What is thr difference between Suni and Shia or Shite muslums and why do they hate eachother?

Question

We hear this on the news over and over but yet have I heard an explaination that I can understand or follow.

Answer 1

The difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims is similar to the difference between Protestant and Catholic Christians. Although they don't hate each other per se, there have been periods of mutual strife, oppression, and even genocide between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, just as there have been periods of mutual strife, oppression, and genocide between Protestants and Catholics. Any time power or money is distributed unevenly between the two, there is a potential for resentment, anger, and violence.

What's going on in Iraq right now is basically the same thing that happened in France during the Saint Bartholomew Day's Massacre or any other massacre based on religious persecution. It's not so much that the Sunnis historically hate the Shiites, it's that the new constitution in Iraq threatened to give more power and money to the Shiites than to the Sunnis, and the Sunnis, being the group that formerly held that position, weren't terribly happy with it.