CNS–Competing views of Islam seen at issue in Pakistani violence

In Pakistan — second only to Indonesia in the number of Muslims who live there — competing versions of Islam are at play, said John Voll, professor at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.

Most Westerners regard tensions within Islam as a struggle between its two largest branches: Sunnis, who constitute a significant majority of Muslims in Pakistan and worldwide, and Shiites, a distinct minority in most Muslim nations except for Iran and Iraq.

But Voll said the developing fissure is “much more between political-elite, stability-oriented Sunni Muslims and the radical extremists” who are also Sunnis.

A visiting professor at the Georgetown center, Shireen Hunter, said Sunnis are targeting minority Shiites, but the indiscriminate nature of suicide bombings means members of both branches get killed.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, * Religion News & Commentary, Asia, Islam, Other Faiths, Pakistan, Religion & Culture, Violence

3 comments on “CNS–Competing views of Islam seen at issue in Pakistani violence

  1. Br. Michael says:

    And on that note:

    [blockquote]SEATTLE (Reuters) – A Seattle cartoonist who stirred up a religious storm with a tongue-in-cheek encouragement to draw images of the Muslim prophet Mohammed has gone into hiding after a threat to her safety.

    According to Seattle Weekly, which originally published an illustration by cartoonist Molly Norris entitled “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day,” Norris was told by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to “go ghost.”

    “On the insistence of top security specialists at the FBI,” Norris is “moving, changing her name and essentially wiping away her identity,” a Seattle Weekly report said on Thursday.

    The Seattle office of the FBI did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

    Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born Muslim cleric linked to al Qaeda and thought to be hiding in Yemen, said this summer on a website that social satirist Norris was a “prime target.”

    Norris originally launched her mock campaign in protest at threats of violence issued against those who depict Mohammed, which is considered blasphemous in Muslim culture.

    The issue became a flashpoint five years ago when a caricature by Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard sparked sometimes violent protests. U.S. cartoon TV series South Park stirred up controversy and more threats earlier this year with its depiction of Mohammed in a bear suit.[/blockquote]

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100917/us_nm/us_usa_cartoonist

  2. Larry Morse says:

    As I said before, the evidence is right in front of us, but the left sees only what it wants to see. Evidence is a matter of small consequence. L

  3. Sick & Tired of Nuance says:

    Islam is not a religion of peace. Islam is also not just a religion, it is a political movement bent of world domination and conquest.