The confessional division of the Muslim community into Sunnis (Sunni) and Shi‘tes over the question of who should take over the religious and political leadership of Muslims after the death of the Prophet Muḥammad (died 632) goes back to the first decades of Islamic history (Islam). The assumption of power of the first three caliphs, Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uṯmān was countered by their opponents – ul…