Sectarianism Conflicts in the Middle East
Introduction
The rising sectarianism conflicts in the middle east will lead to another major war in the near future. Currently, the civil wars in Syria are highly attributable to the conflict between the various Muslim groups and clans. The existing confrontation shares an important sectarian aspect of the conflict between the Shia and Sunni. However, the historic cold war between Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia and Iran cannot be underestimated. Most nations include Iran, and Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia hides behind the aspect of sectarianism to support the civil wars in the region (Phillips, 2015). The regional cold war has been caused my domestic conflicts and regional state ambitions among others. With the weakening of some مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arab states, Sectarianism has been used to create battlefields in the region, and the situation could worsen.
Regionally, the sectarianism conflicts have expanded beyond Syria and Iraq. In Syria, external parties including Lebanese Hezbollah have engaged in significant fighting through funding wars or direct use of weapons (Gause III, 2014). The funding of wars by external actors creates a volatile situation for potential conflicts and wars. The infiltration of the external actors shows the weakening of the region’s governments. For example, Syria borders are increasingly becoming more porous allow for external influence such as the flow of illegal arms. In Lebanon and Iraq, they have tried to eliminate the overt engagement, but the non-state, external parties have continually crossed their borders to engage in fights (Qadir & Rehman, 2015). For example, Qatar and Saudi have been involved in the funding of support to the opposition groups involved in the sectarianism conflicts in the region. Therefore, the external actors and infiltrating states have been involved in the conflicts through funding the opposition groups and militias.
Apart from the involvement of external parties in the wars, the prehistoric cold war between the regional allies continues to expand sectarianism conflict in the Middle East region. Iran and Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia are the two main states involved in the cold war in the region. When the مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arab Spring occurred, Iran was one of the winners of the cold war. During the period, the Saudis were put on a defensive, and the fall of the regime of Mubarak marked a significant setback in efforts of confronting the influence of Iran in the region. After Iran won in مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arab Spring, Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia becomes highly involved in Syria (Phillips, 2015). In 2012, Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia supported the rebellion in Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia. From the cold war perspective, the final outcome of the Syrian crisis will influence the perceptions of who won in the regional influence between Iran and Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia. Therefore, the cold war between regional allies is likely to retain the continued sectarianism conflicts in the region.
In addition, the leading media organization are involved in supporting the opposition groups. The western media has also been reinforcing the narrative of sectarianism of analyzing the conflicts. For years now, the media continues to exaggerate the degree of sectarianism in the middle east region. Headlines often refer to ethnic groups with their religious afflictions such as either Christians, Shia or Alawi. The media also produces ethnic maps that show the coverage of Iraq by the Sunni, Kurdish or Shia groups (Trumpbour, 2003). For example, the New York Times once published an article that showed the complexity of the civil war in Syria by shading the areas accommodating Alawis, Christians, and Sunnis. If the media does not change their narrative, the sectarianism conflicts are expected to increase in the future.
The contentious question of the political role of Islam in the government will continue to sustain sectarian conflicts in the Middle East. The parties involved in the conflicts including the Saudis, Al-Qaeda, emerging Islamic State and other Sunni entities will continue to express their support for Islam or secular form of governance (Gause III, 2014). The Gulf governments have played a significant role in increasing the penetration of sectarian language in the Middle East. For example, the Syrian Sheikh used his regular time in a Saudi Channel to rile against the Alawis. Other Saudi-Owned TV stations were used to preach anti-Assad props (Qadir, & Rehman, 2015). Even though, it is difficult to determine how satellite media and government role influences opinion, it reinforces the aspects of sectarianism.
Beyond the external entities who encourages sectarianism, Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia also supports sectarianism in the region. These governments have funded and offered support the militia associated with sectarian components. Initially, they supported the FSA and later supported radical forces including Qatar and Turkey who facilitates the rise of radicals. Qatar and Turkey also funded the rise of Jubhat Al-Nursa while ignoring the passage of fighters and illegal arms in the Turkish border (Trumpbour, 2003). From 2011, the Gulf governments did not make significant efforts in discouraging people from funding the charities associated with sectarian militias. The government in the Gulf regimes should have done more in discouraging the growth of the sectarian militias, but they seem to support the sectarianism conflicts in the region.
Conclusion
In summary, sectarian violence and conflicts will continue to spread into Egypt and Lebanon, and the consequences of the violence will be far reaching beyond Iraq. An immediate resolution is unlikely, but a comprehensive understanding of the scope of these challenges would be an important move towards dealing with them. Significant efforts and engagement with the regional allies should be made to avoid the deterioration of the worse situation already in the Middle East. The increasing sectarian violence and conflicts are against the interests of the regional allies in the Middle East and the U.S.
References
Gause III, F. G. (2014). Beyond sectarianism: The new Middle East cold war. Brookings Doha Center Analysis Paper, 11, 1-27.
Phillips, C. (2015). Sectarianism and conflict in Syria. Third World Quarterly, 36(2), 357-376.
Qadir, M. I., & Rehman, M. S. (2015). Organization of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) and Prospects of Yemeni Conflict Resolution: Delusion or Plausible Reality. Journal of Political Studies, 22(2), 367.
Trumpbour, J. (2003). The Clash of Civilizations: Samuel P. Huntington, Bernard Lewis, and the Remaking of the Post-Cold War World Order. The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy, 88-130.
