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Sunni vs. Shiʿite

[ soon-ee ]
noun
  1. a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam, regarding the first four caliphs as legitimate successors of Muhammad and stressing the importance of Sunna as a basis for law.
  2. the Sunni Muslims.
[ shee-ahyt ]
noun
  1. a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam that regards Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, as the legitimate successor of Muhammad, and disregards the three caliphs who succeeded him.