Anti-Shi'ism

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Anti-Shi'ism or Shiaphobia is hatred of, prejudice against, discrimination against, persecution of, and violence against Shia Muslims because of their religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural heritage. The term was first used by Shia Rights Watch in 2011, but it has been used in informal research and written in scholarly articles for decades.^[1][2]

The dispute over who was the rightful successor to Muhammad resulted in the formation of two main branches, the Sunni, and the Shia. The Sunni, or the "followers of the way", followed the caliphate and maintained the premise that any member of the Quraysh tribe could potentially become the successor to Muhammad if he was accepted by the majority of Muslims. The Shia instead consider the Ahl al-Bayt (household of Muhammad) and maintain the view that only God can decide who His hujjah (proof) can be. This is due to many reasons, including every successor to a prophet being chosen by God from Adam all the way to Muhammad. This includes leaders (Qur'an 5:12), Prophets, messengers, Imams (Qur'an 2:124) and righteous woman (Qur'an 3:42). It is believed that Ali ibn Abi Talib was chosen by God through Muhammad (Hadith of the pond of Khumm) which is also known as Ghadir Khumm where he becomes the Muhammad's successor, thus Ali became the religious authority for the Shia people. Militarily established and holding control over the Umayyad government, many Sunni rulers perceived the Shia as a threat – to both their political and religious authority.^[3]

The Sunni rulers under the Umayyads sought to marginalize the Shia minority. Throughout the history of Islam, the persecution of Shias by their Sunni co-religionists has often been characterized by brutal and genocidal acts; the most recent case of religious persecution by Sunni Muslims involved the genocidal massacre, ethnic cleansing and forced conversion of Shias to Sunni Islam by ISIL in Syria and Iraq (2014–2017). Comprising around 10% of the entire world's Muslim population, to this day, the Shia remain a marginalized community in many Sunni dominated countries and in those countries, they do not have the right to freely practice their religion or establish themselves as an organized denomination.^[4]

On the other hand, Sunni and Shia Muslims have lived together in peace over the years. In many countries, they have prayed in the same mosques, while having distinct rituals. Shia identitarianism was based on victimhood narrative of alleged intolerance from mainstream Sunnis who historically questioned their loyalty and Islamic credentials as well as over verdicts of Takfir from hardline Sunnis who denounces all Shias as apostates.^[5]