Knowin Islam

There are many tarikats or rather branches in Islam.Locally, there are over 70 recorded tarikats. Worldwide, the more common ones u heard are the Shiites,Sufi and the most common Sunni group.They can be found all over the world,but more commonly known, shiites are mainly found in Middle East;Lebanon,Iraq,Syria,Turkey and mostly in Iran.Sufis are a lil lesser known but could be found from Indonesia to Senegal.There are also lesser known sects in the world which i will not mention here.

The Sunnis are the Ahli Sunnah Wal Jammah,which is the only denomination that is right,adhering to the rules( beliefs,practices and laws by Islam) spread by the prophet Muhammad,his sunnah and the Holy Quran.We (notice the word we) recognize four major mazhabs; Hambali,Hanafi,Maliki and Shafi'e.

The Shiites appeared soon after the appointment of 1st caliph of Islam(Abu Bakar) after the death of Prophet Muhammad.They disagreed with this as they belief only the bloodline of the prophet, which at the only time is his daughter Fatimah and her husband Ali(or the people of the prophet's hse),to be the best source of knowledge of Quran and Islam and only their bloodline can continue the caliphate.

I know lesser of Sufism but based on a debated article in Wikipedia, Sufism is:
Sufism is a mystic tradition that found a home in Islam and encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to Allah, divine love and the cultivation of the heart.
"Sufism" has been defined as a type of knowledge by the great Muslim Sufi masters. Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq, a 14th century Sufi who wrote "The Principles of Sufism" defined Sufism as, "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.” Ibn 'Ajiba, one of the best known Sufi masters defined Sufism as "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inward from filth and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits."Sufism is a mystic tradition that found a home in Islam and encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to Allah, divine love and the cultivation of the heart.
"Sufism" has been defined as a type of knowledge by the great Muslim Sufi masters. Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq, a 14th century Sufi who wrote "The Principles of Sufism" defined Sufism as, "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.” Ibn 'Ajiba, one of the best known Sufi masters defined Sufism as "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inward from filth and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits."

Lotsa things can be elaborated,but there aint time or space...so dats is for today.