They also believe that it is obligatory to unite the Muslims...

They also believe that it is obligatory to unite the Muslims under one banner as Almighty Alla>h has ordered: eAnd hold on firmly to the rope of Alla>h and do not be disunitedf9 and eAnd do not dispute amongst yourselves so that you will fail and your power will gof10.

They also believe that it is necessary to solve the differences that have arisen and caused disunity between Muslims, doing so in the light of the book of Alla>h and the authentic traditions (sunnah) far from different groupings and hateful and unwarranted partisanships and cliques.

They also believe that any law which goes against Islam is unlawful and wrong and should not be acted upon, as Almighty Alla>h has said: eAnd whoever does not rule by what Alla>h has revealed, then they are the unbelieversf11. The top scholars of the Sunni school of thought have ruled that it is permissible to follow and adopt the Sh:!ite school of thought. They include Shaykh Ma9mYd ShaltYt the former rector of the University of al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt and others.

The Sh:!a are distinguished in that they hold that the door to independent legal judgement (ijtih"d) remains open; and in that reason (!aql) is central to the divine law as well as the Qur’"n, the traditions and consensus. They have a glowing history from the dawn of the message of Islam until today. The Sh:!ite element was the most active in establishing Islamic thought and in building Islamic civilisation.

They have to their credit innumerable writings.12 They have a tremendous number of schools, institutes, libraries, scholars and preachers in Islamic and non-Islamic lands. They controlled [throughout history] a number of states in differing lands.13 They distinguished themselves throughout history with their long struggle against the unbelievers, the crusaders, the heretics, the Zionists and the colonialists.

All along the way there was between them and their Sunni brothers brotherhood and friendship and interaction and companionship. They are found today in most if not all of the countries of the world. However, the main Sh:!a population centres are Iraq, Iran, the Gulf states, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Indonesia.