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Article: The Sunni-Shiite rift started centuries ago.
- Article from:
- The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA)
- Article date:
- February 23, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Philadelphia Inquirer. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Andrew Maykuth
Feb. 23--The schism between Shiite and Sunni Muslims began almost 1,400 years ago, when disagreements arose over who would succeed the prophet Muhammad as Islam's leader, or caliph.
Although events of centuries ago are distant today, many took place in Iraq in locations currently in the news -- places such as Karbala and Samarra, the site of yesterday's bombing of a famous mosque, one of the holiest Shiite sites.
The rift began when the prophet died in A.D. 632. Sunni Muslims, who make up about 85 percent of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, believe that leadership passed to Abu Bakr, one of Muhammad's trusted companions. ...