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  • The History of the Sunni and Shia Split

  • Understanding the Divisions within Islam
  • By: Charles River Editors
  • Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
  • Length: 1 hr and 25 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (20 ratings)

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The History of the Sunni and Shia Split

By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
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Summary

"Our followers are of three kinds, one who follows us but depends on others, one who is like a glass involved in his own reflections, but the best are those who are like gold, the more they suffer the more they shine." - Muhammad al-Baqir

Different branches of the same religion are the exception more than the rule, and they have had a profound impact upon history. The schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches influenced relationships between nations across Europe, and religious intolerance based on different Christian faiths led to persecution and outright violence across the continent for centuries. The Protestant Reformation split Christianity further, and the results culminated in the incredibly destructive 30 Years' War in the 17th century.

Today, the most important religious split is between the Sunnis and the Shias (Shiites) within Islam. Unlike divisions in other faiths - between Conservative and Orthodox Jews or Catholic and Protestant Christians - the split between the Sunnis and Shia has existed almost as long as the faith itself, and it quickly emerged out of tensions created by the political crisis after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. In a sense, what are now two different forms of Islam essentially started as political factions within the unified body of Muslim believers.

Over the past few centuries, Christians have mostly been able to live alongside their co-religionists, but the split between the Sunnis and Shias is still so pronounced that many adherents of each branch view each other with disdain if not as outright apostates or non-believers.

©2014 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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What listeners say about The History of the Sunni and Shia Split

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    4 out of 5 stars
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One missed detail but overall very good

Very good book overall. My only critique would be that it misses out the Shia belief in the prophet endorsing Imam Ali in what is known as Ghadeer Khum and that a lot of the belief of the sequence of caliphate stems from this rather than it being a family oriented decision.

Narration was very good, good length to summarise the history up until the modern day.

Impressive work

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not presented in a way that sticks

A list of events that lacks socio-cultural context and implications for the present to make them stick in my mind. I could not give you a summary and found myself wondering who the person behind an important name was again even while listening.

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