What was the cause of the split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims?
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The split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims occurred in the early years of Islam and was primarily a result of a disagreement over who should be the rightful successor to Prophet Muhammad after his death in 632 CE.
To understand the cause of this split, it is important to know some historical context. After Prophet Muhammad's death, there was a dispute among the early Muslims regarding the leadership of the Islamic community. The majority of Muslims believed that the leader, known as the caliph, should be elected through consensus, while a smaller faction believed that leadership should be passed down through the Prophet Muhammad's bloodline, specifically to his cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Those who supported the election of the caliph without any particular regard to bloodline became known as the Sunnis. They believed that the caliph should be chosen based on the merits, qualifications, and consensus of the Muslim community as a whole.
On the other hand, supporters of Ali's claim to leadership formed the foundation of what would later become Shiite Islam. They believed that Ali and his descendants, known as Imams, possessed a divinely-guided, infallible authority to lead the Muslim community. They saw Ali's appointment as the rightful caliph as a matter of divine designation through the Prophet Muhammad's teachings.
The tensions between these two factions intensified over time and were often intertwined with political struggles, power struggles, and conflict within the Islamic empire. The historical events like the assassination of Ali, his sons Hasan and Husayn, and the Battle of Karbala further solidified the division between Sunnis and Shiites.
It is important to note that the initial disagreements and political context have evolved over centuries, leading to religious, theological, and cultural differences between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. These differences manifest in aspects such as religious practices, jurisprudence, and interpretations of Islamic texts, among others.