As the violence between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq escalates into what many have labeled a civil war, students from the different sects on U.S. college campuses insist they are striving for unity, but admit meeting the needs of both can be difficult.
Even as the conflict has raised the American public’s awareness of the subtle differences between Sunni and Shi’a Islam, Boston University Islamic studies professor Kecia Ali said most Muslims in America do not strongly advertise an affiliation with either sect.
“If anything, the conflict in Iraq has united American Muslims across sectarian lines in opposition to American policy in the region,” she said.
Most U.S. colleges have a single Muslim students association that serves both groups.
Ali said the biggest distinction between the sects – in terms of college students – concerns how their followers observe certain religious holidays.
“I don’t tend to notice significant differences based on Sunni-Shi’a identity among my students or others on college campuses,” she said.
According to a Feb. 4 New York Times article, Shi’a students at several major universities, including George Mason University, the University of Michigan at Dearborn and several universities in Canada, are breaking off into separate groups after complaining about Shiite prejudices emerging in their schools’ blanket Muslim students’ associations.
About 10 percent of Muslims worldwide are Shi’a, and Iraq and Iran are the only two countries with Shi’a majorities.
But Boston University Islamic Society president Sultan Muhammed, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said sectarian issues do not arise at BU, partly because prayer leaders are chosen for their knowledge of the religion and ability to lead instead of by their sect.
Although he said a united Muslim Student Association is ideal, its purpose is to best serve the entire Muslim population at the school by whatever means necessary.
“If their needs are not met, then I think Shi’as have every right to form their own organizations,” he said.
Nazita Lajevardi, a Shi’a Muslim and a sophomore on leave from BU, said the BU Muslim community seems united in opposing the sectarian violence in Iraq.
However, many of the society’s activities, such as study groups, seemed directed toward the Sunni majority, she said. But she said most Muslims are able to respect each other by focusing on what they have in common and called the idea of creating separate Shi’a student groups absurd.
“I would rather identify as a Muslim before a Shi’a,” she said.
Lajevardi said the BU Islamic Society meets most of her needs, particularly in terms of support during the holy month of Ramadan, when all Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.
Masooma Hydary, a senior at Binghamton University and former vice president of the school’s MSA, said some Muslim student associations have caused tension on campuses by throwing parties on Ashura, a holiday observed by both sects. However, it is a particularly solemn day for Shiites because they mourn the assassination of Muhammed’s grandson, Hussayn.
Conflict also occurs when some Sunnis refuse to allow Shiites to lead them in prayer, she said. Hydary said Shi’a students should speak up within their associations to ensure their needs are met.
“Making a [separate] Shi’a organization should be the last resort,” she said.
According to Hydary, current sectarian violence in Iraq has not recently affected Sunni-Shi’a relations at her school because a conflict between the sects has existed for centuries. The Iraq War has only recently made the difference apparent to the American public, she said.
Muhammed said Sunnis and Shiites grow up in separate communities, even in the United States, and often interact for the first time only when they arrive at college, as he did. Some members of the different sects inter-marry, he said, adding he has two close friends both raised half-Sunni and half-Shi’a.
Muslim American Society of Boston administrator Aisha Shillingford, a 2002 BU graduate, said the Boston Muslim community is fairly cohesive.
“It’s not something that people would ask each other or use as a focal point of interaction,” she said of sectarian affiliations.
Shillingford said because most student groups are non-sectarian in practice, there should be no need for separate Shi’a groups.
“Usually, in the college scene, there is nothing that distinguishes between the two,” she said.