Despite major differences between the Sunnis and Shias, there has always been co-existence based on what is common among us in terms of our basic beliefs and practices. Here is one of the best examples of this ideal behavior.
There is an urgent need for thoughtful influential Muslim leaders, like you, to raise a collective voice against this self-destructive violence that threatens to create a seemingly unbridgeable fault line in the Muslim world.
About 50 Iraqi Muslim scholars representing the country's Shia and Sunni communities met on October 19, 2006 in Makkah and signed an edict (Fatwa) making attacks on Muslims in Iraq a sin.
It is imperative that the Muslim community in the United States actively and methodically engage in critical dialogue and education concerning Shia-Sunni Dialogue to Save Lives.
Shia-Sunni violence has been on the rise in the last few years, particularly in Iraq and Pakistan. Every month, it seems, scores of Shias and Sunnis are killed in a vicious tit-for-tat between extremists on both sides. Many of the victims are killed as they pray or are in mosques.