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Read the Reddit comments to understand what the thread was about, since the post has since been deleted. ....................................................................................... I'm so tired of the utterly nonsensical and VERY COMMON Sunni notion of 'I am happy to seek unity with Shias as long as they don't curse/insult/abuse any Sahaba, and especially NOT Aisha, Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman. Firstly, any Shia claim regarding the sahabi that happens to go against the Sunni narrative is considered insulting. Secondly, and more importantly, is that the same notion is true for Shias... You are insulting the Ahlul Bayt by not accepting them as divinely appointed leaders of Allah, and infallible individuals, and perfect preservers of the religion of Islam, and a high means of seeking closeness to Allah (intercession). Not only are you insulting revered Shia figures by not following them, you are commiting MAJOR shirk by giving a false attribute to Allah, by saying that Allah has not always appointed an infallible leader on this Earth, and that there currently isn't an infallible leader. Furthermore, the real kicker is that plenty of revered Shia figures, such as Abu Talib (رضي الله عنه), are considered kuffar by Sunnis. Is this not insulting? So, how can we Shias unite with Sunnis based on their own fallacious logic? Shias are the minority, and Sunnis are the majority. It makes Sunnis think that they are Orthodox and that they have to unite with Heterodox for political and humanitarian reasons, and that Shias must make [ridiculous] compromises. Shias are far more receptive to the unity message, because we actually understand Sunni Islam, and can see the commonalities. We understand that we can't make Sunnis compromise on their beliefs. Simply by being the minority within Islam, by nature we Shias already understand Sunni beliefs, whereas Sunnis have a basic strawman understanding of Shia beliefs... which is natural, considering that they are the majority. Anyways, the point of my post is the following: Let's compile a list of revered Shia figures that are not given their proper status by Sunnis, according to Shia Islam... with an explanation given. ...This is to show that we Shias and Sunnis can unite, but we cannot unite upon revered figures and imamah. ...This will also serve as a way of showing Sunnis that this argument of theirs makes no sense. Another important question we may ask is "What about commonly revered figures like Imam Ali (عليه السلام) who is given different status in both sects? Can we unite upon Imam Ali (عليه السلام)?" ...a common Sunni criticism of political unity is that "Ali ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) is given an improper status in Shia religion because they call upon him... tawassul (intercession) of the 'dead' is Shirk! So there is absolutely no room for unity since we can't even agree on the status of the sahabi" [yes, I am aware that the Imams (عليه السلام) are still alive, but Sunnis don't believe this...] I would love to hear your thoughts. Wassalam. JazakAllah Khair. Fi sabilillah.

