Many Muslims believed that Abu-Bakr, the Prophet’s closest companion would be the first Caliph (which means ‘deputy to God’s Prophet’). This is the Sunni viewpoint. A minority believed tha ...

Britain has an estimated Muslim population of about 2.8 million. Of these some 5% are Shia, the rest are Sunni. The historical split occurred 1400 years ago, following the death of Muhammad in ...