Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Twelver Shi'ism

Twelver [Shi'ism] (اثنا عشرية Ithnā 3ashariyyah), is the largest denomination within the Shi'ite sect of the Islamic faith. An adherent of Twelver Shi'ism is most commonly referred to as a Twelver, which has been derived from their belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, or Imams. Approximately 80% of Shi'a are Twelvers, representing the largest school of thought in Shi'a Islam.

Twelvers share many tenets of Shi'ism with relating sects, such as the belief in Imams, but is contrary to that of the Ismaili and Zaidi Shi'ite sects, who each believe in a different number of Imams, and for the most part, a different path of succession regarding the Imamate. They also differ in the role and overall definition of an Imam.

The Ithna-'Ashariyya faith is predominantly found in Azerbaijan (est. 75%), Iran (est. 90%) , Iraq (est. 63%), Lebanon (est. 35%), Kuwait (est. 35%), Saudi Arabia (est. 20%), Bahrain (est. 70%) and parts of Afghanistan (est. 15%) and Pakistan (est. 12%). They form an overwhelming majority in Iran and Azerbaijan with a majority in Iraq and Bahrain.

Wikipedia

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