World Geogrpahy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

World Geogrpahy - Essay Example We begin by reading the testimony of a stampede that took place on Aug. 31, 2005 over a bridge over the Tigris River in Baghdad in which about 1,000 pilgrims lost their lives. Here we get to be introduced to Othman al-Obeidi, a Sunni who lost his life while trying to save Shi’ite from drowning in the river. Shi’ite consider him a martyr, some Sunnis too, while on the other hand a majority of Sunnis believe that he, â€Å"wasted his life for those animals† (Ghosh, p.1). The basic issue here is that there are mixed feelings between people on both ends. Some are friendly, while others have nothing but malice against each other. The origins of this fight began right after the death of Prophet Muhammad, with there being two groups of people; one who wished Muhammad’s Cousin Ali to be the Caliph, while others, the majority wanting Abu Bakr to become Caliph. After some years, a battle in the ground of Karbala took place in which the grandson of Muhammad, namely Hussein was martyred by Yazeed, the son of Muawiyah. Shi’ite mourns the death of Hussein each year on â€Å"Ashura† with â€Å"faithful march in the streets, beating their chests and crying in sorrow. The extremely devout flagellate themselves with swords and whips.† (Ghosh, p.2). Those who remained true to Muawiyah came to be known as Sunnis. Majority of Muslims across the world are Sunnis, but those who feel oppressed by their rulers are always attracted by the Shi’ite belief, which form a majority in countries like Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Pakistan. However, no matter how big the population be, it has generally been noted that Sunnis have remained politically in power in all the aforementioned countries (except Iran perhaps). Sunni leaders always upheld their domination by not including Shiites in the armed forces and bureaucracy. The