Associated Press
| May 20, 2013
A series of car and suicide bombings in markets and bus stations killed at least 86 people in the latest violence mostly in Shia Muslim sections of Iraq, pushing the death toll over the past week to more than 230 and marking some of the worst sect...
Euronews
| Apr 23, 2013
At least 23 people have been killed during a raid by Iraqi security forces on a Sunni Muslim protest camp near Kirkuk. Dozens more were left injured after a gun battle reportedly erupted between troops and demonstrators, intensifying the country'...
Associated Press
| Apr 15, 2013
Insurgents launched what appeared to be a highly coordinated string of attacks across Iraq on Monday morning, killing at least 36 and wounding more than 200, according to officials.
BBC Arabic
| Apr 5, 2013
Many groups of the Free Syrian Army include foreign fighters who came to Syria under the banner of Jihad. This report from BBC Arabic showed video recordings of confrontations and exchanged insults and ridicule between members of Abu al-Fadl al-Ab...
Euronews
| Apr 1, 2013
Bahrain police casually tossed tear gas and stun grenades at anti-government female protesters, even though some of them were with toddlers. Women launched the demonstration in support of jailed political prisoners and against an upcoming Formula ...
LinkAsia
| Mar 29, 2013
Since the beginning of the year, more than 350 Shia muslims have been killed and hundreds more injured in bombings and targeted killings in Pakistan. Islamabad-based journalist Michelle Stockman reports on who's behind the violence, and how Pakist...
Euronews
| Mar 19, 2013
A series of as many as nine car bombs have killed dozens of people in Shi'ite districts in and around Baghdad. The attacks come on the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The bombs exploded near a busy market cl...
On TV
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Mosaic
| Mar 15, 2013
Tens years after the US invasion of Iraq, On TV reports that stability is nowhere to be found. Targeted bombings and sectarian violence are leading Iraqis to protest against the policies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government in growing nu...
Al Jazeera English
| Mar 3, 2013
A bomb attack in Pakistan's largest city Karachi killed at least 38 people, including women and children, and wounded 100 others, police said. The blast on Sunday hit close to an area dominated by minority Shia Muslims, though police said that the...
Human Rights Watch
| Feb 27, 2013
Religious minorities including Christians and Shia Muslims are the targets of a rising tide of violence and intolerance in Indonesia, Human Rights Watch warns. The group accuses the government of failing to protect minorities and calls for a "zero...
— Nov 17, 2012 at 10:00 am
— Jan 11 at 08:36 am
...held talks with senior Egyptian officials, including President Mohamed Morsi and Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr on Thursday. Salehi also exc...
— Dec 3, 2011 at 08:36 am
— Jan 11 at 08:15 pm
...added. Salehi invited the Sheikh of Al-Azhar to visit Iran to hold talks with Iranian clerics and observe the peaceful coexistence of Shia and S...
— Apr 5 at 07:26 pm
...from the country. The Salafi protestors also chanted against the Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohamed Morsi for “normalizing” relations with...
The Shia represent the largest schismatic sect in Islam, accounting for 10-20% of the world's normative body of Muslims. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatul ʻAlī, meaning "followers", "faction", or "party" of Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin Ali, whom the Shia believe to be Muhammad's successor in the Caliphate.
Shia Islam is based on the Quran and the message of the Islamic prophet Muhammad attested in Shia hadith, and certain books deemed sacred to Shia. In contrast to other types, the Shia believe that only God has the right to choose a representative to safeguard Islam, the Quran and sharia. Thus the Shias look to Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law, whom they revere and consider divinely appointed, as the rightful successor to Muhammad, and the first imam. The Shia extended this belief to Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt, and certain individuals among his descendants, known as imams, who they believe possess special spiritual and political authority over the community, infallibility, and other traits.
Although there were many Shia branches throughout history, modern Shia Islam has been divided into three main branches, namely the Ithna ashariyya, the Ismailis and the Zaidis.
(via Freebase)
