July 4, 2025

The USA celebrating its 249th anniversary on Friday, July 4, is impressive. But even more impressive than that is celebrating one’s new life in Christ. Unfortunately, there are 1.8 billion people on this planet who don’t know they can have new life in Jesus.

If you live near Shiite Muslims, you might have noticed black flags flying this past week. This year, Saturday, July 5, marks the day of Ashura, which is the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Ashura is a day of mourning for Shiite Muslims. In 680 AD, Hussain, the grandson of their Prophet Mohammed, was slain along with 71 others at the Battle of Karbala, in Iraq. Shiites mourn, fly black flags, and have special evening meetings to remember this event for the first ten days of their month. The tenth and final day is the Ashura. On this day, they will sometimes fast, have marches and shout slogans, beat their chests, and lament loudly the loss of their leader.

Sunni Muslims, on the other hand, view the day of Ashura very differently. For them, it is a celebrated holiday. Sunni Muslims do not fast on this day. Instead, they celebrate numerous high-profile events they believe occurred on Ashura such as Noah leaving the Ark and Moses leading the people out of Egypt and crossing the Red Sea.

The Two Branches of Islam

The divide between these very same branches of Sunni and Shia, with no love for each other, was cemented by the events of the Battle of Karbala in 680. Tensions had been building within early Islam over who should be their leader.

Mohammed, before he died, never declared who or how the next leader should come about. After he died, there was great turmoil. Most believed the leader should be chosen by the elders through popular consensus. A small minority believed it should follow the family line of Mohammed. Various leaders came and went; most were assassinated. 

Things came to a head when a popularly elected leader decided that his son and family would now be the line of succession. Hussain, the grandson of Mohammed, and others from his family and some friends openly rebelled. There was a battle and Hussain and his small band of followers were easily defeated. This disagreement over succession gave birth to the two major branches of Islam: Sunni and Shiite.

The Sunni branch claims the best leader should be elected to lead. The Shiite branch claims the leadership should be through the direct family line of Mohammed. Today, roughly 86% of the Islamic world is Sunni and 14% is Shiite. Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan have Shia majorities, while Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Bahrain have significant Shia minorities. The rest of the Muslim world are Sunni, except for some small sects.

Engaging Muslims from Both Sides

Your Muslim friends and colleagues will react very differently concerning the day of Ashura on Saturday, depending on which branch of Islam they belong. Shias will be mourning; Sunnis will be celebrating. Ask your Muslim friends what they think about the Battle of Karbala and you will find out quickly what their thoughts and beliefs are.

Whatever side they take, you can share that remembering the past is important, but preparing for the future is more vital. We will all face our creator God at the end of our lives and we must give an account for every action, every spoken word, and even every thought. Are they prepared to do that? The Bible says we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Share with them that we all have thought wrong thoughts or done things we shouldn’t have. But God can and will forgive us, if we ask. God can and will restore us from our brokenness. Please consider reaching out and inviting your Muslims neighbors and colleagues to a summer picnic or outing. Introduce them to a local park, and as you relax with a picnic basket, share a Bible story about Jesus feeding the 5,000! Find ways to build bridges of friendship, and find ways to carry the gospel across that bridge to their hearts.