Shia
- noun
- /ˈʃiːə/
- In Iran, the majority of the population follows the Shia branch of Islam, which emphasizes the leadership of Ali.
- Shia in Iran
- Sunni and Shia
But the big problem of the Shia militia has not been solved.
- But the big problem of the Shia militia has not been solved.
- There were specific things that Shias can do or cannot do.
- I said Saddam could threaten the Kurds, he could threaten the Shia, he could threaten Kuwait.
- Don't forget that Iraq is also a majority Shia country.
- So Ahmed Chellaby was one of those very rare Shia Kurds.
- They've already been involved in direct strikes against Iranian Shia proxies in Syria.
- Syria is now a regional civil war, Sunni, Shia, with global overtones in fact.
- No, no, Houthis are Shia, Okapi Sunni, they hate each other.
- And this causes huge distress among Muslims and the Shia.
- And this is after the the Golden Mosque bombing so gently turned into Sunni, Shia civil war out there.
- This is very unusual from Shia Islam to evangelical born again Christianity.
- And so that is kind of where it started, kind of this being able to attack Shia.
- And what's worth remembering is Al Qaeda is Sunni and the axis of resistance is Shia.
- They're caused by Islamic attacks on Muslims on on Muslims of another type, you know, Shia attacks on Sunnis, Sunni attacks on Shias.
Examples
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Historically, the Shia lived in the rural countryside or in smaller, peripheral cities.
Academic text (2005) -
We are expecting to have representatives from all three main ethnic groups, the Kurds, the Shia and the Sunni, angling for different levels of power.
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Even being Shia was not sufficient to gain Iranian support.
Academic text (2007) -
From their point of view, what they see is a Shia alignment led by Iran.
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Don't forget that Iraq is also a majority Shia country.
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Although the majority of the population in Iran is Shia, not all are ethnic Persians.
Academic text (2007) -
I just believe that Muslims, Sunni and Shia, should sit together and unite as one.
Blog text (4) -
The Iraqi president is Shia; that is why he is so welcome in Tehran.
Blog text (23) -
Karbala and Najaf are almost as holy to the Shia as Mecca and Medina.
Blog text (23) -
These three regions were quite diverse, with Arabs and Kurds, Sunni and Shia Muslims, and significant Christian and Jewish minorities.
Synonyms
A branch of Islam that believes Ali should have led after Muhammad
A branch of Islam that believes leaders should come from Ali's family, common in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon
Compounds
A follower of Islam who believes Ali should have been leader after Muhammad and rejects the first three leaders
Surface Forms
Etymology
Shia comes from the Arabic Shīʿah, which means 'party' or 'followers' and was first used for the 'party of Ali', Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law. So, Shia today names the branch of Islam made up of those followers, especially common in Iran.