The experience of coming as a Christian guest to this Muslim country has been almost like being transported to a parallel universe of belief. Although the differences are many, the similarities are uncanny. Within each faith lie two distinct perspectives, each orbiting around a different center - either a book or a man. Each center is a source of authority and is determined to be infallible. For Christians, the infallible center is either the Bible and/or the Pope and for the Muslims, it seems to be either the Koran and/or the Imam. What side a person takes on these issues has a lot to do with how they handle the rest of life, because each choice comes with a very distinct identity. Protestant or Catholic, Sunni or Shi’a, the dividing line for each comes down to who or what is infallible and authoritative.For the Muslims, this was an early split. Lines were drawn in the sand soon after Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law, was assassinated in 661 AD. This sparked a revolt by a group that later called themselves “Shi’a," which is short for “Shi atu Ali,” meaning "partisans of Ali.” Since Muhammad had no sons that made it to adulthood, the Shiites felt that his cousin Ali, who was married to his daughter Fatima, was his only rightful successor. According to the Shiites, this status granted Ali and his successors, not only political and religious authority, but also immunity from error and sin. In 880 AD the 12th imam disappeared, and much like the Christian anticipation of the second coming of Jesus, Shiites believe he will eventually return and bring justice to the earth.
The habit of unquestioned trust in religious leadership continues to this day among the Shi’a, as they believe that hidden levels of meaning of the Koran are only available to the imam and those he chose to reveal them to.
The Sunni represent roughly 85% of the Muslim world and have more of a "Protestant" view of religious authority. The Sunni get their name from the accumulation of words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad called the "Sunnah," now found primarily in the "Hadith" which supplements the Koran and is also treated as God's word. Immunity from error is attributed to the Koran and Hadith, and great effort is placed on finding the true meaning of their words. Without the guide of an infallible imam, Sunni theology has branched out into multiple "schools of thought," - just as early Protestantism did after the Martin Luther convinced many to question the ultimate authority of the pope. Sunni theology can now be broken down into four main schools that are almost region specific and have found a prominent place in government and civil law. Saudi Arabia is a prime example of this, as the court system is guided primarily by a branch of Shari'ah (Islamic law) known as "Hanbali." Like most prominent Protestant denominations do with the bible, "Hanbali" places utmost importance on the original intent of the Koran and Hadith and differs with other schools only in variation of emphasis on literal meaning or general guiding principle.
It seems that within each tradition lies a common thread - a rift between belief and practice. Every follower knows what he ought to do, but no one is completely faithful to do it. These differences vary as do the distances of planets from the sun, but most participants of any faith will readily admit the dichotomy. Perpetual guilt pervades the Middle East as well as America. It has been very intriguing to hear both a Muslim and a Christian say almost the same exact thing to me: "I am a believer, but I'm a bad one. Maybe one day I'll get my act together."
Most of us wander aimlessly in unfulfilled self-expectation, and the irony is our loneliness despite this commonality. Masks of spirituality isolate us from each other in either religion and skew our view of reality as we think we are alone in our struggle to be good. As a result the least religious among us can sometimes be the most honest.
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