Editor's Note: Back in 2007, NPR reported on the Shiite-Sunni split that was contributing to conflicts in many parts of the Muslim world, including Iraq. In light of the current fighting in Iraq ...

Shiite extremism was contrasted with dominant Sunni Islam, which was “rational” and “moderate” and valued power and stability. We could deal with Sunnis: Sunni Egypt and Saudi Arabia were ...

The division of Islam into Sunni and Shiite branches goes far back in Muslim history to the aftermath of the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Its repercussions have rippled through history ...

(RNS) Confused about the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, whose conflict has accelerated in Iraq again? Here's a primer so you can sound smart at the water cooler. (RNS) Sunni and ...

Syria is the only Middle Eastern country that has a majority Sunni population but is ruled by a Shiite minority. The Assads, who took power in 1970, are Alawites, a subsect of Shia Islam that ...

Iranian women hold a poster of executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr as they ... the region’s largest Sunni power, something unimaginable in today’s sectarian atmosphere. The pivotal shift ...

The battle against Islamic State is the latest chapter in the conflict between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni minority, which was unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The war ended decades ...

I read your article “Ancient Sunni-Shiite divide at heart of modern conflict” (Feb. 22) with interest, which tried to describe the origin of the contention between these two main sects of Islam.

During Syria’s civil war, protecting the revered Sayyida Zeinab shrine was a rallying cry for some Shiite fighters and groups ...

BEIRUT—The conflict raging between Sunnis and Shiites across the Muslim world is easy to view as eternal hatred that is destined to keep claiming lives for the foreseeable future. Yet despite ...