The Sunni world turned upside down

[Matt25]

iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/edweiss.php

Osama bin Laden curses them as “the most evil creatures under the heavens.” Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, derides them as “the lurking snake, the spying enemy and the penetrating venom.” They are, in one Arab insult, “worse than the Jews.” These diatribes aren’t aimed at Americans, but at Shiite Muslims, specifically by Sunni extremists who, like many Sunnis, have regarded Shiites as heretics ever since their seventh-century schism over the true successor of the Prophet Muhammad. Iraq has become the latest battlefield in this centuries-old struggle within Islam, with Wednesday’s massive attacks aimed at Shiites in Baghdad and a chilling audiotape the same day, apparently from Zarqawi, declaring “all-out war against Shiites everywhere” only the latest manifestation…

Now, for the first time in a millenniim, Shiites in Iraq are dominating an Arab land, unnerving Sunnis and inspiring Shiites across the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia, where the puritanical Wahhabi religious establishment condemns Shiites as infidels, the kingdom’s first municipal elections in March saw Shiites prevail in the one region where they constitute a majority, the oil-rich Eastern Province… Jordan’s King Abdullah II spoke for many Sunnis last year when he warned of a Shia “crescent” stretching from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon that would disrupt the balance of power in the Middle East. Nor was it surprising that Iraq’s Arab neighbors offered more condolences and aid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina than to Iraq after the recent stampede in Baghdad that killed some 1,000 Shiite pilgrims. These are the same regimes that, like the United States, stood by while their Sunni brother Saddam Hussein slaughtered more than 100,000 rebellious Shiites and Kurds after the 1991 Gulf war…

With Sunnis leading the charge to defeat Iraq’s draft constitution in next month’s referendum, and Sunni jihadists waging a holy war against the United States and its allies, it’s time that Washington appreciate the historical irony. The greatest obstacle to American interests in the region is not the Shiites that Washington has spent a quarter-century trying to contain in Iran, but Sunni zealots, fueled and funded by America’s old “ally” Saudi Arabia.

 

[gilliam]

Interesting story, but keep in mind: Iraqi Shiites are politically not the same as Iranian Shiites, and Iraqi Sunni are not politically the same as the fundamentalists coming out of Saudi Arabia. What is happening in Iraq is that everyone is pretty much discusted with al-Qaeda.

I found this a good book on the subject of Saudi Arabia and US relations:
Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Secret Saudi-U.S. Connection by Gerald L. Posner

 

[Matt25]

I think that the significance of Jordan’s King Abdullah II fearing the emergence of a Shia Crescent should not be overlooked. He may know better than us the differences between Lebanese, Iraqi and Iranian Shia.

The interesting thing about the Shia outside of Iran is that they have been out of the loop of power and privilege for centuries. The appeal of radical fundamentlism to these masses may well have the same destabilising effect on the region that Marxism once had.

While it is true I think that most Iraqi’s are disgusted with al Qaeda that doesn’t necessarily mean they support the foreign fighters of the occupation.

 

[gilliam]

Matt25:

I think that the significance of Jordan’s King Abdullah II fearing the emergence of a Shia Crescent should not be overlooked. He may know better than us the differences between Lebanese, Iraqi and Iranian Shia. .

From a recent interview with the king:

The so-called issue of “the crescent” was taken out of context and blown out of proportion. My concern is political, not religious, revolving around Iran, Iran’s political involvement inside Iraq, its relation with Syria and Hezbollah, and the strengthening of this political-strategic alliance. This would create a scenario where you have these four [Iran, Iran-influenced Iraq, Syria, and Hezbollah] who have a strategic objective that could create a major conflict. I don’t have any problem with Shi‘ites. I have a real problem with certain Iranian factions’ political influence inside Iraq. Our argument to the United States is that a capable, independent, secure Iraq is the best way of containing Iran. There’s one reason why 1980 happened—the war between Iraq and Iran. The Iranians realize that the way to have success against the West is by them succeeding in Iraq. So Iraq is the battleground, the West against Iran.

meforum.org/article/688

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The interesting thing about the Shia outside of Iran is that they have been out of the loop of power and privilege for centuries. The appeal of radical fundamentlism to these masses may well have the same destabilising effect on the region that Marxism once had. .

And it may not, as we can see in Iraq. My fear, as is the king’s above, is with Iran. I think the Shiites in Iraq are doing fine considering the hell al-Qaeda is putting them through.

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While it is true I think that most Iraqi’s are disgusted with al Qaeda that doesn’t necessarily mean they support the foreign fighters of the occupation.

They want the US to go because they feel when we go then peace will come. By the way, the occupation ended when Iraq got their own government. We are there by invitation now. The Sunni are starting to realize that we will leave when the cities fight against al-Qaeda and get the Baathists to put down their arms. The message has been long in coming, but the Sunnis now know that the Baathists will not be the dominent party in the future. Look at what is happening in the Western part of Iraq in the towns like Samarra where Shunni are telling our planes where to bomb.