The sunnishia conflict is a power struggle for dominance in the middle east. Sectarian and regional conflict in the middle east global. Exploring new data on intramuslim organised violence 19892017. Dress is often indicative of study background or location e. Background note to the international conference heritage and cultural diversity at risk in iraq and syria unesco headquarters, paris 3 december 2014 room ii 2. Characterising the violence in sectarian terms risks becoming a selffulfilling prophecy. Shiasunni divide is well on its way to displacing the broader conflict between muslims and the west. Reconciliation of sunni and shia alternativeinsight. Sunnishia conflict and cooperation in the digital age. Irans islamic revolution, which brought shias to power in 1979, and the sunni backlash have fueled a competition for regional dominance. For shias, the month also is a time to mourn the events that sparked the centuriesold schism between shia and sunni muslims.
This timeline highlights sunnishia tensions in recent. In iraq, as elsewhere in the middle east, the social, political, and technological changes of. Both shiacentric state building and sunni rejection of the post2003 order are the result of. The middle east today is more vulnerable to instability and extremism than at any time since irans islamic. Analysis of the iraq study group report the islam religion was founded by mohammed in the seventh century. However, the root cause of the constructed sunnishia conflict in libya, syria, yemen, iraq, tunisia, egypt, sudan, somalia, and bahrain and other members of the arab league, rests with poor governance, including the presence of illegitimate, authoritarian states. Conflict in iraq follows centuries of shiitesunni mistrust.
Sunnis through wahhabi ideology are two key players within this conflict. My dependent variable seeks to capture the degree to which sunni subjects support violence toward shia muslims, and vice versa. What causes extremist attitudes among sunni and shia youth. Modern sunnishia tensions council on foreign relations. Why the myth of sunnishia conflict defines middle east. It is, for example, the basis for the great hostility between saudi arabia and iran. Is iraqs sunnishiite conflict really about religion. This short paper serves to relate various themes inclusive to cultural conflict in modern day iraq between sunni and shiite factions as well as the emerging threat of isis islamic state of iraq and syria. However, dividing the middle east along sectarian lines is not an accurate way to assess the loyalties or predict the. Pdf despite a growth in fatalities resulting from organized violence with shiasunni dimensions over the last two decades, in this study, we. The sunni shia split and conflict early events from islamic history. Both shia centric state building and sunni rejection of the post2003 order are the result of. This week sunni and shia muslims ushered in the islamic new year and the beginning of the holy month of muharram. A humanitarian and security imperative in the conflicts of the 21 st century.
Analyzing inequities between sunnis and shiites posted by. A primer to the sunnishia conflict by philipp holtmann. And you might recall that saddam hussein was a sunni ruling over a majority of shia. Prepared by emily hawley, research associate after the death of the prophet mohammad in 632 ce, the muslim community diverged over how to select the next leader of the islamic community they had formed on. To what extent is the rivalry for regional leadership between iran and saudi arabia a sectarian conflict, and to what extent is it simply a power contest. It appears that the united states administration and its arab allies do not distinguish between the shia phenomenon its rise and potential and aspects of iranian foreign policy. A primer to the sunnishia conflict universiteit leiden. Tensions between sunnis and shias, exploited by regional rivals. What impact is the conflict between the shiite and sunni having in these disputes. Qatilehussain kon they sunni ya shia internet archive. The sunnishia split at the heart of regional conflict in. How conflicts within islam will shape the future, by vali nasr, w. Two of pakistans three major sunni subsects, the ahlehadis, and to a lesser extent, the. The sunnishia divide, portrayed as a religious conflict, is actually an economic conflict.
Both shia and sunni dissidents in yemen have similar complaints about the governmentcooperation with the american government and an alleged failure to following sharia law but its the shia who have allegedly been singled out for government crackdown. Sunnishia relations in pakistan 159 further credence to the view that the intersectarian harmony will remain a defining element of subcontinental islam. Time period 656 to 661 ce conflict type religious underlying causes resentments began to build over how the booty from the conquests should be divided among the tribal groups that made up the islamic community which came from sudden successes of muslim armies and the sudden rise of the arab empire. Mitigating sunnishia conflict in the worlds most charming police state. This ancient division continues to influence politics, foreign policy and even wars today. The sunnishia split is rooted in the question of who should succeed the prophet muhammad in leading muslims after his death in 632. Sunnishia relations after the iraq war united states institute of. Theres an important divide between arab sunnis and shias in iraq. How will the new us administration impact the ageold sunnishiite conflict. Though the two main sects within islam, sunni and shia, agree on most of the fundamental beliefs and practices of islam, a bitter split between the two goes back some 14 centuries. The sunnishia split at the heart of regional conflict in the middle east explained it is a secession crisis between the two groups, in political terms. Sunnishia tensions % of all muslims who say sunnishia tensions are a very or moderately big problem in their country question modified in iran to ask how prevalent tensions are.
