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Muhammad Ali Sunni Islam Research Paper

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his sunnah in electing his father-in-law Abu Bakr as the first caliph.[2] This contrasts with the Shi'a view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him.[3][4] Unlike the first three (Rashidun) caliphs, Ali was from the same clan as Muhammad, Banu Hashim, and Shia Muslims consider him legitimate by favour of his blood ties to Muhammad.[5] Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts and the rise of Wahhabism.[2]

As of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted 87–90% of the world's Muslim population.[6] Sunni Islam is the world's largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism.[7]

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