- The differences between the Sunni and Shiite Islamic sections are rooted in disagreements over the succession to the Prophet Muhammad, who died in 632 AD, and over the nature of leadership in the Muslim community.
- The decline and abolition of the caliphate became a powerful religious and political symbol to some Sunni Islamic activists during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
- Sunni Muslims do not bestow upon human beings the exalted status given only to prophets in the Quran, in contrast to the Shiite veneration of imams. Sunnis have a less elaborate and arguably less powerful religious hierarchy than Shiites.
- They accept the first four Caliphs (including Ali) as the “rightly guided” rulers who followed the Prophet. In theory, Sunnis believe that the leader (imam) of the Muslim community should be selected on the basis of communal consensus, on the existing political order, and on a leader’s individual merits.
- The word Sunni comes from "Ahl al-Sunna", the people of the tradition. The tradition in this case refers to practices based on precedent or reports of the actions of the Prophet Muhammad and those close to him.
- Sunnis venerate all the prophets mentioned in the Koran, but particularly Muhammad as the final prophet. All subsequent Muslim leaders are seen as temporal figures.
- Sunnis argue that the Prophet chose Abu Bakr to lead the congregational prayers as he lay on his deathbed, thus suggesting that the Prophet was naming Abu Bakr as the next leader.
- The concept of the Mahdi is a central tenet of Shi'a theology, but many Sunni Muslims also believe in the coming of a Mahdi, or rightly guided one, at the end of time to spread justice and peace.
- Most religious and social institutions in Sunni Muslim states are funded by the state.
Works Cited
Blanchard, Christopher M. Islam: Sunnis and Shiites. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
"BBC News." Sunnis and Shia: Islams ancient schism. BBC News, 20 June 2014. Web.
8 Apr. 2015.
"BBC." Sunni and Shi'a. BBC, 19 Aug. 2009. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
Blanchard, Christopher M. Islam: Sunnis and Shiites. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
"BBC News." Sunnis and Shia: Islams ancient schism. BBC News, 20 June 2014. Web.
8 Apr. 2015.
"BBC." Sunni and Shi'a. BBC, 19 Aug. 2009. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.