An Iraqi Shiite man walks past a crowd of men praying in front the Al-Rohman mosque currently being built in Baghdad, Iraq (AP)
Shia v. Sunni Story aired: Friday, April 25, 2003
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that the U.S. will not permit Muslim clerics to dominate the new government of Iraq.
"An Iranian-type government," Rumsfeld said, "isn't going to happen."
With Iraq's majority Shia Muslim population enjoying new found religious freedom this week, the U.S. along with other Arab governments in the region may be concerned about the political future of their own Shia populations.
The stark and often violent division between Shia and Sunni Muslims goes back almost 1,300 years. Though only around 10 percent of all Muslims, Shia are a majority in Iran, Iraq, and Bahrain and are an important minority in parts of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Guests:
Jeremy Binnie, Middle East editor for Jane's Defence Weekly.
