The British colonial raj had mastered the art of divide and rule. In a round table conference regarding the end of British occupation of the colonial India, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of Muslims, was asked an interesting question by a British leader: what kind of Muslim are you? Are you Khoja, Sunni or Shia? He replied with a question: what kind of Muslim was Muhammad? He was none of the three, the British leader replied. Then that is what I am, was Jinnah's reply. Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet.

Some Sunnis and Shias use this reply in defiance of the heavy emphasis on these divisions.

The tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is soon approaching. Both Sunnis and Shias commemorate this day. For Sunnis, according to a Hadith of the Prophet, it is the day God liberated the Children of Israel from the tyranny of Pharaoh. The Prophet and Muslims used to fast on this day. For Shias, this is a special day of commemoration when the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Hussain, may Allah be pleased with him, was martyred in his struggle against the tyrannical rule of Yazid.

Relations between Shias and Sunnis have not always been intractable. But in the last 26 years, there have been moments when they have been at their worst. One of these was during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war, when Saddam Hussain tried to exploit the divisions between the two groups. About 1 million died. Then, incidents in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and most recently Iraq flared up, although both groups had been living together peacefully for decades. What's critical to remember is that all of these flare-ups aren't based solely on religious differences. They are part of a bigger game. In the world where interfaith dialog is big, there is always a need for Intra-faith dialog. It is critical that we engage in necessary Shia-Sunni dialog to save lives and to ensure peaceful world.

excerpts from Soundvision's Abdul Malik Mujahid's: A New Islamic Year Begins; Martyrdom of Hussain, newsletter www.soundvision.com