After the death of Muhammad (632), and within the framework of a turbulent process that lasted decades , Muslims split into three branches: Shiites, Sunnis and Kharijites, although only small communities that represent only 5% survive today. of Islam. The former claimed the preeminence of a succession that began with Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law . According to his argument, power was to be appointed by divine grace, and family kinship was a sign.
Confronted with them, the Sunnis accepted the mandate of the first three caliphs after the disappearance of the prophet , but not that of Ali, assassinated in 661. They argued that the visible head of Islam should be a male from the Quran tribe, chosen by the community as indicated by the Sunna, the set of precepts dictated by Muhammad.
Today, Sunnis make up about 85% of Muslims and are the majority in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Qatar, Libya, Turkey and Syria. Shiites, who make up 10-13% of the Islamic world, predominate in Iran, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon and Azerbaijan. The conflict between the two confessions largely fuels the instability in the Middle East today .
The adherents of the Sunna revere the prophets mentioned in the Qur’an and, above all, Muhammad. While their imams lead the prayers, the ulama interpret the Koran and the Sharia – a set of Islamic norms – although both figures are subordinate to the state. In contrast, for the Shiites, the ayatollah or ayatollah is the highest religious and political authority.
Just as the Sunnis detest any divine representation , the followers of Ali revere their saints and the twelve imams or successors of Muhammad . According to their tradition, the twelfth imam, Mahdi, disappeared in 940 when he was a child. Hidden since then, he will return as a kind of redemptive messiah.
