The Sunni-Shia Conflict: Understanding Sectarian Violence in the Middle East

While most Sunni and Shia Muslims around the world seek religious coexistence, vacuums of power, such as those that occurred during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) and in post-war Iraq, have forced believers to retreat into their respective ethnic, sectarian, tribal and political camps. It is exactly during times of crisis that regional leaders can exploit sectarian identities and force civil strife upon an entire country. Today, with the rise of a pro-Iranian government in Iraq, the Mid...