If we are "at war" with these people, is our military "up to it"?

[SoCalDem]

Somehow I doubt if even a draft would be enough...



dark green = Shi'a
light green = sunni

Islamic Sects, Subdivisions and Groups

Islamic sects are not simply "denominations," if that word is understood to mean various valid approaches to the same religion. Members of one Islamic group do not usually recognize members of other groups as fellow Muslims, and open conflict between sects is not uncommon.

Yet, as a whole, Islam is less divided than Christianity and Judaism — the vast majority of the world's Muslims are Sunnis.
Sunnah (Sunni) Islam

With 940 million adherents out of about 1.1 billion Muslims, Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic sect. Followers of the Sunni tradition are known as Sunnis or Sunnites; they sometimes refer to themselves as Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaa'h, "adherents to the Sunnah and the assembly."

Sunnis have their historical roots in the majority group who followed Abu Bakr, an effective leader, as Muhammad's successor instead of the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali. The Sunnis are so named because they believe themselves to follow the sunnah ("custom" or "tradition") of the Prophet.

Some general statistics: Algeria is nearly 99% Sunni (Sunni Islam is the state religion), Kuwait is 70% and Afghanistan is 80% Sunni. Sunnis also outnumber Shi'ites in Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Sudan (70%), Syria (80%), Tajikistan (85%), Libya (97%), Jordan (92%) and certain islands like the Maldives, Comoros (98%) and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (80%).

Contrastingly, Iraq is only about 45-60% Sunni, who are concentrated mostly in the central and northern parts of the country. Sunni Muslims are a smaller minority in Iran (10%) and Bahrain (30%).

Sunnis base their religion on the Quran and the Sunnah as understood by the majoroty of the community under the structure of four schools of thought. The four Sunni schools of law (madhahib) - the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Shafi'i and the Hanbali - are sometimes mistakenly understood as different sects, but they are not. These four schools of religious law associate themselves with four great scholars of early Islam: Abu Haneefah, Malik, Shafi'i, and Ahmad bin Hanbal. These scholars were known for their knowledge and piety throughout the Muslim world. They differed only in minor issues of application of certain principles in the religion and were not in opposition to each other. In fact, Ahmad bin Hanbal was a student of Shafi'i, who was a student of Malik.

Sunnis view Shi'ites as from the ahlul-bidah — the people of innovation. Sunnis oppose Shi'ite beliefs concerning some of the companions of the Prophet, the belief in the Imamate and difference on the Caliphate, and others. Other groups considered to be outside Islam by Sunnis are Nation of Islam, Ahmadiyya, and Ismailis.

More information:

* The origins of the Sunnah/Shi'a split
* www.SunniPath.com - Online Center for Traditional Sunni Islam
* www.masud.co.uk - Online Center with articles by Traditional Sunni scholars
* www.Zaytuna.org - Website of Traditional Islamic Institute

Shi'a Islam

Shia Islam includes most of the Muslims that are not counted among the Sunni. The primary division within Islam, between Sunni and Shi'a, dates to the death of the Prophet Muhammad when his followers were faced with the decision of who would be his successor as the leader of Islam. Shi'ites are those who followed Ali, the closest relative of Muhammad, as Muhammad's successor. Today there are approximately 120 million Shi'ite Muslims in the world.

The Shia consist of one major school of thought known as the Jafaryia or the "Twelvers," and a few minor schools of thought, as the "Seveners" or the "Fivers." These names all refer to the number of imams they recognize after the death of Muhammad. The term Shi'a is usually meant to be synonymous with the Jafaryia/Twelvers.

More information on Shi'a Islam:

* A Shi'a website

Sufism

Sufism is less an Islamic sect and more an alternative way of approaching the Islamic faith. Sufis are mystically-inclined Muslims who seek a direct experience of God. Sufism has been a prominent movement within Islam throughout most of its history. By the 19th century CE, more than half of the male Muslim population was attached to a Sufi order (tariqa).

Sufism is considered by the majority of Sunnis to be integral part of Sunni Islam. It deals with the spiritual aspects of a Sunni Muslim's everyday life. Some of the most famous Sufi schools are the Qadiri, Naqshbandi, Shadhili, Chishti, and Rifa‘i paths or tariqas.

