i totally agree, it did used to be pretty common in our society, plus the lines between shia and sunni werent so defined, everyone participated in moharram, everyone loved ahlulbait, these days theres a lot of ignorance like u said caused by the 'suni sunayi' batain that are spread for political reasons, its sad our people cant see through it
as a Sunni, one thing I really feel bad about is that I sometimes feel that some Sunnis will not have a clear heart about Hazrat Ali (karam Allah wajho) or the Ahl-ul-Bayt, just because they have associated them with Shias whom they perceive to be "wrong" or "bad"... and likewise, some Shias will be cursing or not respecting Hazrat Umar..
wake up, there was no distinction or difference back then! Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Ali had immense respect and love for one another.. yet we claim to carry their flags and cause division; woh kya sochtay hongay of what we are doing?
or there will be some hesitation among Sunnis about Waqiya-e-Karbala.. and I can only laugh/cry at those people because they are needlessly getting themselves in trouble. It makes NO difference if you're Sunni or Shia; your heart should be filled with love for the Sahaba, the Ahl-ul-Bayt, and you should at the very least affirm the great significance of Waqiya-e-Karbala as a defining moment in Islam and recognize the cruelty of Yazid against the family of Rasulullah (saw). Sure there are differences in ritualistic / ceremonial mourning which I don't agree with, but that doesn't take away from the facts and the event itself.
when will we stop digging trenches and retreating into a "us vs. them" mindset when it comes to Shias and Sunnis and see each other as the same? because that's what we are.
I am thankful to Allah that my parents always encouraged acceptance, peace and harmony. My parents, both mom and dad are shia but i was taught Quran majeed and namaz by a sunni molvi sahab. In Ramzan my parents would take us both to the sunni and shia mosque, in muharram we would attend majlis in the shia mosque. My father loves reading and therefore he reads books on hadees and islamic history/studies by both shia and sunni authors.
angelgirl, it all depends on you and your husband, what you want to teach your kids. If you just want to teach them hatred and differences then that is what they will learn. If you guys will teach your kids to respect each other and find a balance b/w two sects then that is what they will learn.
I think the start would be just start practicing what you want to teach your kids and emphasis on the pillars of islam and essence of the message.
this is the first time i am hearing that the girl converts for the marriage ... i havent really heard of conversions or issues in a sunni/shia setting, but i am sure they exist, like in the case of several other settings. But then again, i havent heard of sunni/shia marriages unless the families are open-minded and relaxed and not horrendously conservative ... cuz those ones simply dont do it.
a muslim woman cannot marry a non-muslim, so there is not a possibility of a woman's conversion ... well, legally speaking, of course it does happen
islam is ONE religion, it is just sad to hear that we've come down to converting from one sect to the other.
truth is relative, there is no single truth. tell one person a story ten million times, and that will become his reality. now put this in a larger perspective! at least this is how we function, regardless of whether we start a debate of how dare i deny the ONE SINGLE TRUTH.