Shia-Sunni tensions are growing in the U.S.

[ECH1969]

When Fatima Pashaei, a Shiite Muslim of Iranian descent, and Atif Qarni, a Sunni Muslim whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan, married six years ago, it was a joyous event. "Our parents were just happy we were marrying Muslims. Everything else is sort of secondary," said Pashaei, 24, still married to Qarni and living in Manassas, Va., with their 3-year-old son.

Divisions have widened worldwide since the golden dome of the Al-Askariya Mosque in Samarra, Iraq, was blown up Feb. 22. Two descendants of Islam's Prophet Muhammad are buried there, making it one of Shiite (also called Shia) Islam's holiest shrines.

"For a lot of people, this is one of the most tragic events in the history of the Shia," said Mohamed Sabur, co-director of the year-old Qunoot Foundation, a Shiite advocacy group in Washington. "Things were bad under Saddam, but you never would have seen him do this."

Although the Muslim-on-Muslim killing has yet to reach the United States, many Shiites say they believe that the hatred already has, even before the recent violence in Iraq. When Shiites marched in New York on Feb. 5, they were met by protesters claiming to be from a group based in Brooklyn calling itself the Islamic Thinkers Society, which denounced the ritual and passed out fliers condemning Shiites as heretics.

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834494456&path=!living&s=1037645509005

[htuttle]

1. "The War at Home", Part II

Hope not.

[ECH1969]

3. They are letting terrorists play on their historical

divisons, fears and animosities. And, the more the divide grows the harder it will be to repair. Because divisions like this often self perpetuate.

[saigon68]

7. really

[expatriot]

2. has anybody ever forwarded the idea that the true geopolitical goal

of invading Iraq was to turn Islamic militancy inwards upon itself by driving a wedge between the Shia and Sunni vis a vis Iraq? A very, very cynical strategy. Obviously we have known a sectarian civil war would be the outcome of our project but i don't know if I've heard the theory voiced that this may have been the geopolitical strategy behind the invasion, to deflect the brunt force of radical Islamicism from the "West" by creating a sectarian divide so great that it is directed upon itself.

[ECH1969]

4. I don't think Bush even knew there was a Sunni/Shia divide

before going into Iraq. Hell, I am not sure he even knew there what Sunnis and Shia were.

[corporatemedia]

5. Condi Rice DID NOT know,..

In an interview, early in the bush nightmare, she showed her ignorance of the divide.
She knew there were suns and shis, but was all mixed up about who was who.
I do not have a reference, but I clearly remember it.

[fujiyama]

8. I think I recall that

It was something about Iran helping the Taliban or some such nonsense, even though they had a falling out over the way Shias were treated in Afghanistan.

It's confirmed that even a few weeks to the invasion, Bush had no clue of the different ethnic and religious groups in Iraq.

I'm not surprised Condi didn't know either. Hell, didn't Richard Clarke mention she didn't even know what Al Qaeda was when the admin first came to office?

[saigon68]

13. This woman is out to lunch she may be the smartest advisor

That means the quality of ADVISORS is somewhere below DULL NORMAL

[megatherium]

6. There's a logic to this theory but I doubt it. The Bush people

are desperately trying to get Iraq stable enough so that they can declare victory and withdraw our forces. They've long since abandoned the notion that they could transform Iraq into a stable country that is friendly to the US and Israel. Their primary goal was and is to protect the oil supply, and an out-of-control Shia-Sunni conflict doesn't further that goal, and a conflagration that draws in Iran or other regional powers would especially not further that goal.

[Toots]

10. It wasn't in the beginning but it has become "official" strategy now.

It is apparent with the Port dealings. They just forgot to inform their people about the switch in policy. They realized their initial approach was a dismal failure and they needed a fall back position. It may even be a good idea but because they neglected to inform their sheeple they are being caught in a broadside.

[cantstandbush]

9. The Bushbots have brought the Iraq civil war to our door steps.

How many will be caught in the crossfire?

IMPEACH BUSH NOW!!! That's all I can say. The entire world is much worse off with him in office and the Republicans in control of our government than with Saddam in office.

[sam sarrha]

11. looks like Allah is so merciful he is going to have Em kill each other off

[lovuian]

12. The ripple effect of hatred ripples through the world

thats why America was so special ... we allowed all faiths to worship here...