30 years ago — July 22, 1985
In the wake of a wave of terrorist attacks in the Middle East in the 1980s that targeted U.S. citizens, the Outlook ran an article to assist readers’ understanding of Islam.
“From the beginning, Shiites have been a minority movement even within Islam. When Mohammed’s successor, his son-in-law Ali, was murdered in 661, a new leader was selected from outside the family. Those who insisted the new leader be chosen from Mohammed’s family broke with the mainstream Sunni sect and became known as the Shiat Ali, or followers of Ali, later to be known as Shiites.
Of the 832 million Moslems in the world today, between 85 million and 90 million are Shiites. About 3.8 million are concentrated in south Lebanon, where they have battled not only Israeli but Palestinian forces in recent years.
Their minority status within Islam has led Shiites to develop an underdog psychology in countries even where they make up the majority of population, as in Lebanon.”
From the article, “Shiites: Religious factions united in opposition to United States” by Darrell Turner of the Religious News Service.
