Islam and Great Sectarian Divide - 1098 Words

Bottom of Form * ------------------------------------------------- Brothers at war FOR two sects united by their belief in one Maker, one Book and one Prophet, the amount of blood spilt in the name of their respective faiths by Shias and Sunnis is truly staggering. This is specially so when one considers the tiny differences that define and divide them. Since the earliest days of Islam in the 7th century when the schism first tore the young Muslim community apart, the two sects have been warring incessantly. Untold thousands have been killed over the years, and this internecine war continues to devastate communities and nations. I am not qualified to go into the rights and wrongs of this old conflict. However, as a student†¦show more content†¦Now the shoe is on the other foot, and it is the minority Sunnis under the Shia heel. In Syria, the minority Alewites have ruled since the Seventies. In Sunni Saudi Arabia, the Shias are marginalised. The list goes on, but one thing is clear: both sects harbour deep distrust of each other. Indeed, in a recent Pew Institute survey on attitudes in the Muslim world, only 53 per cent of those surveyed in Pakistan considered Shias to be Muslims. This figure is even lower in several other Muslim countries. There is similar doubt on the other side, with many Shias casting doubt on Sunni beliefs. So clearly, time has only sharpened this schism, rather than healing old wounds. But while more often than not, these tensions are limited to neighbourhoods and nations, the emergence of a Shia theocracy in Iran has taken these differences to a new level. Although mediaeval Islam saw states engaging in sectarian warfare, this tendency was later suppressed in modern times, as we have just discussed. However, although the Iran-Iraq war was fought over territorial claims and counter-claims, overtly sectarian symbolism was deployed by both sides. And when the Americans invaded Iraq in 2003, the ruling Baath Party was ousted, and the minority Sunnis displaced from power. This led to a Shia revival, and a major gain in Iranian influence. Indeed, the US-led campaign was widely viewed in the Middle East asShow MoreRelatedSectarianism in Pakistan5487 Words   |  22 PagesSectarianism in Pakistan INTRODUCTION The decade of the 1990s witnessed a frightening upsurge in the Shia-Sunni sectarian violence in Pakistan, both in terms of scope and intensity. Recently, sectarian strife has engulfed even those areas, which were previously unaffected, largely because of the emergence of organized terrorist groups along sectarian lines. Besides target killings, these groups hit even ordinary members of each other’s sects. The problem, therefore, is no more of an occasional natureRead MoreThe Media And Its Impact On The World1280 Words   |  6 PagesFor a moment all the world was right again. 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For instance, it is this struggle between the Sunni and the Shia that feeds the current Syrian civil war, which is threatening to change the Middle East. The divide has also fueled violence in other Gulf countries such as Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, as well as Lebanon. Notably however, the entire conflicts are not defined in respect to this Shia Sunni divide since thereRead More Fundamentalist Islam Essay2425 Words   |  10 Pages The key issue in the Middle East, increasingly, has less to do with the Arab-Israeli conflict and more to do with fundamentalist Islam. What is fundamentalist Islam? On the one hand, it manifests itself as a new religious conviction, reaff irming faith in an awe-inspiring God. On the other hand, it appears as a militant ideology, demanding political action now. One day its spokesmen call for a jihad (sacred war) against the West, evoking the deepest historic resentments. 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