Shīʿite summary

Shīʿite , Member of the Shīʿite branch of Islam, which resulted from the first fitnah, or split, within the religion over leadership. Members of the political faction that supported ʿAlī, Muhammad’s son-in-law, as the Prophet’s heir after the murder of the third caliph, ʿUthmān, the Shīʿites gradually became a religious movement after the murder of ʿAlī. ʿAlī’s followers insisted that a caliph, or imam, be a lineal descendant of ʿAlī and his wife, Fāṭimah. Shīʿite legal tradition is distinct from the four major schools of thought in Sunnite Islam and is generally regarded as the most conservative. Though Shīʿites represent only about 10% of Muslims in the world, they are a majority in Iran and Iraq, and there are sizable populations in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, East Africa, Pakistan, and northern India. The largest subdivision is the Ithnā ʿAshariyyah, or Twelvers, who recognized 12 historical imams (including ʿAlī); other subsects include the Ismāʿīliyyah and the Zaydiyyah.