A harbinger of things to come. “Argument between Shia, Sunni Muslims escalates,” Bowling Green Daily News, May 27, 2015:
In a scene that has played out on a large scale in the Middle East for centuries, a Sunni Muslim and a Shia Muslim conflict escalated Sunday during a heated discussion about religion.
A Bowling Green man who is a Shia Muslim told the Bowling Green Police Deparmtent [sic] that another man, a Sunni, assaulted him during an argument over their respective religious beliefs.
The division of the Sunnis and Shias dates back to the death of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The majority Sunni believe the leader of the Islamic community should be elected from those qualified. Shia Muslims believe the leader should remain within Muhammad’s family. Shia Muslims, which make up about 10 percent of Muslims worldwide, have followed a line of Imams who they believe were appointed by Muhammad or God.
The man who reported the incident did not have visible injuries but told police he was attacked and pushed to the ground.
The alleged assailant, whose name was redacted from police records pending prosecution, made statements to police about “taking care of business like a man” if the victim continued to cause problems for him. He denied that anything physical occurred during the argument.
A witness told police that the two men were arguing over religious beliefs with the assailant criticizing the beliefs of the Shia Muslim man, and the argument progressed to a shoving match….