The Sunni Shi'a Split

The origins of the Sunni Shi'a spit are political. It all began with the death of Muhammad.

Ali

As founder of Islam he was the undisputed leader, however he had no sons. So the issue of continued leadership was thrown into question. His closes male relative was his son in law and ccousin Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib. Ali’s followers who believed he should lead the faith and become Caliph where the shi’a ali (followers of Ali). Now known as Shi'a. According to the Shi’a he was the only one with spiritual authority to succeed Muhammad. The Sunnis believed that the caliphate should go to the best politically ready to maintain the expanding Muslim empire. They backed Muhammad’s father-in-law Abu Bakr. After much argument Abu Bakr was named the first Caliph solidifying the two groups in difference of opinion. Ali 25 years later finally became caliphate, however he was assassinated, this shook the Shiite community and created more of a divide between the two sects. Today Sunni-make up approximately 80 percent of the Muslim population in the world. Shia-Shia Muslims account for approximately 15 percent of the total Muslim population in the world. In the end these differences stemmed from what was the seemingly small difference of opinion in the succession of Muhammad. This one disagreement created a huge political and social divide in the entire Arab world.