by Ercan Can (Letters To The Editor, Crescent International Vol. 46, No. 5, Shawwal, 1438)
Islam does not need Shi‘i or Ahl al-Sunnah labels because the din is from Allah and the source has to be from Allah (swt) for true guidance. I read the history of Islam and the Qur’an; the solution to the problem between Shi‘is and Sunnis is to abolish both.
After Imam ‘Ali, the last legal khalifah, it was all dynasties like the Umayyad, ‘Abbasid, and all others since that time. We see the problem in Syria and we saw this in the war between Iraq and Iran. I try to understand the Qur’an, what I have to do, and how I have to live the Qur’an because Allah (swt) speaks to all the people who are willing to understand.
I have read books by Ali Shariati, Ayatullah Motahhari, and other Shi‘i scholars, and I have read Jamal al-Din al-Afgani, Muhammad ‘Abduh, Rashid Rida, Maulana Mawdoodi.
Ercan Can
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