text: Muawiya was not the founder of Sunni denomination of Islam. (See below)\n\nWith 940 million adherents, Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Followers of the Sunni tradition are known as Sunnis or Sunnites; they sometimes refer to themselves as Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaa'h, "adherents to the Sunnah and the assembly."\n\nSunnis have their historical roots in the majority group who followed Abu Bakr, an effective leader, as Muhammad's successor, instead of his cousin and son-in-law Ali. The Sunnis are so named because they believe themselves to follow the sunnah or "custom" of the Prophet.\n\nAlgeria has nearly 99% Sunni Muslims (Sunni Islam is the state religion), Kuwait has 70% and Afghanistan has a majority of Sunni muslims (around 80%). Sunni Muslims also outnumber Shi'ite Muslims in Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Sudan (70%), Syria (80%), Tajikistan (85%), Libya (97%), Jordan (92%) and certain islands like the Maldives, Comoros (98%) and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (80%). Iraq has 45-60% of Sunni Muslims, who are concentrated mostly in the central & northern parts of the country. Sunni Muslims are a minority in Iran (10%) and Bahrain (30%).\n\nSunnis base their religion on the Quran and the Sunnah as understood by the majoroty of the community under the structure of the four schools of thought. The four Sunni schools of law (madhahib) - the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Shafi'i and the Hanbali - are sometimes mistakenly understood as different sects, but they are not. These four schools of religious law associate themselves with four great scholars of early Islam: Abu Haneefah, Malik, Shafi'i, and Ahmad bin Hanbal. These scholars were known for their knowledge and piety throughout the Muslim world. They differed only in minor issues of application of certain principles in the religion and were not in opposition to each other. In fact, Ahmad bin Hanbal was a student of Shafi'i, who was a student of Malik.\n\nSufism is considered by the majority of Sunnis to be integral part of Sunni Islam. It deals with the spiritual aspects of a Sunni Muslim's everyday life. Some of the most famous Sufi schools are the Qadiri, Naqshbandi, Shadhili, Chishti, and Rifa‘i paths or tariqas.\n\nSunnis view the Shi'ites as from the ahlul-bidah; i.e., the people of innovation. Sunnis oppose Shi'ite beliefs concerning some of the companions of the Prophet, the belief in the Imamate and difference on the Caliphate, and others. Other groups considered to be outside Islam by Sunnis are Nation of Islam, Ahmadiyya, and Ismailis.\n\nShia Islam includes most of the Muslims that are not counted among the Sunni. The primary division within Islam, between Sunni and Shi'a, dates to the death of the Prophet Muhammad when his followers were faced with the decision of who would be his successor as the leader of Islam. Shi'ites are those who followed Ali, the closest relative of Muhammad, as Muhammad's successor. Today there are approximately 120 million Shi'ite Muslims in the world.\n\nThe Shia consist of one major school of thought known as the Jafaryia or the "Twelvers," and a few minor schools of thought, as the "Seveners" or the "Fivers." These names all refer to the number of imams they recognize after the death of Muhammad. The term Shi'a is usually meant to be synonymous with the Jafaryia/Twelvers.\n\nThe Origins of the Sunni/Shia split in Islam\nAli is the central figure at the origin of the Shia / Sunni split which occurred in the decades immediately following the death of the Prophet in 632. Sunnis regard Ali as the fourth and last of the "rightly guided caliphs" (successors to Mohammed (pbuh) as leader of the Muslims) following on from Abu Bakr 632-634, Umar 634-644 and Uthman 644-656. Shias feel that Ali should have been the first caliph and that the caliphate should pass down only to direct descendants of Mohammed (pbuh