Shī`ites << SHEE eyets >> are followers of the Shī`ah division of the Islamic religion. Shī`ites (also written Shiites) are the less numerous of the two major groupings of Muslims, making up about 15 percent of the total. The other major division is made up of Sunni Muslims, or Sunnis. Countries where the majority of Muslims are Shī`ites include Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon. There are large Shī`ite minorities in India, Pakistan, and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region.
Shī`ites believe that the proper way to practice Islam is through loyalty and devotion to the family of the Prophet Muhammad. Their origins reflect this belief. After Muhammad’s death in A.D. 632, some of his followers looked to the Prophet’s family for guidance. They argued that Muhammad specifically had designated Alī ibn Abī Tālib, his cousin and the husband of his daughter Fātima, as the next Muslim leader. However, the majority of Muslims supported the selection of Abū Bakr, one of Muhammad’s closest companions, as his successor, known as the caliph. This act became important to the Sunni branch of Islam, which arose in the 800’s. Alī’s supporters called themselves the shī`at Alī (supporters of Alī). They accused Abū Bakr and the rulers who immediately succeeded him of wrongly seizing power from Alī. Alī later served as caliph, from 654 to 661.
Shī`ites call the persons whom they consider the rightful leaders of Islam imāms. According to Shī`ite teachings, an imām is both a spiritual and an earthly leader. Each new imām must be a descendant of Alī. Different branches of the Shī`ah recognize different lines of imāms. For example, Twelver Shī`ites—the majority of Shī`ites—recognize a series of 12 imāms, the last of whom was born in 869. Most Shī`ites believe that imāms are protected by God from sin or error and that an imām remains everpresent in the world as a continuing source of divine guidance. The first three imāms were Alī, Alī’s son Hasan, and Alī’s son Husayn. During the Islamic festival of Ashūra, many Shī`ites mourn Husayn’s death at the hands of the caliph’s troops in 680. 
