Harmful Effects of Anti-Shia Discrimination Assignment

Harmful Effects of Anti-Shia Discrimination - Assignment Example Discrimination against the Shi’a has led to their inability to practice their religion, which has caused resentment towards their Sunni counterparts, as they are denied their right to worship. For example, Chehab in Sunni vs. Shia: All You Need to Know claims that â€Å"Jordanian tribes have banned Shi’as from paying homage at the historical grave site of a prominent Shi’a imam† (13). ...This led to protests in which over fifty Shi’a members either were killed or went missing. The Shi’a Muslims are also disallowed to access religious centers such as mosques, forcing them to perform their prayers on Friday in their houses (Chehab 13). This means that Shi’a Muslims, despite being part of the broader Islam family, are second-class religious citizens in most Muslim dominated countries. They are treated no differently than Christians, who are discriminated against in the same way and might as well be without religion. This has all the hallm arks of an irreversible religious war if unchecked. In addition, all able-bodied Muslims are required to visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime, which is one of Islam’s five pillars, to perform the Hajj. Although this event is supposed to count as one of the most intense religious times in the Muslim calendar, a group of Shi’as who were on a pilgrimage was arrested in 2009 by the Saudi religious police. This was part of Sunni Muslims,’ particularly the Wahhabi sect’s, aim to â€Å"purify Islam of any innovations or practices that deviate from the seventh-century teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions† (Giritlioglu 1). The incident resulted in one of the pilgrims, a fifteen-year-old boy, being shot in the head and chest, while a Shi’a sheik was knifed by an unknown person in the back for being what he termed as a rejectionist. Allowed to continue, such actions can only lead to reprisal attacks in Shi’a majority count ries, resulting in a never-ending cycle of violence.