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 ...

(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 ...

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 ...

Four years ago this was a city where people mixed freely — where, in most parts of town, no one cared if a neighborhood was majority Sunni or Shiite. Loyalty to Saddam Hussein was more important ...

Sunni-led allies of Saudi Arabia have cut diplomatic ties with Shiite Iran, further polarizing the Middle East along the two major branches of Islam. But while almost all of the governments are ...

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 ...

At the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, rituals of faith unfold: worshippers kneel in prayer, visitors raise their palms skyward or ...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Fighting between armed Sunni and Shiite groups in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 37 people and injured 25 others, a senior police officer from the region said ...

He said both sides were working toward a truce. Kurram has been gripped by sectarian clashes between Shiite and Sunni tribes ...

AL-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the ...

His death exacerbated the schism between Islam’s two main sects, Sunni and Shiite, and is mourned annually by Shiites. Zeinab's burial place is disputed; some Muslims believe it’s elsewhere.