Re: Presence of Shirk among sunni and shia muslims
In my humble opinion and very limited knowledge these following ayat can be interpretted literally:
These I copied from Islamicity.com and are Mohammad Asad’s translation, and I believe Pikhtal has similar translation:
[2:62 VERILY, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians -all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds-shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
5:69 for, verily, those who have attained to faith [in this divine writ], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Sabians, and the Christians - all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.
5:82 Thou wilt surely find that, of all people, the most hostile to those who believe [in this divine writ] are the Jews as well as those who are bent on ascribing divinity to aught beside God; and thou wilt surely find that, of all people, they who say, “Behold, we are Christians,” come closest to feeling affection for those who believe [in this divine writ]: this is so because there are priests and monks among them, and because these are not given to arrogance.
The fact this ayat (2:62 & 5:69) is repeated twice does make it significant!
and the fact about Jews & Christians addressed as Ahli kitab is known to all!