He was known as a caliph. Those followers of Abu Bakr (Muhammad’s successor) were known as Sunni. There were however a group of people who disagreed on who should become successor of Muhammad. This group of people said that those who should be Muhammad’s successor should have been based off of bloodlines, rather than his companion. This group of people did not follow the majority of Muslims, or Sunni, so they would come to form Shiite Islam. Shiites believe imams are descendants of the prophet. There is a large battle between which Islam must be taught at schools, whether it be Sunni or Shiite, so this is what causes conflict, especially in Afghanistan, where the Sunni and Shiite divide is more pronounced. There is another conflict in the Muslim world that not only deals with religious differences, but ethnic differences as well. The two major ethnic groups of Afghanistan are Pashtun and Hazara. The Pashtun peoples speak the Pashto language, while the Hazara people speak Hazaraji which is an eastern dialect of the Persian language. The majority of Pashtun people live in Pakistan and Afghanistan while the majority of the Hazara people live in Afghanistan and Iran. The

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