Which is bigger shiite or sunni

Both believe Prophet Muhammad was the messenger of Allah. And both follow the five tenets of Islam: They fast during Ramadan, pledge to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, practice ritual prayer which includes five prayers each day , give charity to the poor, and pledge themselves to their faith. Their prayer rituals are nearly identical, with slight variations: For example, Shiites will stand with their hands at their sides, Sunnis will put their hands on their stomachs.

Their beliefs over who should have succeeded the Prophet Muhammad is the key theological difference between the two. Sunnis also have a less elaborate religious hierarchy than Shiites have, and the two sects' interpretation of Islam's schools of law is different.

Shiites give human beings the exalted status that is given only to prophets in the Quran, often venerating clerics as saints, whereas Sunnis do not.

The great majority -- upwards of 85 to 90 percent -- of the world's more than 1. Shia constitute about 10 to 15 percent of all Muslims, and globally their population is estimated at less than million. They claimed that Ali was the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad as leader imam of the Muslim community following his death in Ali was assassinated in after a five-year caliphate that was marred by civil war.

His sons, Hassan and Hussein, were denied what they thought was their legitimate right of accession to the caliphate. Hassan is believed to have been poisoned in by Muawiyah, the first caliph of the Sunni Umayyad dynasty, while Hussein was killed on the battlefield by the Umayyads in These events gave rise to the Shia concept of martyrdom and the rituals of grieving.

The Ithna Asharis are the largest group and believe that Muhammad's religious leadership, spiritual authority and divine guidance were passed on to 12 of his descendants, beginning with Ali, Hassan and Hussein. The 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, is said to have disappeared from a cave below a mosque in Ithna Asharis believe the so-called "awaited imam" did not die and will return at the end of time to restore justice on earth. In countries which have been governed by Sunnis, Shia tend to make up the poorest sections of society.

They often see themselves as victims of discrimination and oppression. Sunni extremists frequently denounce Shia as heretics who should be killed. The Iranian revolution of launched a radical Shia Islamist agenda that was perceived as a challenge to conservative Sunni regimes, particularly in the Gulf.

Tehran's policy of supporting Shia militias and parties beyond its borders was matched by Sunni-ruled Gulf states, which strengthened their links to Sunni governments and movements elsewhere. Today, many conflicts in the region have strong sectarian overtones. Though the two main sects within Islam , Sunni and Shia, agree on most of the fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam, a bitter split between the two goes back some 14 centuries.

The divide originated with a dispute over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Islamic faith he introduced. Today, about 85 percent of the approximately 1. While Shia represent the majority of the population in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan and a plurality in Lebanon, Sunnis are the majority in more than 40 other countries, from Morocco to Indonesia. Despite their differences, Sunni and Shia have lived alongside each other in relative peace for most of history.

But starting in the late 20th century, the schism deepened, exploding into violence in many parts of the Middle East as extreme brands of Sunni and Shia Islam battle for both religous and political supremacy. The death of the prophet Muhammad depicted in a 16th-century Turkish miniature. Abu Bakr, later leader of the Islamic community, is seen bending over him.

The roots of the Sunni-Shia divide can be traced all the way back to the seventh century, soon after the death of the prophet Muhammad in A.