The Sunni-Shia conflict is a power struggle for dominance in the Middle East. Sunnis form the majority of the Muslim population. Saudi Arabia leads Sunni-dominated nations. Iran dominates those led by Shiites. Sunni-Shia Split Today At least 87% of Muslims are Sunnis.

Eight years of Shiite political leadership following the US invasion of Iraq have worsened tensions between Shiites and Sunnis there. This favored the sectarian fighting that left the …

Sunni-Shia divisions would fuel a long-running civil war in Syria, fighting in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere, and terrorist violence on both sides. A common thread in most of these...

The Sunni-Shiite dispute, it should be noted, originated after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 AD, but over the centuries it has become increasingly political, especially …

The origin of Shia–Sunni relations can be traced back to a dispute over the succession to the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community. After the death of …

History of the Shiite and Sunni Conflict All Muslims agree that Muhammad Ibn Abdullah was chosen by God, or Allah, to become Islam's founding prophet. In the name of Allah, this divinely...

1920-1922: Arabs, both Shiite and Sunni, revolt against British control of Iraq. 1922-1924: Kemal Ataturk abolishes the Ottoman sultanate and the Turkish Sunni caliphate. 1925: Reza Khan...

Sunni groups such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba, funded by Wahhabi clerics in Saudi Arabia, kill thousands of Shias over the next three decades. Smaller Shiite sectarian …

Shia constitute about 10 to 15 percent of all Muslims, and globally their population is estimated at less than 200 million. Whereas Sunnis dominate the Muslim world, from West Africa to...

The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. This event raised the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. …