Amid escalating conflict in Yemen and battles in
Iraq and Syria, many wonder how the Middle East became seeded with such
conflict. One argument frequently made is that of a sectarian division
between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, as highlighted by the so-cold cold war
between regional powerhouses Iran (Shiite) and Saudi Arabia (Sunni),
which most recently have been jockeying for power in Yemen.
Attributing conflict to age-old divides between
Sunnis and
Shiites is tempting, but although sectarianism helped pave the way for
today's ongoing strife, major conflicts in the region have since
devolved into seeking revenge for past oppressions or a struggle for geopolitical control. These alternative factors are critical in order to understand conflicts in today’s Middle East.
The Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam date to a disagreement
in the seventh century over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad,
founder of Islam. After Muhammad died, his companion Abu Bakr became the
new leader, or caliph, of Islam, despite the protests of the supporters
of Muhammad’s cousin, Ali.
Ali did eventually become caliph, but not before a serious disagreement had
begun over the succession question. Five years later, Ali was
assassinated and his followers rejected the leaders of Islam who
followed. His descendants became the Shiites, while those who descended
from supporters of subsequent caliphs became Sunnis.
Today, the populations of majority-Muslim countries are
varying mixes of Sunnis and Shiites: Iraq is a blend of the two, Iran is
predominantly Shiite, Saudi Arabia is Sunni, Jordan is Sunni, Syria a
blend, and so on.
Iraq And The Birth Of ISIS
In 1991, Shiite Muslims in southern Iraq and Kurds in the country’s north began an uprising
against the leader of the country, a Sunni named Saddam Hussein.
Fearing that he could be overthrown if Shiites in Iraq joined forces
with Shiites in Iran, the dictator launched a brutal crackdown,
massacring tens of thousands of Shiites and Kurds and setting the stage
for a power struggle rooted in revenge that continues today.
After the U.S. invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam in 2003, the U.S.
installed a government headed by a Shiite, Nouri al-Maliki, whose
sectarian policies alienated
and discriminated against Sunnis. By the end of 2012, anti-government
protests had begun in some Iraqi cities dominated by Shiites.
Today, Maliki’s policies are part of the reason why the brutally anti-Shiite
militants known as the Islamic State group -- also known as ISIS or
ISIL -- were able to thrive in the country. Not all Iraqi Sunnis were
flocking to join the group and many Sunnis didn’t even necessarily
support it. But they did tolerate
it or, at the very least, refused to fight it -- whether because doing
so might have suggested they supported Maliki, their enemy, or because
they sought some form of protection from Maliki’s crackdown on Sunnis.
Proxy War In Yemen
In Yemen’s ongoing conflict, Houthi rebels backed by Iran
are facing off against a collapsed government backed by Saudi Arabia,
where Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi arrived Thursday after
fleeing Yemen’s southern port city of Aden. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia
began airstrikes in Yemen targeting Houthis, who reportedly receive weapons and training from Iran. As Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, described it, “What this means is that Yemen has become the latest locus of Iran-Saudi, Shia-Sunni conflict.”
But a closer look
also suggests that among nationals fighting in Yemen is a basic
struggle for power between Houthis and tribes that don’t want to give it
to them. Iran and Saudi Arabia, competing for regional political
influence, have picked their respective sides, in part to prevent the
other country from gaining too much sway in Yemen, which is strategically located on a point of access to oil terminals and pipelines.
With Yemen being the home base for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
(AQAP), the country's internal conflict also poses another threat to
Saudi Arabia, which had stopped backing Hadi financially after he was
deposed. Now, Saudi Arabia is ramping up its support again with
airstrikes because it fears that AQAP may grow stronger in the absence
of a government that appeared willing
to tamp it down. At the same time, Saudis worry that Houthi territorial
gains could push members of AQAP over the border and into Saudi
Arabia.
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