More information:
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/places.htm
* An American Sufi website
* An academic website on Sufism

Ahmadiyya

Ahmadiyya Islam was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (c. 1839-1908) in Qadian, Punjab, India. Ahmad claimed to be the appearance of the promised Messiah (or, according to some sources, the manifestation of the Prophet Muhammad as well as an incarnation of Jesus and the Hindu god Krishna).

Ghulam Ahmad taught that Jesus feigned his crucifixion and resurrection, then lived to be 120 years old in India, contradicting the orthodox Muslim doctrine that Jesus was taken up into heaven before his death. Ahmad also reinterpreted jihad as a nonviolent battle against nonbelievers, using as its weapon the pen instead of the sword. These doctrines, along with the teaching that Ahmad was a prophet like Muhammad, have led Ahmadiyyas to be denounced as heretics by most of orthodox Islam.

Upon the death of Ahmad, Mawlawi Nur-ad-Din was elected as successor (caliph). When he died in 1914, the Ahmadiya group split into two groups:

* Qadiani, who recognize Ahmad as a prophet; and
* Lahore, who regard Ahamad only as a reformer of Islam.

Today there are about 170 million Ahmadiyya Muslims in the world. Qadianis reside mainly in Pakistan, where they are zealous missionaries for Islam and the two prophets Muhammad and Ahmad. Lahore Ahmadiyyas also seek converts, but more to Islam in general than to their particular sect.

Ahmadiyya Islam is also associated with several Sufi orders, most notably the Al-Badawi order of Egypt, named for an Islamic saint who died in 1276.

[Monkeyman]

1. No even if they drafted people

Right now we have not one unit that is Combat ready. And they would not have tools to fight with. Almost all has been broke down ot destroyed in Bush's war

[MadMaddie]

2. Monkeyman you are right on the money....

This administration is missing the reality factor....they still think they can bomb an enemy into submission....what they are doing is destroying our existing military...
when they do impose the draft...which they will....it takes time to bring those troops up to Combat Ready preparedness....in the mean time our troups all around the world will become sitting ducks with a big fucking bullseye on them....

The final step...which this administration is so clueless about is that war will come to our shores 9/11 was the warning shot over the bow.....

It's pretty fucking depressing....

[Disturbed]

3. Busholini, the Ignorant , didn't even know that there were

two major sects of Islam. I guess that is why he was so surprised at the sectarian war goin on in Iraq.

[stillcool]

4. we are "at war" over their land...

people are insignificant...energy isn't.

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. Obviously not - Iraqis are holding them at bay with guns, IEDs and mortars

.
.
.

All their "shock and awe" shit -

thousands of tons of bombs, missiles and so on

can't beat a ground force that HAS no air power, HAS no sea power -no tanks or bulldozers -

Vietnam taught the PNACers nothing . . .

Germany was completely different - they HAD air power, they HAD sea power,

BUT

THEY had been attacking other nations

There's a whole different mentality going on in the civilian population.

USA ain't winning hearts and minds in the least

They are generating hatred for the continental USA in an unprecedented escalation.

I have no idea why the USA thinks it will succeed as an Empire, when NONE have survived in all of recorded history.

All the weapons in the world will never defeat angry "peasants"

And that's how the USA is treating the rest of the world IMO

REGARDLESS - -

The "peasants" are angry . . .

Sumthing to think about . .

[kineneb]

6. interesting

"Ghulam Ahmad taught that Jesus feigned his crucifixion and resurrection, then lived to be 120 years old in India, contradicting the orthodox Muslim doctrine that Jesus was taken up into heaven before his death."

Quite a few in Iran believe this as well. I think G. Ahmad's teaching was based on a far older tradition. Some version of this tradition say that Jesus went to India to escape the Romans and that his mother Mary (Miriam) is buried near Yazd.

Islam in Persia is always superimposed over their Zoroastrian traditions. The arrival of Islam was not able to squelch the celebrations of ancient seasonal holidays, such as Nou Rooz (Persian New Year/Spring Equinox). The leaders of the Revolution attempted to end the celebrations and have since given up.

(Persian Step-Father has this weird thing for building fountains with flame in the middle...hmmm- Zoroastrian fire worship, anyone?)