10. The Medieval Assassination With a Legacy That Lasts to This Day
The death of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad was followed by a bitter succession dispute. On the one hand, were those who believed that leadership of the Islamic community should be confined to Muhammad’s family and bloodline. On the other, were those who thought that leadership should be open to whomever the Muslim community chose.
The former were a minority, and they coalesced around Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law Ali. They became known as the Shiites, or faction, of Ali. The latter, the majority, became known as the Sunnis. The factions’ dispute, while heated, could well have ended within a generation or two after the participants shuffled off the mortal coil. However, an assassination worsened the dispute, and led to a lasting and at times violent division that rifts Islam to this day.