Conflict Analysis:

The Sunni- Shiite Split

632 B.C.E

The Sunni and Shiites split was due to their differing beliefs on who should rule
after the death of the founder of Islam and prophet of Allah, Muhammad. Their conflict
has a political and religious nature. The Shiites agreed that Ali was the rightful successor
of Muhammad and that God’s choice has always been Muhammad’s descendant Ali or
the other Imams. The Sunnis considered the caliphs to be Imams and supported the first
three caliphs. That is basically how the conflict started.

Turning points and important events:

• 632: Muhammad dies. Abu Bakr is chosen as caliph, his successor. A minority
favors Ali. They become known as Shiat Ali, or the partisans of Ali.
• 656: Ali becomes the fourth caliph after his predecessor is assassinated. Some
among the Muslims rebel against him.
• 661: Violence and turmoil spread among the Muslims; Ali is assassinated.
• 680: Hussein, son of Ali, marches against the superior army of the caliph at
Karbala in Iraq. He is defeated, his army massacred, and he is beheaded. The split
between Shia and Sunnis deepens. Shia consider Ali as their first Imam, Hussein
as the third Imam.
• 873: The 11th Shiite Imam dies. No one succeeds him.
• 873-940: In the period, known as the Lesser Occultation, the son of the 11th
Imam disappears, leaving his representatives to head the Shiite faith.
• 940: The Greater Occultation of the 12th or Hidden Imam begins. No Imam or
representative presides over the Shiite faithful.

Truly, the conflict never ended. It continued to increase into more sub-subjects of
conflict. In the beginning it was about who would succeed but it has turned into
everything from money, to politics to the religion itself. Instead of color comments, like
“they are black so they are this…” it was sect comments “They are Sunni/ Shiite so they
must act like this, their behavior is like this.” There was never an ending event to
completely end the feud, thus there was no ending result.

The Muslim people have conquered, gained wealth, and islamicized. Those
takeovers lead to some significant events in Islamic history. However, times change and
the Muslims and their allies may not rule over theses lands any longer. This makes the
military campaigns, the conquered lands, the assassinated people a short term effect.
Long term effects that the Muslims created were the islamization of people, the conflict
that exist today that is now expanded out of religious related conflicts, and of course the
spread of Islamic religion and the continuity of it to this day.