Sunni and Shi’ite

After the death of the prophet Muhammad in 632 CE some of his followers believed in electing caliphs (successors), while others thought the line of succession should be through Muhammad’s relative.

The pro-election faction became known as the Sunnis and the bloodline adherents formed the Shi’ites. Today, it’s estimated that about 85 percent of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims are Sunni. Most of the rest are Shi’ites.