Moderate Shi'a

A moderate Shi'a is a Sunni term for the Salaf who loved Ali. When Sunnis use this term, they mean to differentiate between the Salaf who were the partisans of Ali, and the present day Shi'a, labeling the present day Shi'a as extremists Rafidis.

A Sunni site, livingislam.org, states:

writes :

Another contemporary Sunni text writes:

Shi'a view

Shi'a view this distinction to be nonfactual. Shi'a view that the Shi'a Salaf were in fact rejectors of the Sunni Caliph's authority in addition to believing that the Ali should have been the given full authority. Shi'a view that violent circumstances and threat duressed them from airing their views in open, and in when they actually did so, Sunnis choose to disregard those testimonies.

Thus, Shi'a view this line of thought to be a case of Sunnis trying to find a definition of the early term "Shi'a" that is not at odds with the other Sunni doctrines.