We found a very interesting article regarding a Sunni and Shi’a love story at Love Habibi so we thought we’d share it with our members. Love Habibi is a blog for Muslims Worldwide Looking for Love and has some very interesting articles.
“Two of the most frequent questions I’m asked by my non-Muslim friends are: 1) What’s the difference between a Shi’a and Sunni Muslim and 2) What happens if a Sunni and a Shi’a fall in love? Neither question has a particularly straightforward answer.
I read a moving story about Sunni-Shi’a love in Newsweek a couple of years back. It was the tale of two Iraqi teachers, one Sunni and one Shi’a who met in 2000 when they were both studying at the University of Baghdad.
A Cautious Courtship
Sunni guy Mahir Murad, 26 and Shi’a girl, Hind al Yasseri fell deeply in love, but had to hide their three-year courtship from their friends and family.
The couple only argued once during that time, disagreeing on wodhu, the ritual cleansing before prayer, which their sects perform differently. The issue under debate revolves around washing vs. wiping the soles of the feet prior to prayer. It escalated into an ardent row, but dissolved into laughter.
“We agreed that we should never discuss such minor differences. We both are Muslims who believe in the same Qur’an and the same Prophet.” Mahir told Newsweek.
Serious Concerns
The lovebirds married in 2003, and enjoyed their honeymoon as Iraq began its. Sadly, sectarian violence took hold in 2006, with the destruction of the Shi’ite Askariya Mosque in Samarra, which was followed by the retaliatory destruction of Sunni mosques.
“We had no other choice but to protect ourselves,” says Mahir.
Both husband and wife felt that extremists and not regular members of either community were to blame for the violence, and while thier love endured the tension between their sects, it clearly troubled them.
“I could say that maybe if I met my wife now, I would not marry her,” Murad said, weeks after the conflicts started in 2006.
While Mahir and Hind’s story is extreme, it inspires me as it reveals the power of love and the unifying bond between all members of our faith. Many of my Shi’ite friends and I feel this way, and hope that there can be peace, love and respect between all the branches of Islam”.
http://www.lovehabibi.com/blog/2010/07/29/a-sunni-shia-love-story/
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