As a shia I want to clarify some of the misconceptions about shiism. First of all shias dont have any problems with sunni’s and take them as equal muslims, no more, no less, both have equal chance of achieving heaven. The non-muslims we hate are the wahabi’s but never to the point that we want to oppress them and kill them.

Also, the cursing part is pretty much an extreme extension of tabara and disliking those who disliked the Prophet. I assure you that very few shias actually curse, its usually the ones that think that being more loud equates to being a better shia.

The part about 12 imams being infallible, that is part and parcel of our doctrine and we cant change our doctrine, especially when we believe in it so strongly. However sunnis and shias CAN change the way they feel about each other without having to compromise their doctrine.

First step would be to see that behind all the fuss shias and sunnis both beleive in the idea of tawheed (the concept of one God, a God which will never be able to be seen or sensed, our imaginations are limited in defining his essence). Second we both believe in nabuwat (the infallibility of the Prophet pbuh and his esteemed status in front of God as the greatest human being and Prophet ever). Third, we both believe in the same Quran (there is no no difference whatsoever in the two sects’ Quran). Fourth, we both believe in following the sunnah of the Prophet pbuh. Fifth, we both have the highest respect for the wifes and the companions of the Prophet pbuh (Hazrat Bilal, Hazrat Hamza, Hazrat Abbas the uncle of the Prophet pbuh, Bibi Khadija, etc.). Sixth we both are obligated to pray five times a day (fajr, zhur, asr, magrib, isha), fast during ramadhan, perform hajj once in a lifetime, give zakat to the poor. Seven, we both support Palestine!

Is there anything else you could want in your fellow brother? So what if he happens to have beef with Hazrat Omer and Hazrat Aisha (as i said before only a few ignorant shias curse the sahabas, most sane shias only have an implicit dislike towards them in their hearts). So what if he regards Ali a.s. as the second greatest after the Prophet. So what if he considers all the Imams (from Ali to the Mahdi who is currently in occultation) to be infallible just like the Prophet pbuh. The fact is that you two are the same in 90% of your beliefs, why put more significance on the 10 of differences. Even twin brothers arent 100% alike but they still manage dont they?

I just want to take this time to defend infallibility because it always seems to be misunderstood by non-shias as shirk and polytheism. We do not believe in infallibility just because we love those 12 personalities or we feel that they are worth that status. We consider them infallible only because of one reason, because of our belief that in order for us to be judged in the akhera we need to have a leader on earth from God guiding the humans at all times. The reason that leader has to be sent by God is because someone fallible like us can not guide other fallibles. Also, shias dont think that just because they are infallible they are of equal status to the Prophet. They are nowhere near the high status of the Prophet pbuh. Neither do we take them as Prophets since Prophet Mohammad pbuh was the last Prophet to have come.

My take is that Sunni-Shi’a peace isn’t possible as long as Shi’as continue to curse the Sahabah and as long as Sunnis think they have polytheistic beliefs.