Shiite and Sunni Visions: Explain how the two visions of leadership evolved into different interpretations on the way the revelation and the traditions of Muhammad should be kept alive in the international Islamic community
             Although, to Westerners, Islam may look like a monolith, it is divided into two contentious factions, representatives of Sunni and Shiite Islam. Upon the death of Muhammad, the majority of the Muslims believed that the next leader should be elected. However, a minority group of followers of Muhammad's son Ali disagreed with this decision and believed that succession should pass through the prophet's familial line. This caused a schism within the religion (Schuster, 2007). Ali's followers became known as Shiites.
             Unique to the practice of Shiite Islam is the concept of the Imam. An Imam is the infallible leader of the Shiite Muslim community, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and Ali, the first Imam. This idea of a sinless, pure leader who governs all Shiite Muslims is perhaps best known in the manifestation of Islam in Iran ("Islam United: A Comparison of Shiite and Sunni Belief and Practice, 2007, Shiite Page). Saddam Hussein in Iraq, a Sunni, committed his most famous atrocities against the Shiite minority who resisted his authorial, but secular regime, and is only one example of how the rift between Shiites and Sunnis has often been bloody.
             Many Sunnis contend Shiite Islam attributes divine qualities to Imams, a great sin against the doctrine of the oneness of God. There is also a strong messianic tone to Shiite Islam and its ideal of the Twelfth Imam: "the Hidden Imam....Shiites believe God took him into hiding, and he will come back at the end of time. He is known as the Mahdi or the messiah. So in many ways the Shiites, much like Jews or Christians, are looking for the coming of the Messiah Those who believe in the Hidden Imam are known as Twelve Shia. They compris...