Sunni vs Shiite

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Compare and Contrast Shiite, Sunni, and Sufi Mohammad Qahoush Period 5 5/22/2013 WHAP Today Islam is considered one of the largest religions of the world. With over one billion followers it is without a doubt a large impact on the world today and the history behind it. Like other religions Islam faced a split in followers not dissimilar to the Great Schism between the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches. The three main sects found today are Sunnis with 940 million followers, Shiites with 120 million, and Suffis who make up less than five percent of the Muslim population (http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_shiite.html). However, this split within a religion has caused the most bloodshed and warfare to arise based on religious disagreement in history. Islam was founded by the prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah and was considered a respected merchant in his society. He was known to travel to a cave near Mecca often in order to meditate and pray. Around 610 AD while meditating Muhammad received visions believed to have been sent by the angel Gabriel. The reciting of these visions became the basis and holy book of Islam, the Quran. Soon after, Muhammad began preaching within the city of Mecca where he formed a community or “ummah” (http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/). A little over ten years this ummah migrated to Medinah. This even is called the Hijrah and represents when Islam became a recognized religion and a political force (http://www.xenos.org/essays/islam.htm). Despite sharing the same origins, differences between the branches of Islam led them to each become unique and have their own way of life. The original split occurred after the death of Muhammad in the year 632 while the new leader of the Muslim ummah, or Caliph as the title was called, was to be elected. Abu Bakr, closest friend and companion to the Prophet, was eventually elected
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