Can Three Become One?

A look at the divided factions of the Middle East.

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Iraq's hopes for unity hinge on whether several factions -- split along religious and ethnic lines -- can put aside centuries-old animosities and live together in peace:

Shi'ite Arabs -- 55-60% of Population
Who are they? The Shia arose from a 7th-century split within Islam over the rightful heirs to Muhammad. Many Shia disdain Sunnis for having followed "usurpers" not in the Prophet's direct bloodline. The Shia approach to Islam is marked by religious rituals that honor the martyrs of their faith. Most Shia in Iraq are ethnic Arabs (unlike those in neighboring Iran, who are Persian).

What's their grievance? Although in the majority, the Shia long suffered under Sunni rule in Iraq. Ongoing persecution escalated under Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, who executed many Shi'ite clerics and brutally crushed Shia opposition after the first Gulf War. Almost inevitably, the Shia will emerge as the dominant force in a new Iraqi government.

Sunni Arabs -- 15-20% of Population
Who are they? Sunni Islam, shaped by scholars and jurists, has excelled in political rule. The Sunni governed the Ottoman Empire -- which included present-day Iraq -- from the 1500s through World War I. Their largely secular rule endured in Iraq until the toppling of Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party in 2003.

What's their grievance? A Sunni-led insurgency hopes to expel American troops and re-establish Baathist rule. Many Sunnis resent and fear the new Shia-dominated police force and military. They also worry that the Shia and Kurds, who inhabit oil-rich regions, will keep most of the country's wealth for themselves. The big question: Will the Sunnis accept or resist a diminished role?

Sunni Kurds -- 20% of Population
Who are they? Inhabiting a region that carves into Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria, the Kurds are a non-Arabic people with their own language and culture. Fairly liberal Muslims, the Kurds often wear Western-style clothes, and Kurdish women never hide their faces or wear head-to-toe chadors.

What's their grievance? Atrocities under Saddam included the murder of thousands of Kurdish peasants when he used chemical weapons to punish their support of Iran in its war with Iraq in the 1980s. Forever under the thumb of others, the Kurds have long dreamed of an independent Kurdistan. ForwardSourceID:NT00003522

From Reader's Digest - March 2006

 

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