Shiites

Shi'a or Shi'ite is a denomination of Islam. Shias are the majority in Iran and Sunnis are the minority. Shi'ites follow the teachings of the prophet Muhammad and believe is his family is the best source of knowledge on their faith and how to uphold Muhammad's traditions. There is a split between Muslims, they are either Shi'ite or Sunni, the same way Christians are Protestant, Eastern-Orthodox or Catholic. The Shi'ites believe that before Muhammad died, he appointed his son-in-law, Ali to be the caliph (the leader of Islam) and the position of caliph should only be given to the descendants of Muhammad. Like Sunnis, they still follow the five pillars of Islam but there are some small differences, sometimes they combine their prayers and pray three times a day instead of five and they uphold muttah (fixed temporary marriage). There are also different branches of Shi'ite Islam; Twelvers, Alawites, Ismailis and Zaidiyahhs.

Sources: "Muhammad." __Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia__. 2 Nov 2006, 19:12 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 3 Nov 2006 .

http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm

Image sources: http://www.iribnews.ir/newspic/04/09/10/qods.1msh.jpg