Sunnis and Shi'a - or Why we'd have to be completely out of our fucking minds to attack Iran

Bob Harris over at This Modern World offers this this informative post:

Iran is predominately Shi'a (like much of Iraq), while Bin Laden and crew are basically Wahhabi, from an extremist offshoot of the Sunni tradition. In short, Al-Qaeda and Iran are whole different religious deals.

The Sunni and Shi'a factions split centuries ago on a fundamental issue (who speaks for God?), much as Catholics and Protestants did, except the split has existed for over twice as long. Sunnis and Shi'a recognize each other as Muslims, but with only periodic efforts at ecumenicism, just like in Christianity.

The Shi'a have a hierarchical clergy, with a divinely-inspired supreme Imam, sort of where Catholics have a Pope. Sunni clergy is much less formalized, somewhat like our Protestantism. Within each tradition are a whole variety of sects and offshoots, just like in Christianity.

There's more. Read it.