Month

Archives: Shiites

Syria’s forgotten pluralism and why it matters today

By Andrea Williams | (The Conversation) | - - The Syrian Civil War has been raging for six years. It has killed nearly half a million people and left over 12 million,…

Al-Sadr: Russia, America and al-Assad should all get out of Syria!

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday issued a broadside demanding that Russia and the United States withdraw from Syria and that strongman…

After Mosul: Can Iraq survive without a unified National Army?

By Balsam Mustafa | (The Conversation) | - - The operation to retake Iraq’s second city of Mosul from the so-called Islamic State [group] (IS) has entered its crucial phase. The Iraqi…

Iraqi Leaders Denounce Trump over Oil, Jerusalem; US Troops in Political Crossfire

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Since his inauguration, Donald J. Trump has not been making a good impression in Iraq, where the US has 6,000 troops, according to…

The Future of Iraq? As Police Lose Control Of Streets, Militias Take Over

Mustafa Habib | (Baghdad) | (Niqash.org) | - - The volunteer militias formed to fight the Islamic State group are now policing Baghdad’s neighbourhoods. But as they do, they compete with the…

Does Turkey’s Erdogan Dream of Neighboring Mosul?

By Lucy DerTavitian | (Informed Comment) | - - The battle over Mosul appears to have ignited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s expansionist Ottoman era fantasies. He gained a few more adversaries…

Sectarian Tensions flare in Baghdad as some Sunni Arab families forced from Neighborhoods

By Ibrahim Saleh | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - Several Sunni Muslim families were forced out of their mainly Shiite Muslim neighbourhood in Baghdad recently. Locals fear the creeping return of…

In Mosul, ISIL Extremists Wall in Residents, prepare for Armageddon

Special Correspondent | Mosul | (Niqash.org) | - - In Mosul, the Islamic State is preparing for a siege, building walls, tunnels and trenches and boasting that, like the Prophet Mohammed in…

The myth and history of Sunni-Shia divide

By Amir Ahmadi Arian | ( OpenDemocracy ) | - - Sunnis and Shias have lived together in peace for centuries, and up to the new millennium have barely had a history…

Saudi Bigot-in-Chief Declares Iranian Shiites “Not Muslim”

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - `Abd al-Aziz Al Shaikh, the chief jurisconsult or mufti for the interpretation of Muslim law in Saudi Arabia, said Wednesday that Iranian Shiites…

‘Unacceptable’ UN says US-Backed Iraqi Militias Recruiting Children

TeleSur | - - The United Nations said it was “deeply concerned” about reports the groups are using children on the frontlines of the fight against the Islamic State group. Amid reports…

Will Iraq’s next Government be . . . Iran-backed Shiite Militias?

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - The [so-called] Islamic State [IS] group has caused a realignment of Iraq’s political map. Next year’s provincial elections will signal who will…

Defeating ISIL in Iraq will Take Sunni-Shiite Reconciliation, not Just Tanks

By Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | - - As Iraqi, Kurdish and Syrian forces squeeze its territory in the Arab world and Turkey hunts down the group’s support networks and sympathisers…

Is Religion really Driving Middle East Violence?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Pew Research has released a report saying that "As a whole, the region continued to have the highest levels of religious hostilities in…

Ordinary Iraqis defy sectarianism after Islamic State’s attacks on Baghdad

By Balsam Mustafa | (The Conversation) | - - “I’m happy that I graduated. I’m so grateful to my parents and I dedicate my success to both of them.” These were the…

Abuses of Fallujah Sunnis Raise Question: Does Iraq Gov’t Control of Shiite Militias

Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – The announced investigation into allegations of abuse of civilians around Fallujah by Iraqi government forces is a test for the government’s ability to hold…

How The US, Iraqi Army And Shiite Militias United – Then Split – In Fallujah

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - Anti-extremist forces have been fighting in Fallujah for a week. But before they began, there were serious negotiations between the partners-in-battle. And…

Modern Mongols: Sunni Arabs outraged at Iran role in Iraqi Gov’t Fallujah Campaign

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - BBC Monitoring surveyed the Arabic press on 27 May for the issue of the Iranian role in the Iraq government campaign to take…

ISIL hits Syrian Regime in Shiite northwest, killing 150

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The leftist Beirut daily al-Safir reports that security in Syria broke down dramatically on Monday, as seven bombs timed to go off simultaneously…