University of Texas Muslim students will hold a prayer vigil tonight to denounce the recent bloodshed and mosque attack in Iraq and demonstrate the bonds of faith that unite Shiite and Sunni believers.

Muslim students will gather with members of the Austin Muslim community and people of other faiths at the Main Mall of the UT campus at 6:30 p.m.

Some students say they are concerned that Americans might view the conflict between the two Muslim sects as stemming from religious differences, when it is in fact rooted in political differences.

The Feb. 22 bombing of the Askariya mosque, a sacred Shiite shrine, has ignited battles with attacks on Sunni mosques and a mounting death toll.

The conflict springs not from differences in Islamic theology, said UT senior Aiman Janmohamed, but in longstanding political hostilities in Iraq , where the majority Shiite Muslims had been marginalized by the minority Sunni population.

The new Iraqi constitution gives Shiites a greater voice.

Janmohamed, with the Society of Islamic Awareness, one of the groups organizing the vigil, said students want people to understand that the insurgency stems from a small faction that doesn't represent any Islamic tenets and is bent on dividing Shiites and Sunnis.

Despite the tensions, UT sophomore Azhar Sheraze noted, leaders from both sects have urged peace.

"The great majority of our great scholars . . . have called for the Muslim community to stand together in unity," Sheraze said.

The distinction between Shiites and Sunnis involves a philosophical argument over spiritual leadership that dates to the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632.

Some Muslims (Shiites) believed leadership should pass through the prophet's family and followed Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin.

The others, Sunnis, opted to follow one of the prophet's companions who was elected successor by an assembly.

The two groups agree on the basic principles of faith and consider themselves part of a worldwide family of Muslims called the ummah.

At UT, Muslim groups don't draw sectarian distinctions, students say.

"Overall within the United States , the Muslim communities are very united," Janmohamed said. "And I think that's what is . . . creating the impetus for this. The impression given out is incongruent with what's going on here in the U.S."

Though sectarian hostility doesn't mar Muslim relations in Austin , where there are four Sunni mosques and one Shiite congregation, a Sunni imam hopes the vigil will spur communication between the groups.

"We have interfaith events with other religions, but we need to have more inter-Muslim type of events as well," said Mohammed-Umer Esmail, who leads the North Austin Muslim Community Center "This is a first step toward that."

eflynn@statesman.com ; 445-3812

If you go
What : A Call for Muslim Solidarity
When : 6:30 p.m. today
Where : University of Texas Main Mall
Information : http://studentorgs.utexas.edu /sia/activities/Announcements