Sunni versus Shia - we are all losers.

All the while, as alliances of convenience are forged, and as the big powers play out their ambitions in different parts of the region, hostilities between Sunnis and Shias grow. The Middle East is heading for a period of sectarian and civil war. It will not be the only loser.- Zaki Chehab

Recently our friend Zaki wrote a really interesting article for the New Statesman in which he explores the clash that has the potential to do more damage to the Arab states than anything the Americans can do. Zaki Chehab is the political editor of the Arabic TV station al-Hayat-LBC, and was the first journalist to broadcast an interview with members of the Iraqi resistance. Zaki is the author of Iraq Ablaze - Inside the insurgency.

Here is an excerpt from Zaki's article followed be a link to the original.

The clash between Sunni and Shia Muslims across the Arab world is already the greatest single cause of strife around the globe. It is taking place within countries and between countries. It has been brewing for years, but only now do governments appreciate the dangers. The hanging of Saddam Hussein in late December took the problem to a new level. Sunnis saw the timing of the execution, on the eve of Eid al-Adha, one of their most significant festivals, as a deliberate insult. Shias worldwide celebrated the death of a man whom they saw as an oppressor. Now the United States and the rest of the western world are attempting, belatedly, to stabilise a situation that they themselves played a major role in creating.

Two years ago, King Abdullah of Jordan warned that a "Shia crescent" was being established across the region. He was referring to the growing influence of Iran in Iraq, Iran's support of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the strong alliance between Tehran and Syria. The resurgence dates back to the 1979 Iranian revolution, when the religious Shia regime of Ayatollah Khomeini ousted the secular, pro-western shah of Iran. The eight-year Iraq-Iran war could have turned into a Sunni-Shia conflict, particularly as, in the eyes of many, Saddam appeared to be fighting on behalf of all the Sunni regimes in the Gulf. That it did not was because thousands of Iraqi Shias saw it as an Arab-Persian conflict, rather than a sectarian war between Sunnis and Shias in both countries.

Shias constituted the bulk of the Iraqi opposition in exile, and Saddam's downfall ensured that it was only a matter of time before the majority group would seek to regain control. The Sunnis' refusal to accept the change coincided with the arrival of extreme elements associated with al-Qaeda and other Sunni organisations in Iraq. Now, two parallel battles are raging in Iraq: the one of resistance to the American-led occupation, the other a sectarian war.

Read the full story here: Sunni v Shia.

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