Shia–Sunni relations
Shia–Sunni discord in Iraq starts with disagreement over the relative population of the two groups. According to most sources, including the CIA's "World Factbook", the majority of Iraqis are Shia Arab Muslims (60%-70%), and Sunni Arab Muslims represent between 32% and 37% of the population. However, Sunni are split ethnically among Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. Many Sunnis hotly dispute their minority status, including ex-Iraqi Ambassador Faruq Ziada, and many believe Shia majority is "a myth spread by America". One Sunni belief shared by Jordan's King Abdullah as well as his then Defense Minister Shaalan is that Shia numbers in Iraq were inflated by Iranian Shias crossing the border. Shia scholar Vali Nasr believes the election turnout in summer and December 2005 confirmed a strong Shia majority in Iraq.
Shia Muslims in the Arab world
Islam is historically divided into two major sects, Sunni and Shia Islam, each with its own sub-sects. Significant minorities of Shia Arab Muslims live in some Arab countries including Lebanon, Iraq and the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Qatar. Shia Muslims are a numerical majority in Iraq. In Bahrain while the Shia currently form a plurality of the country's citizens they are a minority in the total population. Nearly half of the Muslim population in Lebanon and a quarter in Yemen are Shia.