43. Should I be Shia or Sunni?

It depends on an individual’s freedom of choice. A person should do self-study and follow the conclusion he arrives at after a thorough analysis.

Every religion has a set of basic tenets and some differing non-basic tenets. In case of Shia and Sunni, differences are only in matters of non-basic tenets. It is extremism in non-basic matters which usually causes confrontation. The basic tenets of the oneness of God and belief in the Quran as a revealed divine message are common across different schools of thought in Islam.