Asalamu aleykum wa rahmatullahi wa baraktuh brothers and sisters Its have been a while that I was visiting ShiaChat again. I want share some experience I made between the realtionship of Shia Islam and Orthodox Christianity and especially also in the eastern world. Orthodox Christians are well know as people from Eastern Europe like Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, etc. or in the Balkans like Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece etc. and also in the MIddle East in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey. I sometimes talk with a friend of Bulgaria and seems to have a very symphathy for Shia Muslims. He told me that both religions share similiarties in many views of practising religion itself and as also the suffer of the crusades (Orthodox Christians suffered from the 4th crusades, there have been in many centuries a conflict between Orthodoxy and Catholicism). Aswell he appreciate the support of shiite militias helping christian minorieties like Hezbollah many times did. Also take a look into this webpage from a Orthodox community which talk about the relation between the two religions: https://souloftheeast.org/2016/01/22/the-orthodox-shia-alliance/ What text impressed me really of this page was that part: " From the first, in the Shia-Sunni split, there have been interesting parallels with Christendom amongst the followers of Ali. Martyrdom is treated very seriously by the Shi’ites on account of the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala, which, in particular, is of a Christian type. The seventy-two followers of Husayn, who were hopelessly outnumbered in the fight against an army of five thousand, behaved chivalrously, riding out one at a time to draw the fighting away from their main camp, in order to protect the women and children who were with them; Husayn himself did the same thing, and fought in personal combat against the armies of Yazid, and was killed. His body and those of his followers were mutilated outrageously. But in that battle, they laid down their lives for their friends in the same way many military saints of our Church have done. This is not to say, naturally, that the Islamic theology they held to, with its Arian presuppositions, is correct or justified, or that Husayn (or Sheikh al-Nimr) should be treated as a saint by Christians. Only, rather, that the Shia Muslims have for their own prominent spiritual model, a type which (whether consciously or not) recalls the self-sacrifice of Christ." It was also a pleasure to read the comments and some are very interesting how they view us: "Mark Citadel says: January 23, 2016 at 2:34 pm Powerful article. I am very much interested in this topic, as Russian Christian Reactionaries are reaching for alliance with the Shia resistance in the Middle East. I think one can also draw a parallel in the semi-aristocratic nature of the priesthood. Sunni Islam is far more akin to Protestantism than anything else, in which anyone can become an Imam. Shia understand the need for the Traditional structures of warrior and priest in a far more authentic way. I was amazed to find the Alawite sect celebrate Christmas as we do!" "AriusArmenian says: January 26, 2016 at 5:12 pm I rejoice in the victories of the Syrian people over the head choppers and liver eaters that are backed by the US and its Anglosphere and EU vassals and its Middle Eastern proxies. For me it is personal. I will never forget that a Syrian army of mostly Muslim young men fought and died to liberate and protect Christian Kessab after the Turk vermin opened the border to allow the Western backed jihadis to enter and kill Armenians. What did the West do? It backed the Turks and jihadi vermin. The US will back Turkey no matter what it does." Note i dont want to make any conflict because the man metioned Turkey. The relationship between Shia Islam and Orthodox Christianity is very common in the Middle East likewise the relation between Armenia and Iran especially during the time were the Ottomans persecuted the Armenians and they were accepted by the Iranians and also by Syrians and Lebanese. In Lebanon the famous founder of the Amal Movement Musa as-Sadr (R.I.P) had a good relation with Christians. On February 19, 1975, fathers of the Saint Louis Capuchin Cathedral in Beirut was the first time in the history of Islam and Christianity that a Muslim cleric was carrying out a Christian religious rite and that was Musa as-Sadr! During the disastrous civil war in Lebanon, he said in an interview: “One of the most important objectives behind the plots that struck Lebanon was to destroy the form of coexistence and national unity in Lebanon. When coexistence is targeted by a plot, the symbols of coexistence will definitely be the first to be attacked." “I do not suppose anyone in Lebanon to be a symbol of national unity as much as I am, because in addition to the cultural, social, and political contacts and all-out relations I have with all Lebanese sects, I reached a point that, three years ago at Saint Louis Capuchin Cathedral, I preached Christians during the Lent. No one in the world has reached such a position. That was just like a Christian clergyman preaching Muslims during the Friday prayers. So I became the symbol of national unity, and thus, the plot directly targeted me,” “We have gathered for the human being; the human being for whom religions came; the religious which were of the same origin, and each promised the emergence of the other, and acknowledged each other,” "Every bullet that is shot at a Christian town is as if it is shot at my home, heart, & children." - Sayid Musa Sadr A similiar untiy can be also find in Syria between the Alawites or the Shia minority toward the Orthodox Syrians. Since the independence of Syria againt the colonialist power of France, unity was a very important symbol even today with the government of Assad. In my opinion the eastern world is more open when its about the dialogue between Islam and Christianity (besides from any secretarian group). Instead in the western world it seems difficult to talk about it since the media and authors are potraying Islam far from Christianity. We really should be open about it instead of giving us judgements which nowadays sadly happen many times. Thats all what I have to say Wa aleykum salam

Fill this form I have to conduct a psychology research for my final exams. I need Orthodox religious people who follow traditional roles to fill up this form. It only takes about 5- 10 minutes at most. Be honest and answer the test according to how you really behave and what you believe in. Your identity isn't recorded so you can be sure nobody knows what you have answered. it is confidential. Thanks.

http://asbarez.com/132694/holy-see-of-cilicia-hosts-muslim-christian-theological-dialogue/ ANTELIAS, Lebanon—The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran held a series of meetings and discussions at the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon on March 3 and 4. The two bodies adopted a joint statement at the conclusion of what was the sixth such event. The entire statement is below. * * * “We praise the Almighty God who once again granted to us the opportunity to organize the Sixth Session of our theological dialogue at the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon. We chose for our common reflection an extremely important and timely topic: Muslim-Christian Cooperation for Establishment of Just Peace in the Middle East. We discussed this subject from different perspectives by identifying its concrete challenges and implications today, in light of our traditions, teachings and experiences. As the core of our common teachings, we affirmed that: a) peace is a divine gift, and that the violation of peace is a sin against God; b) as God’s gift peace is just, comprehensive and lasting; c) peace is the fruit of justice, and that justice and peace are intimately interconnected; d) working for peace with justice is the vocation of Christians and Muslims. With this firm understanding, we emphasized: 1) The importance of greater collaboration between Muslims and Christians in all parts of the world and particularly in the Middle East, based on mutual understanding and respect. 2) The urgency of combating violence and extremism in all their forms and expressions, as perceptions and practices that are against our two religions. As our meeting coincides with the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we strongly condemn together with this Genocide all genocides and atrocities of the past and the present, perpetrated by individuals, groups or states. Such acts of violence are against the teachings of our religions and are not justifiable under any circumstances. We emphasize the importance of the plan of action, “The world against extremism and violence” that was proposed by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the General Assembly of the United Nations. Our dialogue reminds us the pivotal importance of peaceful co-habitation between Christians and Muslims and a closer collaboration aimed at restoring peace with justice in the Middle East.”