Branches+Of+Muslim

= __Branches Of Muslim__ = ==After Muhammads death in 632 the rightly guided caliphs took over. After the last rightly guided caliph got murdered the Umayyads took over. The Umayyads were not like the previous caliphs, the Umayyads instead surrounded themselves in wealth. There actions caused the muslim community to separate. Some Muslims did not resist the Umayyads rules. This group is called Sunni. In fact, Sunni is 83% of all Muslims. Others believed the caliph needed to be a descendant of Muhammad this group is called Shi'a. Shi'ites are 16% of all Muslims. Another group did not like how the Umayyads surrounded themselves with wealth. This group is called Sufi.==

=__Sunni__= ==This group of Muslims is about 3/4 of the Islamic population. Although this group and the Shi'a and Sufi are all followers of Islam, every group has their own specific beliefs and ideas. When the Umayyads were ruling the Sunni group didn't resist their rule completely where other groups were 100% against the Umayyads. Also, the Sunni believe that the first four caliphs(the rightly guided-Abu'Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali) followed Muhammad's example on how to live your life and worship Allah. And when caliphs were ruling the empire, the Sunni believed that they must follow Muhammad's teachings and the Qur'an. Finally, the Sunni believe that the Shi'a have misinterpreted messages of the Qur'an.==

=__Shi'a__=

==This is a small group of Muslims that believed the caliph needed to be a descendant of Muhammad. They are only 16% of all Muslims, because most didn't mind having the Umayyads as a their rulers. The Shi'ites hated having the Umayyads as their ruler because the Umayyads never knew Muhammad, thats why the Shi'ites liked the four caliphs, The four caliphs knew Muhammad and his teachings.==

=__Sufi__=

==This group is by far the smallest. It did not like how the Umayyads surrounded themselves with money. They were used to how the previous caliphs tried to not be about the money and try to be like the community. Someone you may know who did the same is Buddha. He gave away all his money and belongings just to feel like the people who were as not as lucky as him in life. The Sufi believed that the caliphs should be equal with the people and live simple lives. And the split between Muslims was caused by the Umayyads not following the example of the earlier caliphs.==