The Sunni-Shi'i Split
nThe Umayyad leader,
Mu'awiya, was proclaimed caliph in 660.
nAli was assassinated in
661; his son, Husayn, was killed at Karbala in 680.
nThe dispute left
permanent division within Islam.
nThe Shi’i, eventually
dividing into many sects, continued to uphold the rights
of Ali's descendants to be caliphs.
