Interesting article that was forwarded to me..."This article caused me to reflect on a number of past experiences, Sunnis asking me (usually in a surprised or shocked tone) "You're Shi'a?!" and then me reading their minds knowing they're probably thinking 'Why shi'a, why would an American be shi'a, how strange' and their ideas about Islam being a monolithic movement based in the 'jummat' now crumbling down, or the accusations of kufar, etc. This type of thinking is still very strong today. This is why its so important for the Shi'a, especially the teenagers and people my age, to study our religion, our books, so we can always be ready to correct the myths and lies with strong evidence and reasoning.
Excerpt from the article:
"They picked through Twelver Shia texts, looking for shocking quotes and strange-sounding ideas, and quoted them out of context in order to turn Sunnis against the Shias who were living and worshipping side by side with them. But at the same time, they strongly and publicly opposed any non-Muslims (or for that matter, any secular Sunni Muslims) treating Sunni texts in such a way. And they claimed to be speaking for North American Muslims when they condemned the persecution of Muslims in various countries around the world—but remained silent when Muslims being persecuted were Shias suffering under Sunni-dominated Muslim governments."
"I didn’t have to ask what she meant. I knew. I knew about those conservative, immigrant, often Salafi men who hung around the Friday Prayers that I attended, pulling young men aside and engaging them in intense discussions after the prayer. Some of these men carried brief-cases full of anti-Shia booklets with titles like “Do You Know the True Islam?” Those booklets made claims about “what the Shias believe” that were intended to horrify Sunnis, and lead Sunnis to see Shias as a fifth column, an internal enemy bent on subverting Islam and Muslim communities from within."
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE: http://sobersecondlook.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/grim-memories-sunnis-calling-shias-kafir-in-the-80s/
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