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 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, {{link=FaTimah">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.