THE `SUNNI AND SHI-ITE` STRUGGLE
Although the various nations gained independence from foreign powers, they still struggled with internal difficulties; the main one being - the Sunni and Shi-ite groups. Wherever they met there were clashes and wars.
The Iraq / Iran war in the `80`s lasted for 8 years without either side winning. This was basically a Sunni (Iraq) / Shi-ite (Iran) clash. Saddam Hussein (Sunni) the Prime minister of Iraq borrowed heavily to finance the war and thus came into great debt. He looked with eager eye upon his neighbour, Kuwait, and eventually invaded it taking the great oil wealth of that nation.
He had a catch cry - “Oil is wealth and this wealth is for Islam.`
The War in the Gulf in 1990 saw the cooperation of many countries eject Saddam`s military from Kuwait. Saddam however was not removed from office and he continued to inspire Islamic hope of welding the Arab race identity with Moslem religious fervour.
Saddam also wanted to duplicate the glory and power of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. At enormous expense and effort he rebuilt much of the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon to its former pattern and glory.
In 2003, however, after the invasion by the United States and its allies, the Saddam Hussein`s government was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held. The city of Babylon was ransacked and much was destroyed, however the United Nations has now declared it a Heritage Site, and is aiding the Iraq government to again rebuild the ancient city.
Although the American presence ended in 2011 conflicts continued. Fighters from the Syrian war spilled over into Iraq. Out of this came the most destructive group known as ISIL or ISIS, (a Sunni rebel group). They took over large parts of the north and west of Iraq but have since been largely defeated, mainly by the Kurdish fighters, and only retain a small territory.
The Kurdish people (mainly Sunni) now desire their own sovereignty and are seeking a place at the negotiating table when Iraq gets divided up.
Another Sunni group, the Arab Sunni are also seeking a region for themselves. They have been down trodden by the Iraq (Shi-ite) government that has relied on Iran`s forces (Shi-ite).
Thus we see that there are different groups - Kurds, Sunnis and Shi-ites, all seeking their part of Iraq. Something has to give, someone needs to bring peace to this war torn area of the Middle East.
Although the various nations gained independence from foreign powers, they still struggled with internal difficulties; the main one being - the Sunni and Shi-ite groups. Wherever they met there were clashes and wars.
The Iraq / Iran war in the `80`s lasted for 8 years without either side winning. This was basically a Sunni (Iraq) / Shi-ite (Iran) clash. Saddam Hussein (Sunni) the Prime minister of Iraq borrowed heavily to finance the war and thus came into great debt. He looked with eager eye upon his neighbour, Kuwait, and eventually invaded it taking the great oil wealth of that nation.
He had a catch cry - “Oil is wealth and this wealth is for Islam.`
The War in the Gulf in 1990 saw the cooperation of many countries eject Saddam`s military from Kuwait. Saddam however was not removed from office and he continued to inspire Islamic hope of welding the Arab race identity with Moslem religious fervour.
Saddam also wanted to duplicate the glory and power of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. At enormous expense and effort he rebuilt much of the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon to its former pattern and glory.
In 2003, however, after the invasion by the United States and its allies, the Saddam Hussein`s government was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held. The city of Babylon was ransacked and much was destroyed, however the United Nations has now declared it a Heritage Site, and is aiding the Iraq government to again rebuild the ancient city.
Although the American presence ended in 2011 conflicts continued. Fighters from the Syrian war spilled over into Iraq. Out of this came the most destructive group known as ISIL or ISIS, (a Sunni rebel group). They took over large parts of the north and west of Iraq but have since been largely defeated, mainly by the Kurdish fighters, and only retain a small territory.
The Kurdish people (mainly Sunni) now desire their own sovereignty and are seeking a place at the negotiating table when Iraq gets divided up.
Another Sunni group, the Arab Sunni are also seeking a region for themselves. They have been down trodden by the Iraq (Shi-ite) government that has relied on Iran`s forces (Shi-ite).
Thus we see that there are different groups - Kurds, Sunnis and Shi-ites, all seeking their part of Iraq. Something has to give, someone needs to bring peace to this war torn area of the Middle East.
