Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fourth of Mohammed's successors, in 656, but just five years later he was assassinated by
troops loyal to the governor of Syria, Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan (a distant relative of the
Prophet), and Mu'awiyah became caliph.
Over the centuries Sunnism has developed into the 'orthodox' strain of Islam and today comprises about
90% of the world's more than 1100 million Muslims. There are large Shiite minorities, however, spread
across the Middle East - including in Bahrain.
From that point on the Muslim community separated into two competing factions. The
Sunnis on the one hand favoured the Umayyads, the dynasty which was established by
Mu'awiyah. According to Sunni doctrine, the caliph was both the spiritual leader of the
Muslim community and the temporal ruler of the state. So long as a Muslim ruled with
justice and according to the Sharia'a (Islamic law), he deserved the support of the Muslim
community as a whole. Shiites, on the other hand, believed that only a descendant of the
Prophet through Ali's line should lead the Muslims. Because Shiites have rarely held tem-
poral power, their doctrine came to emphasise the spiritual position of their leaders, the
imams.
In 680, Ali's son Hussein was murdered in brutal circumstances at Karbala (in today's
southern Iraq), an event that further widened the gap between the two factions. The divi-
sion and hostility between the two sects continues to this day.
As with any religion approaching one billion adherents, Islam has produced many sects,
movements and offshoots within the traditional Sunni-Shiite division.
DISTRIBUTION OF SUNNIS & SHIITES
This table shows the approximate distribution of Sunni and Shiite Muslims across the Arabian Peninsula. For updates of
this information, consult
www.populstat.info
.
COUNTRY SUNNI MUSLIMS SHIITE MUSLIMS OTHER RELIGIONS
Bahrain
25%
57%
18%
Kuwait
45%
30%
25%
Kuwait
45%
30%
25%
Oman
74% (Ibadi)
14%
12%
Qatar
92%
0%
8%
Saudi Arabia
93%
4%
3%
UAE
80%
16%
4%
Yemen
53%
47%
0%
