Shī{ʽ}ite

Member of the Shīʽite branch of Islam, which resulted from the first fitnah, or split, within the religion over leadership.

Members of the political faction that supported Alī, Muhammad's son-in-law, as the Prophet's heir after the murder of the third caliph, ʽUthmān, the Shites gradually became a religious movement after the murder of ʽAlī. ʽAlī's followers insisted that a caliph, or imam, be a lineal descendant of ʽAlī and his wife, Fātimah. Shīʽite legal tradition is distinct from the four major schools of thought in Sunnite Islam and is generally regarded as the most conservative. Though Shīʽites represent only about 10% of Muslims in the world, they are a majority in Iran and Iraq, and there are sizable populations in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, East Africa, Pakistan, and northern India. The largest subdivision is the Ithnā Ashariyyah, or Twelvers, who recognized 12 historical imams (including ʽAlī); other subsects include the Ismāīliyyah and the Zaydiyyah.

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