The Sunni vs. Shia Divide

Some of the problems associated with ISIS relate back to the major divide in Islam between the Sunni and Shia Muslims. Here are a few questions we would like to address:

• What is the source of division or conflict? How did it originate?
• Approximately how many Sunni Muslims are there? Shia Muslims?
• What countries are majority Sunni? Which ones are majority Shia?
• How did the Iranian revolution of 1979 change the Sunni/Shia relations? What two countries were at the center of the conflict?
• How did the 2003 invasion of Iraq lead to more sectarian violence?
• Where does ISIS fit into all of this? How does this Sunni/Shia divide help them?
• Does this divide in Islam in any way resemble the divide in Christianity?

The Council on Foreign Relations has an excellent overview of the divide between Shias and Sunnis. We'll start with a video that explains some of the key points before looking at their feature story.

Key words: sectarian, secular, schism, apostate