# Rumours of a Sunni-Shia debate, and building bridges with the Shia - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/31rnfwtybwu/s/1/ - Date: 2019-08-02 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Mufti's engagements with the Shia | Mufti Abu Layth (0:01–5:24) - Status: general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31RnFwtYbwU&t=1s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/31rnfwtybwu/ **Topics:** Sunni-Shia dialogue; Sects, sectarianism and takfir **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth is not interested in Sunni-Shia debates: he believes the split is permanent and prefers building bridges, avoiding contested questions such as who was the better caliph. **Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says he personally believes the Sunni-Shia split is there for good and will not go away. **Evidence, his words at 0:39:** “I personally believe that the Shia Sunni split is there for good and it's not something that's never gonna go away” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31RnFwtYbwU&t=39s) ## Longer summary After declining to discuss a question the captions garble, Mufti Abu Layth says that weeks earlier Facebook posts claimed he was about to debate a Shia imam, which he says is untrue. He says he is not into Sunni-Shia debates, though he may have thought that way years ago, that he personally believes the split is there for good because the differences are political and historical, and that his approach is building bridges. He says he disagrees with the Shia on some things and sees their point on others, and that neither the Sunni nor the Shia voice is monolithic. He recounts being asked by a group of American Shia why he would not become Shia, and says he finds the Shia very rational from one angle but emotionally attached to folklore about the Imams from another, adding that many Sunnis have similar inconsistencies. He says that with a Shia friend he would simply not discuss contested matters such as whether Abu Bakr or Ali was better, which makes little difference to him, and that he disagrees with fanaticism on the issue. ## Sources and names cited - Shia - Sunni - Abu Bakr - Ali ibn Abi Talib ## Transcript (machine tier, 0:01–5:24) [0:01] right so okay somebody is asking questions who did care about my how he azar me and who right I really don't want to speak about all of that right there was actually that reminds me you know a few weeks ago somebody had been making some Facebook posts saying Mufti Abu layth is about to debate no not about you he is debating he's debating is it a lie re a Shia Imam and this debate has been set up and I'm looking forward to watching it and somebody and [0:39] somebody else was saying it on Facebook and then some people message me and so I had no idea until they shared the Facebook posts with me so that's not true I'm not really into this whole Sunni Shia kind of debates I think maybe a few years ago I may have unfortunately thought like that but I definitely don't think like that now and I wouldn't really be interested in anything like that because I personally believe that the Shia Sunni split is there for good and it's not something that's never gonna go away now the issue is really as [1:18] far as I'm concerned about building bridges and not about kind of just attacking and doing things like that but I don't see no push I'm personal I sorry I don't personally see any benefit in things like that so that's my that's my personal approach I do disagree as a person look I must some nice I do disagree with the Shia way of looking at things on certain things on certain things on others I can see their point of view I think that they but that that [1:57] said I'm sure we disagree with even Sunnis on any things you know it's not a homogeny it's not a kind of monolithic voice the Sunni voice is not a monolithic voice and neither is the Shia voice a monolithic voice in my understanding these differences are political they're historical and they can't be changed because they're speaking about events that have already occurred so people are who they are I was asked actually by somebody who said you know that they support my work they're a great fan they're very of the [2:36] kind of stuff I do and they you know they seem to really respect me and love me and they were a group this was a particular I was contacted by these people who represented a group they were shy Americans and they asked me one of the people are one of these guys asked me that on a serious note why are you would you not be a t-shir like why would I not be a Shia and if I could just be real with them and just give them my answer and I did and I said that was my answer I don't you know I find the Shia thing personally in you see it's it's interesting because I find from one side [3:14] she Shia can be very rational very rational on from one side from one kind of angle but then I find that they can be very emotionally irrational so you know that they have so some are they fair confortola is really current it's up to date it's kind of really so you see all of that and you think that that's doing it and then on the other hand you know they have a lot of folklore they have a lot of like aspects like we believe this about Imams that about amount it doesn't matter it [3:54] doesn't have to be rational it can be it's just very emotional and me I'm a very kind of Reason pure reason based kind of person that said even many of the Sunnis have like that kind of inconsistency about them you know many of the Sundanese - will sometimes have these contradictions so I think it is what it is right but I would like to focus on building bridges if I have a matter if there's a she friend and let's say we have an issue which we disagree on like let's say more alia Alia lon I just wouldn't speak about that issue [4:33] then and to me I feel that look who can really say in all honesty who was more beloved to Allah in terms of from the caliphs you know was a worker better than Ali was Ali better I think these things you know it's it's all gone now anyway like these people have come they've passed they've you know they were all great people and it's if one was better than the other the other was better than the other I mean to me it's like it doesn't really make much of a difference to me sure so okay that's my approach obviously other [5:11] people are quite fanatic about the whole she asks anything but I don't agree with being fanatic about that did you ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment 31RnFwtYbwU/s/1. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/31rnfwtybwu/s/1/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.