The Shia Safavid dynasty declared Shia Islam the official religion of Persia in 1501. They comprise over 10% of the religion of Islam, and they are referred to as Shias of Ali, Shias, or the Shi’a collectively and Shi’i individually. The so-called Sunni rule of Iraq before 2003 was not Sunni in the sense that the ruling elite’s ideology was based on a sort of solidarity against the Shia. Part of 18 things about ISIS you need to know One of the single most important factors in ISIS’s resurgence is the conflict between Iraq’s largest two Arab religious groups: Shias and Sunnis. The Shiites were divided primarily among Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, with Alawites (an off-shoot of Shia Islam) in Syria. Muslims in world are near 80% Sunni and near 20% Shia. 18 things about ISIS you need to know. More than nine-in-ten Iraqi Shias (93%) and Sunnis (96%) say they fast during the holy month of … They believe that their leader should be from the family of Muhammad. communal peace at the moment. Muslims in world are near 80% sunni and near 20% shia. They do differ, however, and that separation stemmed initially, not from spiritual distinctions, but political ones. Religion in Iraq was overwhelmingly Muslim as of 2015, with over 95-98% of the population practicing Islam.Christianity, including Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East, accounted for 1% and other religions made up the remaining 1-4%. This week Sunni and Shia Muslims ushered in the Islamic New Year and the beginning of the holy month of Muharram. Right now, the majority of Shias mostly live in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain. 15th and 16th centuries Edit The Bani Sallama, Tayy and al-Soudan in the Mesopotamian Marshes were converted from Sunni to Shia by the Musha'sha'iyyah dynasty. For Shias, the month also is a time to mourn the events that sparked the centuries-old schism between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Muslims in world are near 80% Sunni and near 20% Shia. There are many misconceptions about Shia Muslims in the mind of other Muslims which have addressed in this post. Saddam Hussein was a Sunni dictator in a largely Shiite country. Sunni and Shia Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs and articles of faith and are the two main sub-groups in Islam. An analysis of polls conducted in 2011-2012 finds high levels of concern about sectarian tensions in several countries where Sunnis and Shias live … In Iraq, for example, both groups express virtually universal belief in God and the Prophet Muhammad, and similar percentages (82% of Shias and 83% of Sunnis) say religion is very important in their lives. Yazidism and religious syncretism practiced by minorities in Iraq includes Mandaeism, Shabakism, and Yarsanism accounts for 1.5%.