worldwide. Adherent of the Shia Islam are the Shi’ites or Shias. The Shia consists of one major way of thinking known as the Jafaryia or the “Twelvers,” and a few minor ways of thinking (Syed). These names all refer to the number of religious leaders they recognize after the death of Muhammad. The term Shia is usually meant to be synonymous with the Jafaryia/Twelvers. The Shia has many distinctive rituals and practices. The principle rituals are referred to in the five Islam pillars. The most characteristic
Heinz Halm’s “Shi’a Islam: From Religion to Revolution” In his 176-page volume, the leading German Islamist, Heinz Halm is able to trace the roots of the Iranian Revolution back throughout the history of the Shi’ism. Contrary to many western thinkers and Iranian militants, Halm feels as though Shi’i Islam’s character was not inherently revolutionary, but that the transition to revolution marked a milestone and a watershed in the history of Shi’i thought and history. The title of his book, “Shi’a
Individuals from various cultures can easily distinguish differences in traits by making comparisons to their own. These differences make up the fundamentals of a society’s way of life. The rules that most individuals abide by comprise the framework of a culture. Culture is the shared beliefs and social norms of a country or area that are different from other places. In the country of Iran, an abundance of diversity defines their culture. Using the United States Army’s operational variables
Cultural Awareness: Iranian Culture Individuals from various cultures can easily distinguish differences in traits by making comparisons to their own. These differences make up the fundamentals of a society’s way of life. The rules that most individuals abide by comprise the framework of a culture. Culture is the shared beliefs and social norms of a country or area that are different from other places. In the country of Iran, an abundance of diversity defines their culture. Using the United
Overview What were the advantages and disadvantages of a land empire as opposed to a maritime empire? (The Earth and Its Peoples, 526) There are a few notable advantages and disadvantages of classical imperial rule. Many times, the disadvantages of such rule are the same as its advantages. The most obvious of the advantages come from the conquest itself – land and resource acquisition. Many times dominance can be difficult to spread over land, as the state’s population increases, so must the
Sunni Shia Conflict Syria is currently all over the news regarding what many have to come to see as a civil war. A term like civil war needs to identify the players and the reasons for the war. In this case the players are being identified as pro government or antigovernment with a Sunni or Shia overtone. Sunni and Shia are the two major sects of Islam and both have a historical based conflict going back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad and how Muslims should be governed. This conflict has caused
Islam is the second largest religion in the world that exists today. The Islamic religion is growing at a very rapid rate, so there is a higher possibility that Muslims will be in our everyday lives more so. Most people that do not follow the Islamic faith think that Muslims are strange, frightening, and are usually linked to all terrorist events. This state of mind that we have about the Islamic religion needs to change (Esposito 3). With Islam growing in popularity over the world, we need to make
A Comparison Between the Sunnis and Shiites Have you ever wondered about other religions that are out there and why they are out there? I have and that is why I chose to write my paper on the Sunnis and Shiites. Read on to learn more about a brief history and then I will break each of them into separate religions. In books written on Islam the word "hadith" usually refers to the sayings or "traditions" which have been given from the Prophet. Muslims hold these to be the most important source
there is freedom to choose religion and beliefs. Muslim religion is divided into different subgroups; most Muslims in Turkey are Sunnis (72 percent), and Alevis of the Shia (about 25 percent). The other 3 percent of Muslim population in Turkey are a Twelver Shia community that represents 3percent of the Muslims. According to Zeydan, “The Ottomans had accepted Sunni Islam in the 13th century as a means to unifying their empire” (1995). Alevism as Muslim subdivi... ... middle of paper ... ...neral
the primary language spoken, but also the cultural sphere of civilization populations such as Iraq and central Asia (Countries and Their Cultures 1). The ritual that will be discussed in this paper is Iranian (Persian) wedding which is part of the Twelver Shi’ism, the official religion of the state which began in the 17th century by Safavid Dynasty (Countries and Their Cultures 1). The historical roots of the ritual will be discussed, who first practice it, what the goal of it is, how the ritual is
Introduction Iran is without a doubt, one of the richest countries in the world. With its enormous Oil, Gas and other natural resources combined with its young population and the access to free seas (through Persian gulf), one should think that the country has a significant growth and no poverty and unemployment problems. After the 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of opposition, became the country’s leader and changed Iran’s Constitution, an Islamic republic government. Under this