i think it might be worthwhile to look back and see what history tells us about the civil/religious war now coming to a boil in iraq .
here is a map of the middle-east showing the various religous groups .
the various religious groups in iraq:
(there is also a map in the BBC article showing the geographical distribution of the groups)
while it may be difficult for us to understand , the disagreements between sunnis and shias go back over a thousand years . i think it can be compared to the "thirty year war" that swept through germany and caused death and devastion , and even after a peace agreement was signed still went on in various forms for about another twohundred years .
(see later in my post)
from the linked article :
"Sunnis and Shias differ in doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organisation. It is the largest and oldest division in the history of Islam.
But the origins of the split lie in a dispute over who should have succeeded the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community when he died in 632.
One group of Muslims elected Abu Bakr as the next caliph (leader) of the community, but another group believed the prophet's son-in-law, Ali, was the rightful successor.
Shias re-enact the battle near Karbala in which Hussein was killed
Though Ali eventually became the fourth caliph, his legitimacy was disputed and he was murdered in 661.
The Shiat Ali ("Party of Ali") refused to recognise the legitimacy of his chief opponent and successor, Muawiya.
Ali's sons Hassan and Hussein continued to oppose Muawiya and his successor, Yazid, and fighting between the two sides resulted. Hassan was poisoned in 669 and Hussein was killed in battle near Karbala in 680.
Click here for a map of Shia communities in the Mid-East
Ali, Hassan and Hussein became the first of the 12 imams who Shia Muslims believe are the divinely-appointed leaders of the Muslim community.
The leadership by imams continued until 878, when the 12th Imam, Mohammed al-Mahdi, is said to have disappeared from a cave below a mosque in Samarra.
Not accepting that he died, Shias still await his return more than 1,100 years later. The Hidden Imam's arrival will, they believe, reverse their fortunes and herald the reign of divine justice.
Sunnis, as they became known, reject the principle of leadership by imams, and instead believe in the primacy of the Sunna - what the Prophet Muhammad said, did, agreed to or condemned.
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...IRAQ AND THE BATTLE OF SUNNIS AND SHIAS...
(link to the full article from the BBC)
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imo it will be difficult to reconcile these religious differences easily .
looking at the map of the middle-east , it seems that iraq is the country with the greatest split between sunnis and shias . iran is predominantly shia and the other countries mostly sunnis .
when iraq was 'cobbled' together little thought was given to the religious differences between these two groups .
and make no mistake about it : they are MAJOR differences not easily resolved .
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coming back to my earlier remarks about the "thirty year war" , i believe it also started out as a religious war betwenn catholic forces and protestant forces . it grew from there to become a more widespread war .
imo that is what is happening in iraq .
after the invasion of iraq a kind of religious war started (the shias wanted to get even after having been suppressed for many years ) . it now seems that many other groups (tribes , mercenaries , plain bandits , you name it) have turned it into a free-for-all .
how it can be resolved is anyones guess imo .
(listening to secretary rumsfeld over the last few days , what i keep hearing is : "it's very complicated" . and indeed it is , but that was clear before the first american soldier ever set foot into iraq . it should not have come as a surprise to anyone having read about islam and the middle-east)
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link to 'thirty year war' :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years'_War
(you have to paste the FULL link in , can't get URL to work - sorry)
from the linked article :
"The Thirty Years' War was fought between 1618 and 1648, principally on the territory of today's Germany, and involved most of the major European continental powers. Although it was from the outset a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics, the rivalry between the Habsburg dynasty and other powers was also a central motive, as shown by the fact that Catholic France even supported the Protestant side, increasing France-Habsburg rivalry.
The impact of the Thirty Years' War and related episodes of famine and disease was devastating. The war may have lasted for 30 years, but conflicts continued for 300 more years. "
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sorry if my post is somewhat disjointed .
it's getting late and i'm getting tired , but did not want to lose what i had cobbled together .
perhaps will expand on it over the weekend .
hbg
hahah