Friday marked Arbaeen, the 40th day of mourning of the death of Imam Hussein, the martyred grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who is revered by Shiite Muslims
‘The attacks had all the trademarks of a Taliban operation’, a senior police officer was quoted on Dawn TV.
The first blast took place in the afternoon on a usually crowded main road, Shahrah-e-Faisal. It tore apart a bus carrying Shiite Muslims to a religious procession. An hour later, another bomb exploded outside the entrance to the emergency ward of the Jinnah Hospital, where the victims of the first attack were being treated.
Analysts say political turmoil and ethnic and sectarian unrest make Karachi a volcano ready to burst. Forty days ago, during the last major Shia festival, a suicide bomber killed 25 worshippers in the city sparking off the worst riots in the city’s recent history.
SHIA-SUNNY RIVALRY
Pakistan has a history of Shia-Sunni bloodshed dating back to the 1980s. And the Shia-Sunni rivalry goes back to early Islamic history and it is traced to the dispute soon after the death of Prophet Mohammad over who should lead the Muslims.
Though the two communities share fundamental beliefs like for instance, Muhammad is the last prophet, and pilgrimage to Mecca, they differ in matters related to doctrine, rituals, and theology, with Sunnis regarding themselves as the orthodox and tradition bound.
Sunnis are in a majority globally; Shias number anywhere between 120 and 170 million, which works out to about 10% of all Muslims.
Shia Muslims are in the majority in Iran, Iraq, and Bahrain; they are a poor minority in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and several other Muslim countries.
