Often the Shīʿah, in discussions with Muslims like to glaze over the hard facts that expose the shirk (polytheism), ghulū (extremism) and infatuation in their beliefs. Historically, Muslims, due to their for love for Tawḥīd and love for the Sunnah, would not tolerate them. However, with movements such as the ikhwān al-muslimīn and other politically motivated groups reaching out to them and blurring the difference between the sunnī and the Shīʿī, Muslims today often view them as our long lost cousins in Islām. Certainly not! Here is a small quote from their own books, that they cherish and reference: “Allāh has erected ʿAlī as a sign between Him and His creation. So whoever acknowledges it then he is a believer, while whoever rejects it then he is a disbeliever and due to his ignorance, he is astray. Whoever erects something along with him is a polytheist while whoever holds to his Wilāyah will enter Paradise.”

Source: Uṣūl al-Kāfī 1/437
Translated by: Raha Batts