what is the difference between shiites, sunnis and bathis?

Answer 1

Shites and Sunnis are branches of Islam. They disagree on who the legitimate follower of Mohammad was. Bathist are a political party in the middle east

Answer 2

Religion (Islam):

a) The Sunni branch believes that the first four caliphs—Mohammed (pbuh)'s successors--rightfully took his place as the leaders of Muslims. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. These heirs ruled continuously in the Arab world until the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following the end of the First World War.

b) The Shiites, in contrast, believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph, Ali (ra), are the legitimate successors of Mohammed (pbuh). In 931 the Twelfth Imam disappeared. This was a seminal event in the history of Shiite Muslims. According to R. Scott Appleby, a professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, "Shiite Muslims, who are concentrated in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, [believe they] had suffered the loss of divinely guided political leadership" at the time of the Imam's disappearance. Not "until the ascendancy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1978" did they believe that they had once again begun to live under the authority of a legitimate religious figure.


Politics:

In Iraq, the Ba'thists first came to power in the coup of February, 1963, when Abd al-Salam 'Arif became president. Interference from the historic leadership around Aflaq and disputes between the moderates and extremists, culminating in an attempted coup by the latter in November, 1963, served to discredit the party. After Arif's takeover in November 1963, the moderate military Ba'thist officers initially retained some influence but were gradually eased out of power over the following months.

In July, 1968, a bloodless coup brought to power the Ba'thist general Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr. Wranglings within the party continued, and the government periodically purged its dissident members. Emerging as a party strongman, Saddam Hussein eventually used his growing power to push al-Bakr aside in 1979 and ruled Iraq until 2003. Although almost all the Ba'thist leadership had no military background, under Hussein the party changed dramatically and became heavily militarized, with its leading members frequently appearing in uniform.

Post-Saddam Hussein

In June 2003, the multinational occupying forces in Iraq banned the Ba'th party. Some criticize the additional step the CPA took — of banning all members of the Ba'th party from the new government, as well as from public schools and colleges — as blocking too many skilled people from participation in the new government. Several teachers have lost their jobs, causing protests and demonstrations at schools and universities. Under the previous rule of the Ba'th party, one could not reach high positions in the government or in the schools without becoming a party member.

Many members and supporters of the former Ba'th Party are involved in the Iraqi insurgency. They are most active and draw most of their support from within the Sunni Triangle. However after the capture of Saddam Hussein most Ba'thist groups have started to take up a more Islamist character in a bid to increase their support.

Answer 3

Shiite- A member of the branch of Islam that regards Ali and his descendants as the legitimate successors to Muhammad and rejects the first three caliphs.

Sunni- The branch of Islam that accepts the first four caliphs as rightful successors of Muhammad.


Ba'ath (Ba'th, Ba'ath) Party - Pan Arab party with extreme Arab nationalist and Fascist leanings founded in 1940's in Syria by Michel Aflaq and Salah Edin Bitar. Both Syria and Iraq were ruled by Ba'athist regimes, but the regimes are rivals. Lebanese Ba'ath party split from the Syrian party in 1966 and moved to Iraq in 1968. Ba'athism in Iraq ended with the 2003 US Invasion.

Answer 4

What is the difference between Baptists, Pentecostals, and Catholics?
It doesn't really make any difference except it gives everyone an excuse to fight about religion.