They would later be called simply Shia Muslims. Others are called Sunni Muslims, from the word meaning “tradition.” Thus, the distinction between the groups hinges on their interpretation of ...

Britain has an estimated Muslim population of about 2.8 million. Of these some 5% are Shia, the rest are Sunni. The historical split occurred 1400 years ago, following the death of Muhammad in ...

Warring Shia and Sunni tribes in Pakistan's Kurram district have agreed to an eight-month peace treaty, aiming to end ...

This is the Sunni viewpoint. A minority believed that Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law should lead the community. These Muslims came to be known as Shi’a, which means ‘Party of Ali’ ...

The conflicts between Shia and Sunni Muslims go back to the 7th century and the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Yet a spotlight has been shone recently on the differences between the two religions ...

The Middle East is in the midst of ever-increasing tension, as conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia is spiraling to involve more countries in the region. Saudi Arabia severed all diplomatic ties ...

The story of a divisive Islamic ruler from ancient times, produced by a broadcaster in the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has drawn rebukes from Shiite-majority Iran and Iraq. By Ismaeel Naar ...

Syria is the only Middle Eastern country that has a majority Sunni population but is ruled by a Shiite minority. The Assads, who took power in 1970, are Alawites, a subsect of Shia Islam that ...

With the war in Iraq and a Shia majority rule there, Nasr argues that the subsequent demand for fair representation in an often Sunni-dominated Muslim world is not a localized phenomenon.

Edited by Liam Stack Sunni rebels swarm a Shia mosque near the town of Jisr al-Shughur in this video posted online Wednesday, climbing its roof and chanting religious slogans even as its lower ...

With some irony, America’s failure to secure the 2006 Awakening caused those Sunnis sympathetic to America’s aims to flee Shia persecution. Those “good guys” are thus not available in 2014 ...