Shi'ah is a word that has been used in The Holy Qur'an twice. Once inferring that Abraham was a SHI'AH (follower)of Noah. The other verse exclaims that Moses had a SHI'A for a companion.

From authorative sunni sources it can also be guaged that Mohammed pbuh relayed to his people that ' Ali and his Shi'ah will be the successfull ones upon the day of Judgement'. A well known Sunni Sheikh by the name of Nainawy delivered this info in a lecture which I attended in Cambridgeshire. 'Therefore' he exclaimed to the Sunni audience ' We are ALL shi'ah because we too love Ali and hope to successfull upon the Judgement day.'

Well you should have seen some of the faces of those Sunnis drop!

So, those are the similarities, which, if you delve into you can find in the authorative sources.

The differences are most certainly historical and are primarily related to 'The Succession' of The Prophet Mohammed after his passing away. The closest male relative in line was his son in law, cousin brother and father to two of his grandchildren through his only daughter Fatima Zahra. Imam Ali was his name.

Abu Bakr, who was one of his 9 father in laws for some reason felt himself to be the most privaledged and allowed himself to succeed under a handful of tribal votes. Over a period of over 25 years the Caliphate was passed into the separate hands of tribal chiefs until finally it came back to it's true successor. Unfortunately by that time the damage had already been done and the first civil wars within Islam began to surmise. The first was actually led by Aisha, Abu Bakr's daughter, the youngest wife of the last Prophet!

Unsurprisingly Abu Bakr's immediate and illigitimate election after Mohammed's death inevitibly lead to the persecution of The rightful succeessors to the Prophet who were his closest blood relatives.

This persecution pinnaccled only fifty years after The Last Prophet's demise in the wholesale massacre that occured of his existing descendants upon the battlefield of Karbala, by the river Euphrates in Iraq. His beloved Grandson, Hussain son of Ali, was decapitated and his head was put on a spear to be held up for ridicule.

It is not surprising that Muslims today are still mercilessly killing each other, when it mattered not a jot to them 1400 years ago, to do the same thing to the very semblance that was Mohammed's own flesh and blood.

Seyyed Naqvi