Which dispute is so resilient that it continues nearly 1,400 years after the original. To them, the shia threat is part and parcel of a larger problem, a potential iranian. The war for islam amid a roiling middle east, iran and saudi arabia are fanning the fires of sectarianism and playing politics in a zerosum proxy war of religious fervor. Isis calls on jihadists to join them or face death.
The political scientist and middle east and islamic specialist vali nasr has written extensively about the current wars and conflicts in the middle east, attributing many, if not most, of these activities to recent escalations in ancient shiasunni disputes. One of the significant reasons that the majority fail to realize behind the shiasunni conflict is the extremism that is spread from both sides. Pdf the war in iraq has produced a tremendous change in the middle east and in the muslim world at large. The following is a list of suggested reading about the shiitesunni conflict. The shiitesunni conflict is the most deadly and unsolvable conflict in the middle east and it is between muslims. Modern sunnishia conflicts and their neglected tropical. In iraq, sunnishiite relations have been complicated by the dramatic shift in power dynamics that accompanied the removal of the sunnidominated saddam hussein regime, which ended centuries of. For example, some shia extremists claim that abou baker and mouawiyas descendants till this day are from al shajara al malouna meaning the cursed blood line. Sunni and shia governments constantly worry about their grip on power, especially in the wake of protest movements in places like tunisia and egypt. The arab uprisings and the rebirth of the shiasunni divide. In iraq, carved by the british out of three ottoman provinces, a poor, largely rural, shia majority, a sunni minority, and the kurds were the predominant groups.
What is the difference between sunni and shiite muslims. I would like to clear one at the start of my response that shiite was a reformist movement in islam which later became a sect due to number of differences in religious practices and beliefs. Islam, christianity and buddhism are religious cultural powers, deep, defining the ends and means of human lives. Caliphs and imams who centralized rule of each of the two muslim sects no longer exist as temporal leaders, and therefore no leadership, other than spiritual imams, is a focus for a divide. What is missing in our sunnishia conflict narrative. Sunni clerics often wear white clothing and a turban or skullcap.
The islamic state in iraq and the levant isis, a sunni group, has grown powerful by. This conflict has led some observers to see the entire region through the prism of the ageold sunnishia struggle. What is the difference between sunni and shiite muslimsand why does it matter. Peace is a unique global network of policy research. Ignorance may be bliss, but it makes for bad policy. Sunni, shia conflict rooted in dispute over prophets. Sunni suicide bombers have targeted not only thousands of civilians, but mosques, shrines,wedding and funeral processions, markets, hospitals, offices, and streets. Former iraqi prime minister almaliki learned this lesson when his sectarian statements ruined his chance to capitalise on sunni. The measure was created by averaging four questions in the survey instrument, which i. The split between the two main sects within islam goes back some 1,400 years. After the death of the prophet mohammad in 632 ce, the muslim community diverged over how to select the next leader of the islamic community they had formed on the arabian peninsula.
Iraq war deepens sunnishia divide when the united states invaded iraq four years ago, it didnt set out to deepen the sunnishia divide in the islamic world. Sectarian mobilization and countermobilization is only a manifestation of. Previous research has convincingly shown how shiasunni. Shiasunni conflict in yemen involves the shia insurgency in northern yemen. Sectarian conflict is becoming entrenched in a growing number of muslim countries and is threatening to fracture iraq and syria. Iran supports bashar alassad even though he is an alawite and a member of the shia minority sect. The blood shadings between shia and sunni in the history of islamic interfaith differences have affected future generations, since the death of prophet muhammad in a. Cultural conflict between sunni and shiite factions 2143 words 9 pages. I as a sunni has always admired the sacrifices of ahl.
What impact is the conflict between the shiite and sunni. Mohammed bin salman apoffice of the iranian supreme leadergettymark wilson why the myth of sunnishia conflict. Differences between sunni, shia and ibadi islam wikipedia. Pdf despite a growth in fatalities resulting from organized violence with shia sunni dimensions over the last two decades, in this study, we. The conflict between shias and sunni 959 words 4 pages.
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