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What ls
a Shiite?
T
he 1979 lslamic
revolution in lran was
engineered by Shiite
fundamentalists. TWA flight
847 was hijacked in 1985 by
Shiites. The conflict in
war-torn Lebanon involves
Shiite militiamen.
Just what is a Shiite?
Following the death of
Muhammad, the prophet of
the lslamic faith. in A.D. 632,
a conflict arose among his
followers over who should
assume the leadership of
the Muslim Empire. (The
word
Islam
means
" submission [to Godj." A
Muslim
is "one who
submits.")
Sorne Muslims maintained
that the leadership had lo
remain within the family of
Muhammad. They asserted
that aman named Ali-the
husband of Muhammad's
only surviving child,
Fatima-should be
caliph,
or successor. to
Muhammad. These
supporters of Ali and his
descendants were called the
Shiaf Ali
("party of Ali " ), or
Shiites for short.
The majority of Muslims,
however, believed that a
leader could be chosen from
among all qualified
candidates, regardless of
family heritage . These
became known as Sunni
Muslims, or Sunnis (a
reference to the
sunna,
the
42
orthodox code of lslamic
practice).
The more powerful Sunnis
won out, and the Shiites
grudgingly endured the rule
of caliphs who were not of
Muhammad's bloodline
through Ali and Fatima. But
the Shiites did not abandon
belief in the preeminence of
Ali 's fami ly.
Then, in 680, Ali 's son
The Birth
Revolution–
Who Pays?
S
omeday a child may be
born with five parents.
Science fiction? Not at all.
The medical technology now
exists whereby an ovum
(from parent No. 1) can be
fertilized by sperm (from
paren! No. 2) and implanted
in the womb of a hired
surrogate (paren! No. 3).
Alter birth, the baby would
be given to the couple
(parents No. 4 and No. 5)
who would rear the child.
lf those parents later
divorce and remarry, the
situation would become
even more confusing!
Modern birth techniques in
this confused world have
made it easier for infertile
couples to acquire children.
But with these new methods
have come a wave of legal ,
moral and ethical dilemmas.
Artificial insemination has
been responsible for the
birth of about 250,000
Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini /eads Iran's
Shiite Muslims.
Husain-Muhammad 's
grandson-and 72 of his
relatives were massacred by
toes of Ali 's family at
Karbala (in modern lraq).
The bloody inciden! caused
an uproar in the Muslim
world.
lt was a black day for !he
Shiites - but they now hada
martyr. Nurtured by Husain's
blood, the Shiite sect grew
in number and resolve, -
laying up a store of
bitterness that would be
drawn upon time and again
in succeeding centuries.
Since that time, numerous
political, theological,
philosophical , legal and ritual
differences have further
widened the breach between
Sunni and Shiite. 01 the 800
people wordwide . When
donated sperm is used , the
wife necessarily gives birth
to a child not fathered by
her husband .
lf the wife is infertile, a
donated ovum can be
fertilized and implanted in
her womb. lf her body is
unable to sustain a
pregnancy, a surrogate can
be paid to bear a child for
her. In such cases, the
surrogate is either artificia lly
inseminated or the embryo
itself is implanted in her
womb.
However, sorne
surrogates have breached
their contracts by choosing
to keep their babies, in spite
of the father being another
woman's husband.
In one case, a surrogate
mother gave birth to a child
with microcephaly. Neither
the surrogate nor the father
who commissioned her
would claim responsibility.
The state became guardian.
When one or the other·
spouse is not the biological
paren!, trauma and gui lt can
result. One husband, alter
million Muslims in the world
today, sorne 15
percent- 120 million-are
Shiites. Shiism, in turn, has
split into an array of
subsects and offshoots.
Shiite communities are
sprinkled throughout the
Musl im world. Shiites are
most heavily concentrated in
lran (where they are led by
the Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini) and in the
southern portion of lraq. In
multifaith Lebanon, the
Shi ites- with a million
members-constitute the
largest religious community.
Though known for their
fiery enthusiasm. the
majority of the world's
Shiites are not terrorists.
Ruthless, religiously
motivated violence is limited
to a frustrated minority and
is repudiated by most
Shiites. •
agreeing to let his wife be
artificially inseminated with
donor sperm, later
changed his mind and
convinced his wife lo have
an abortion.
As new thresholds in birth
technology continue to be
broken, new questions
continue to be raised: Who
are these children's legal
parents? Do children have a
right to be the biological
offspring of the parents who
rear them? And should
human lite be bought, sold
and traded? •
The PlAIN TRUTH