Shi'ism
The branch of Islam holding that leadership of the community belongs by right to Ali and his descendant Imams; its Twelver form has been Iran's state religion since the Safavid era.
Read in context →At a glance
- First Imam
- Ali ibn Abi Talib
- Main branch
- Twelver (Ithna Ashari)
- Share of Muslims
- ~10–15%
- Iran state religion since
- Safavid era (16th c.)
Detail
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam after Sunnism, formed around the belief that leadership of the Muslim community (the Imamate) after the Prophet Muhammad rightfully belonged to Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, and then to Ali's descendants. Its largest branch, Twelver (Ithna Ashari) Shiism, holds that there were twelve infallible Imams, the twelfth of whom, the Mahdi, is in occultation and will return at the end of time. Shiism became Iran's state religion under the Safavids from the sixteenth century, and Iran is today the largest Shia-majority country; Shia constitute roughly 10–15 percent of the world's Muslims. Distinctive features include the Ashura mourning rituals for Imam Husayn at Karbala, the institution of the marja'iyya (source of emulation), and ijtihad.
Also appears in
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Iranica — 'Shiʿite Islam'
- Britannica — 'Shiʿi'
- Pew Research Center — 'Mapping the Global Muslim Population'