Today about 10 to 15 percent of Muslims worldwide are Shia - they are the majority group in Iran and Iraq only - while most Muslims are Sunni. The Shia held on to the idea that Ali was the rightful successor, and grew into an entirely separate branch of Islam. That pro-Ali faction was known as the "Partisans of Ali," or "Shi'atu Ali" in Arabic, hence "Shia." Ali's eventual ascension to the throne sparked a civil war, which he and his partisans lost. There was a power struggle over who would succeed him in ruling the Islamic Caliphate, with most Muslims wanting to elect the next leader but some arguing that power should go by divine birthright to Mohammed's son-in-law, Ali. The story of Islam's division between Sunni and Shia started with the Prophet Mohammed's death in 632.
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