The conflicts between Shia and Sunni Muslims go back to the seventh century and the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Yet a spotlight has been shone recently on the differences between the two branches ...

Uh, isn't John McCain supposed to be the guy who knows who's what in terms of foreign policy, and specifically in the Middle East? So how it is exactly he thinks that Iran is arming al Qaeda? During a ...

The religious differences that contribute to Iraq's sectarian violence have deep historical roots. We asked University of Michigan professor of Middle East history, Juan Cole, when the split took ...

The division between Islam's Shiite minority and the Sunni majority is deepening across the Middle East. The split occurred soon after the death... The Origins Of The Shiite-Sunni Split Editor's Note: ...

It has come to this: the hatred between Iraq’s warring sects is now so toxic, it contaminates even the memory of a shining moment of goodwill. On Aug. 31, 2005, a stampede among Shi’ite pilgrims on a ...

Re your March 12 cover story: as a Sunni Muslim in the U.S., I am often asked to explain the differences and disagreements between the Islamic sects. Your superb analysis has made my job so much ...

Even as Sunnis triumphed politically in the Muslim world, Shias continued to look to the Imams—the blood descendants of Ali and Husayn—as their legitimate political and religious leaders. Even within ...

It is a problem that has been following Muslims for more than 1,400 years. It started with the end of Prophet Muhammad's life. The question of who would succeed Muhammad started as a difference of ...

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with leaders of New York University's Muslim community about Shia and Sunni responses to the killings of Muslim men in Albuquerque, N.M. A conversation Muslims typically have ...