Lesley Hazleton's After The Prophet
“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”(Siddhartha Gautama/Buddha).For years a religion has been split in two, cradling much contempt and malice in-between. A conflict that has existed for fifteen centuries, exists still today. From it, war and each continue to plague the countries of Iran, Iraq, and all others in the Middle East. Now, however, more and more people ask why the conflict persists, where it came from, and how anyone could benefit from such a religious struggle. In this report, I will be explain the infamous religious dispute that is Shia and Sunni Islam as explained in Lesley Hazleton’s book “After the Prophet”.
The best way to explain where we are, is to explain how we got here. It all begins with a man. His full name Siddhartha Gautama, he lived his life peacefully. Wandering, and sharing what he learned to all. He was a gentle and caring soul that learned from all he experienced. But, just like everyone else, in six thirty two he lay in his death bed. After many years of spreading wisdom to all he spoke, it was time for his voice to fade away. Many were distraught at the death of their beloved prophet. However, they were even more so at …show more content…
What if he believed that there was no longer a need for such a leader in the religion? What if he was instructed by their God not to name a successor? But, at this point such questions are pointless. War, pain, death; these are the things that this conflict has brought upon its people. Each war kills more, each death causes hatred, the hatred spreads to many, and war is born again. The disdain and contempt has been ingrained into each side of the religion creating extremist factions like Al Queda and ISIS. What’s done is done. The tear can never be mended, and the war will go on until one side or both have
The best way to explain where we are, is to explain how we got here. It all begins with a man. His full name Siddhartha Gautama, he lived his life peacefully. Wandering, and sharing what he learned to all. He was a gentle and caring soul that learned from all he experienced. But, just like everyone else, in six thirty two he lay in his death bed. After many years of spreading wisdom to all he spoke, it was time for his voice to fade away. Many were distraught at the death of their beloved prophet. However, they were even more so at …show more content…
What if he believed that there was no longer a need for such a leader in the religion? What if he was instructed by their God not to name a successor? But, at this point such questions are pointless. War, pain, death; these are the things that this conflict has brought upon its people. Each war kills more, each death causes hatred, the hatred spreads to many, and war is born again. The disdain and contempt has been ingrained into each side of the religion creating extremist factions like Al Queda and ISIS. What’s done is done. The tear can never be mended, and the war will go on until one side or both have