Written by Islamic scholars sht. history of Sunni v. Shia
http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm
If one doesn't get lost in the list of holy names at end of this article, you can see some basic differences between and among Sunni vs. Shia Muslims.
Please note that this site, printed from 2007 I believe, suggests that Shia Muslims are more prone to martydom vs. Sunni Muslims. One of you guys brought out this point last night I believe?
Statistically, if correct, this article also suggests that of the world's Muslims around 15% are Shia.
In Pakistan, the northern areas are majority Sunni, whereas the ruling groupings in Punjab and Sindh Provinces in the middle and south of Pakistan are Shia. Current President of Pakistan is Shia, whereas the Taliban and al Qaida are Sunnis.
Is there such a reference ...
Quote:
from BW
If you really want to look for potential Shia-Sunni issues in Pakistan, look for a map that shows density by location. But even then be sure to overlay tribal and colonial history, etc ...
COL Lynch's report has very general stats for the nations he lists at p.47 - see Table 3, p.49. It would seem to me that a more-detailed breakdown within countries would be useful - although complex. E.g., besides Shia and Sunni, we also have Sufists - as I understand it, that take on Islam cuts across both the Shia and Sunni communities.
BTW: George - I've been tardy in not agreeing with you that, so far as Pashtuns are concerned, our primary focus should be on how they chose to distinguish themselves. COL Lynch's report is more applicable to the Fertile Crescent and the Oil Lands to its south.