By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
After the death of the prophet Mohammed (or Mohammed), the founder of Islam and author of the holy book Quran , there was a process of dispute to decide who should succeed him, as Islam it did not just consist of a religion disconnected from political power. Islam, in itself, is structured in a proposal of civilization that articulates religious and political principles.
From the dispute over the Prophet's right of legitimate succession, two currents became the majority:the Shiites and the Sunnis. Such a dispute began in 632 AD, when the caliphs (Muhammad's successors), who were also the fathers-in-law of Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Umar, tried to organize the transmission of political power and religious authority. This attempt was successful until 644 AD, when a member of the Umayyad family, also son-in-law of Muhammad, called Othman, became caliph and his authority was challenged by Islamized Arabs who lived near the Medina. Othman was eventually murdered.
The assassination of Othman was associated with the figure of Ali, Mohammed's cousin who would succeed the assassinated caliph. Anti-Ali Muslims declared war on the caliph and his supporters. The most prominent figure who challenged Ali's authority was then-in-charge of Syria, Muhawya. The latter decided to investigate Othmã's murder and investigate Ali's participation in the case. This was enough for another Muslim group to plot against Ali, who was also murdered.
In addition to the holy book of the Koran, Sunnis are also guided by the Sunna, the book of Mohammed's deeds, which accentuates their difference with the Shiites
Muhawya then became a powerful caliph and transferred the caliphate's capital from Medina to Damascus, the current capital of Syria. Opponents of his, who advocated the succession of the caliphate by heredity, that is, by the descendants of the family of Muhammad, became known as Shiites , a group that is still a minority today and is characterized by being traditionalist, preserving the old interpretations of the Koran and Islamic Law, the Sharia.
Members of the other group, much larger in number of adherents even today, constituting about 90% of the Islamic population, became known as Sunnis , first, because they diverge from the Shia conception of succession and second, for always updating their interpretations of the holy book of the Quran and Islamic Law, taking into account the transformations that the world has gone through and drawing on another source besides those mentioned, the Suna — book where the great deeds and examples of the Prophet Muhammad are compiled. Hence the name Sunni .