Accessibility links

Sunnis Sunnis
Stories About

Sunnis
The Origins Of The Shiite-Sunni Split

A fresco painting from the Chehel Sotun Pavillion in Isfahan, Iran, depicts Persian warfare during the Safavid dynasty period. Dave Bartruff/Corbis hide caption

toggle caption
Dave Bartruff/Corbis

Parallels

The Origins Of The Shiite-Sunni Split

The division between Islam's Shiite minority and the Sunni majority is deepening across the Middle East. The split occurred soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, nearly 1,400 years ago.

The Origins Of The Shiite-Sunni Split

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7332087/7344135" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript