The Sunni/Shiite Divide (8/24/06)
The Shia Revival is the title of a new book by scholar Vali Nasr. It considers the reemergence of sectarian issues throughout the Middle East ranging from Lebanon, the Pesian Gulf states and Iraq all the way through Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan - the so-called Shia crescent.
posted by IIF BlogMeister @ 6:10 PM
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From a recent article about Bahrain:
Bahrain, with a population of about 700,000, including 200,000 expatriates, is a weekend playground for Saudis. The tiny island just off the coast of Saudi Arabia is a regional business hub and in recent years has become a center for Islamic banking.
But long-simmering sectarian divisions erupted almost to the point of civil unrest during the 1990’s. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, who succeeded his father in 1999, headed off the conflict by promising political changes aimed at turning the country into a constitutional monarchy. But when the effort faltered several years ago, many advocates for the Shiite population stepped up their demands for greater rights and more of a say in a government that they say is skewed to the Sunni minority. Shiite groups boycotted the last elections, in 2002, but were expected to take part in the November elections.
At the same time, more militant Sunni groups, alarmed by a Shiite revival in the Middle East, have begun painting Bahrain as the edge of a “Shiite Crescent,” increasingly susceptible to Iran’s influence. The resulting tensions here have at times boiled over into violent clashes between gangs of young people and security forces.
nytimes
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