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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alighieri who wrote (176084)	10/6/2003 11:45:16 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1576739

In a part of the world where religion plays a big part and where the Sunnis and the Shia have been pitted against each other from the beginning, this difference between the religious makeup of Iraq and Iran with the rest of the ME is huge. What are the implications on our effort in Iraq? Al, I would say it won't make things any easier. The shism between the two is much more serious than say the one between the Catholics and the Protestants. The Shia and Sunnis differ over a major issue.......who should have been Caliph [kind of like the Pope]after Mohammed died. The Shia believe the Caliphs should have descended directly from Mohammed's family line; however, that's not the way it worked out. That has set the stage for over a millennium of hatred and distrust between the two groups. Thoughout the ME, the Sunnis are the majority but in Iraq and Iran, its the Shia who are the majority. That may act as a balancing act and help to minimize some of the bad blood between the two groups.....but not by a lot. Looking at the bigger picture, I would think the ME Sunnis would most identify with the Bathist Sunnis in Iraq. If that's true, then they would support the Bathists in their fight against us. That would give the Bathists an unlimited supply of armaments and soldiers. Again, that's assuming the Sunnis relate to each other in that way. The ME is far more complex and confused than I once thought. Surprising to me, it once was a center of great learning and was in its ascendency when Europe was struggling through its Dark Age. Sometimes things appear inexplicable. One example has to do with the Turk's Ottoman Empire. For most of the 19th century, the O.E. controlled a significant part of Europe. The Ottomans considered the Europeans to be inferior and not as advanced. And at the beginning of the 19th century, that was mostly true. However, during the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution hit Europe and the continent advanced considerably. Many upper class Ottomans were shocked at the 'sudden' advance of European civilization. It was very clear that the OE had fallen way behind. Well, you know what.......it wasn't that sudden and where were they during those hundred years of the 19th century? The result of course was the decline and eventual breakup of the Ottoman Empire in the early part of the 20th century. The fall of the OE signaled the decline of the Arab world in general and the rise of Europe, and then America. I'm guessing here but I think the cause of this huge slippage between the two cultures was religious in nature. European religions allowed for more secular rule while Islam encourages religious rule. It looks to me like religious rule is more reactionary and restrictive.......especially under Islam. Had it not been for the importance of oil and the creation of Israel, IMO the ME might not be even on the radar screen today. ted