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When the Prophet Mohammed died in 632 AD there was disagreement on who would succeed him; should the successor be a blood relative or someone that follows the Prophet's customs.

At first Abu Bakr, a close friend of Mohammed, was generally agreed upon but some would have liked to have seen Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, husband of his daughter Fatima, as successor. Two "Caliphs" (successors) followed Abu Bakr: Umar and Uthman, but Ali did not recognize their authority and neither did Ali's followers.

In 656 AD Uthman, the 3rd Caliph, was killed by Ali's followers and named Ali Caliph who was then assassinated in 661 AD.

The supporters or helpers of Ali - "shi'at Ali" - struggled against the followers of the Prophet's customs or "sunna". Hence the Shiites and the Sunnis.

While they disagree on most tenets, they both believe that Allah is the one and only god, Mohammed was the last prophet, one day Allah will resurrect all humans and question their beliefs and actions, and adhere to the five pillars of Islam.

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