International holidays - International Shia Day

In the first hundred years after its birth, Islam as a religion developed in three directions Today it is represented by Sunniism, which is preached by about 80% of believers, Ibadism and Shiism One of Muhammad's spiritual successors is his cousin and companion Ali ibn Abu Talib This politician ruled the young Islamic state for 4 years and 9 months after the death of the prophet Supporters of the faithful Abu Talib Shiites (الشيعة in Arabic - “adherents”) consider him the first and main caliph, endowed with power by the will of Allah Sunnis do not agree with the transfer of powers of the head of the community to the blood heirs of the imam The assassination of Ali in January 661 and the death of his son Hussein began a confrontation within the Muslim community This split the community, the ummah, into two camps Followers of Sunnism still oppress members of the religious minority today, subjecting them to violence and persecution International Shia Day is intended to draw the attention of the world community to this problem The holiday, celebrated on June 12, was established on the initiative of human rights activists from Shia Rights Watch The US-based non-profit organization raises awareness of the plight of discrimination against Shiites in Indonesia, Yemen, Egypt and other countries International Shia Day issues against the marginalization of religious minorities, which results in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Muslim believers An example of this is the genocide of Shiites in Iraq under Saddam Hussein The fundamental difference between the two religious movements is the discrepancy regarding the leadership of the Muslim community Shiites believe that only a descendant of Abu Talib and his wife Fatima can be the head The title of imam must be inherited Sunnis are convinced that the community should be led by caliphs elected by its members Shiites do not agree that any outstanding interpreter of the Koran can apply for this high post According to religious minorities, this approach trivializes the title of caliph These differences are superimposed by an ethnic component: Sunnism is primarily the religion of the Arabs, and Shiism is the religion of the Persians, although there are many exceptions International Shia Day is widely celebrated in Iran, where this branch of Islam is dominant, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Iraq A large number of supporters of the teachings of Ali ibn Abu Talib will live in Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the eastern regions of Turkey and Qatar Shiites not only advocate an imamate, in which the supreme leader of the ummah is its political and spiritual leader Representatives of the movement have other claims against the Sunnis Shiites are confident that some verses, verses that contained an indication of the appointment of Ali ibn Abu Talib as the spiritual successor of Muhammad, were removed from the Koran The Sunnis are blamed for the crime they organized in the 18th century massacre after the capture of Iraqi Karbala The bloody pages of history do not allow the followers of Abu Talib and the Islamic majority to reconcile While spiritual leaders and politicians in Eastern countries are trying to unravel this tangle of contradictions, human rights activists are calling on Muslims to remember prudence and love for their brothers in faith in honor of International Shia Day