According to most sources, including The CIA World Factbook, the majority of Iraqis are Shi'ite Arab Muslims (around 65%), and Sunnis represent about 32% of the population.[20] However, Sunni are split ethnically between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. Many Sunnis hotly dispute their minority status, including ex-Iraqi Ambassador Faruq Ziada,[21] referring to American sources.[22] They claim that many reports or sources only include Arab Sunnis as 'Sunni', missing out the Kurdish and Turkmen Sunnis. Some argue that the 2003 Iraq Census shows that Sunnis were a slight majority.[23] Various monarchies, and secular regimes sourced mainly, but not exclusively, from Sunni areas, controlled the government for nearly a century until the 2003 Iraq War. The British, having put down a Shia rebellion against their rule in the 1920s, "confirmed their reliance on a corps of Sunni ex-officers of the collapsed Ottoman empire". It was when the Sunni and Shia united against colonial rule that it ended.[24] The Shia suffered indirect and direct persecution under independent Iraqi governments since 1932, especially that of Saddam Hussein. In 1969 the son of Iraq's highest Shia Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim was arrested and allegedly tortured. Shia religious leaders were particularly targeted. "Between 1970 and 1985 the Baathist regime executed at least 41 clerics",[25] and Shia opposition to the government following the first Gulf War was reportedly suppressed. [edit] Iraq War Some of the worst Shia-Sunni sectarian strife ever has occurred in the Iraq War, which has built up steadily following the 2003 American invasion of that country.[26] While thousands have been killed by American and allied military collateral damage,[27] this has become overshadowed by the cycle of Sunni-Shia revenge killing -- Sunni often using suicide bombing, Shia favoring death squads. [28] Sunni suicide bombers have targeted not only thousands of civilians, [29] but mosques, shrines, [30] wedding and funeral processions. [31] Sunni militant organizations that the US state department describes as the "terrorists" include Ansar al-Islam.[32] "Radical" groups include Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad, Jeish al-Taiifa al-Mansoura, Jeish Muhammad, and Black Banner Organization. [33] Takfir motivation for many of these killings may come from Sunni insurgent leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. Before his death Zarqawi was wont to quote Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, especially his infamous statement urging followers to kill the Shi'a of Iraq,[34] and calling the Shias "snakes".[35] Wahabi suicide bombers continue to attack Iraqi Shia civilians,[36] and the Shia ulema have in response declared suicide bombing as haram: "Øتي كساني كه با انتØار مي*â€Ø¢ÙŠÙ†Ø¯ Ùˆ مي*â€Ø²Ù†Ù†Ø¯ عده*â€Ø§ÙŠ را مي*â€ÙƒØ´Ù†Ø¯ØŒ آن هم به عنوان عمليات انتØاري، اينها در قعر جهنم هستند" "Even those who kill people with suicide bombing, these shall meet the flames of hell."[37] Some believe the war has strengthened the takfir thinking and may spread Sunni-Shia strife elsewhere. [38] On the Shia side, in early February 2006 militia-dominated government death squads were reportedly "tortur[ing] to death or summarily" executing "hundreds" of Sunnis "every month in Baghdad alone," many arrested at random. [39] [40] [41] "Over the last eighteen months [2005 through early 2006] these commandos [ Badr Organization militiamen controlling the Ministry of the Interior] - who are almost exclusively Shia Muslims - have been implicated in rounding up and killing thousands of ordinary Sunni civilians"Channel 4 program Dispatches In addition to the killing, it is reported that Shia "death squads" of the government's Interior Ministry and the Badr Organization militia, have used intimidation to drive the mainly Sunni intelligentsia from their posts, jobs and neighbourhoods, to replace them with poorer, and less educated Shias often from the poorer south. Many Sunnis register themselves as Shia for identification cards to avoid being targeted by the 'death squads'. Looks to me like religion definetly plays a part in all this along with politics.
This is why I don't even attempt to be civil in these threads. No matter how civil you are, you catch shit. Don't accuse me of being a racist, bigot, childish, or an asshole when I spew my shit. But then when I attempt to be half civilized, call me the same names. I have learned from my mistake here, I won't be asking questions again. Thank you.
Don't get upset. I think you can admit that you draw conclusion and post before you know the facts and as you admitted before you don't know the history of these conflicts. You are right about that you have been trying to learn, and if I offended you then I like to apologize since I am very glad that you are trying to learn about these subjects. Look at your previous post, you copy some quotes without really thinking about it and then you draw a conclusion that you wanted from beginning. It doesn't work that way, you have to look at the facts and base your conclusion on those facts and not decide on conclusion and then try to find facts to support it. "It was when the Sunni and Shia united against colonial rule that it ended" If the base of problem is religion, how could they unite? You can look at a problem in many ways, what western media characterizes as Sunni-Shia conflict is actually tribal conflicts. Tribal roots are still strong in Iraq and tribes always struggle for power. These tribes can be Sunni or Shia but the cause of the problem is not their religion. For example Saddam and his party were not even religious but their power base was among the Sunni tribes that Saddam belonged to, so they favored those tribes. Many of people working for Saddam were Shia but they had no problem killing Shia who were fighting for more power. Kurds are Sunni but Saddam had no problem killing them even if his tribe and his power base was Sunni. It is not a religious war, it is a power war.
All I said up there ^ is "Looks to me like religion definitely plays a part in all this along with politics." Also, it says on wiki: Religion: Sunni Muslim http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein So clearly he had religion. You make it sound as though he was an atheist or something. That's the most religious area in the world, you would have to have religion to function. I don't think any M.E. country is going to have an atheist in power anytime soon
He was more or less atheist and his government was a secular government that gave a lot of freedom to women. Look at this picture from your own source wiki, do you think a Muslim would be in this picture?
When you see old pictures of Muslims, many times they are normal looking without the body bags and head coverings. So yea, kinda, considering it's an old picture. Seems islam is moving BACKWARDS in time instead of forwards IMO.
This is the main point what's going on in the middle east.America and Uk does not want strong countries there , they have done it in Asia (UK) , they divided Pakistan and India and they have still problems nowadays. Iraq is a formed country by Uk after the WWI , it was a province of Ottoman Empire before that , all of you can see that it is hard to form a normal country with those demographics.
It wasn't about his clothes, it was the fact that those women are not covering their hair and he is sitting with strange women who are not related to him. These are not acceptable actions for a Muslim man. Saddam was not religious and as part of his desire to make Iraq a secular state, he even killed some religious leaders who were opposing his regime. In reality Saddam was for a secular state and breaking away from religious laws and religious leaders influence in Iraq while people who are in the present government were for a religious government. Saddam had to turn to religion in the last years of his government and make a compromise with religious leaders because of the pressure he was under due to USA supporting the Shia and their religious leaders in Iraq. Now, can you see how everything is not as black and white as you imagine?
Good, so do you accept that Saddam was not religious and he actually gave women a lot of freedom that the present government is taking back?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Iraq_War If you read about the Iran-Iraq war Saddam is backed by "Humanist" and peace loving Western forces.They created the Frankenstein and they ended him.The west gave Saddam the chemical weapons that killed the Kurds and Iranians.People should see what's happening.
So Turkey is moving troops to the border, and it's getting a little more serious. Bush goes before reporters yesterday, and get this, He advises Turkey, that they should not move troops into the region to deal with terrorists. I mean, the irony is so thick, you can eat it with a spoon.
turkey is almost in... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/world/europe/18turkey.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin