Comments on: Terrorists target Shia procession in Karachi

By: Haider

Haider — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The summarized description of Sunni and Shia faiths is accurate except for the matter of election. The first Caliph was elected by a small group of Muslims outside the city of Madina shortly after the death of Prophet (P.B.U.H). The second Caliph was appointed in writing by the first Caliph at the time of his death. The third Caliph was selected by the committee of 6 members. The committee was formed by the second Caliph at the time of his death. The fourth Caliph came into power when people of Madina came to him requesting for the leadership after the death of third Caliph.

The fifth Caliph came into power through war when his Syrian army came to Madina. After that the leadership of the Muslim nation remained in the family of the fifth Caliph for the next 90 years and this period is known in the history as Umayyad Caliphate. The Abbasid defeated the Umayyads and the Caliphate remained in the Abbasid family for the next few hundred years.

Therefore, to say that the Shia Muslims do not recognized the authority of ‘elected’ Muslim leaders is not correct since there was never an ‘elected’ leadership in Muslim nation.

By: Spoobrehoiree

Spoobrehoiree — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Appealing answers.

By: Men in Black 2

Men in Black 2 — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for this post.

By: apurva

apurva — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

This is so sad. Shia, Sunni etc. have discomfort with each other.
Why can’t each group let each one breathe and live at ease?
Let each one communicate & reach to Allah in their own manner.

In all this disunity, it is the arm merchants that win, not the common people.

By: amar

amar — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Religion, Beliefs, Faiths are Personal choices nobody has the right to force his viewpoint on others.

By: Mullah_balls

Mullah_balls — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet’s companions, that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad’s close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word “Sunni” in Arabic comes from a word meaning “one who follows the traditions of the Prophet.”

On the other hand, some Muslims share the belief that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet’s own family, among those specifically appointed by him, or among Imams appointed by God Himself.

The Shia Muslims believe that following the Prophet Muhammad’s death, leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Ali. Throughout history, Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslim leaders, choosing instead to follow a line of Imams which they believe have been appointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself. The word “Shia” in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. The commonly-known term is shortened from the historical “Shia-t-Ali,” or “the Party of Ali.” They are also known as followers of “Ahl-al-Bayt” or “People of the Household” (of the Prophet)

By: Peter Stanley

Peter Stanley — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

capTain rizzZZ… says: December 30th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
comment-top

Who else is doing these sort of activities these people aren’t Muslims, cause we are not allowed to kill any single human on planet, so how could any Muslim can kill any person…….

Sorry my friend, I did not agree with your comments.

By: Khalid Khan

Khalid Khan — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

It appears there is a consensus among readers that it was an unfortunate incident and the responsible should be dealt with firmly. While I could not agree more on that, I have noticed a tendency that some of us are getting bogged down on whether the tragedy was orchestrated by foreign elements, or whether the arson was carried out by the people from within the procession.

Can we please, and I say again, please, demonstrate some common sense and unity on this national tragedy, and stay focused) building a consensus on identifying the root cause) what can we, as individuals, do to take care of the root cause. Any takers!

Best Regards.

By: A

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Mate, it’s not about allowing or disallowing. The problem is the difficult times we as a nation are facing. Many a times Muhammad (PBUH) made amendments according to the situation and the fact today is that we need to be careful and should see what is written on the wall. No one here is pointing towards the rituals or any worship but towards one thing and that is “allocation of a certain area where these rituals and worships should take place”, and I believe there is no harm in that if people and their property could be protected by following and implementing certain rules.

By: Naved Haider

Naved Haider — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

In a terrorist attach, the ultimate result is the loss of innocent lives no matter whether it is done in prade-lane mosque Rawalpindi, in the moon market Lahore, in a volleyball match in NWFP or on a the ashura procession in Karachi. If people can be killed in many guarded mosques (allocated area), then how come someone guarantee that nothing will happen if religious processions are organized in an allocated / secluded area. Were many shia’s imambarghahs / majalis not attacked in recent past, which are of course allocated areas?

Until we don’t get rid of religious extremism / terrorism we are not safe, no matter where ever we are and which sect we belong to. As a society we need to respect each other’s belief and let everybody perform his / her rituals without any hindrance.

If countries like USA, UK, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iran etc. can allow majalis / processions without any problem then why a few of us are so concerned about them in Pakistan