A (Very) Brief History of the Middle East Part 1

The Middle East is the Russia of our time. We’re currently entangled in an occupation of Iraq, a war on terror in Afghanistan, tense relations with Iran over their nuclear program and the support they are allegedly offering to Iraqi insurgents, tense relations with Syria over the fact that they are a terrorist breeding ground, tense relations with Palestine over their refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist, as well as the fragile make-up of their current political system, which is attempting to split power between the pragmatic Fatah faction and the radical militant Hamas faction, Lebanon, with the support of Iran and Syria, seems to be run by the Hezbollah militants for all practical purposes, Pakistan has no control over it’s borders, letting terrorists pass freely from Afghanistan, Turkey refuses to acknowledge their Armenian genocide, and anyone who disagrees has a very short life expectancy, Saudi Arabia seems to be our best bet at an ally, but even they are starting to take a hardline against the situation in Iraq.

To sum up: We’re in a shit-storm. Anyone bring an umbrella?

The issues in each of these very unique yet intertwined conflicts are extraordinarily complex and I won’t pretend to understand them at any depth, but I am making an effort to be aware and informed. As I uncover facts or stories I find interesting, I’ll do my best to write about them and keep anyone who reads this thing (who am I kidding) up to date.

It seems to me that at the heart of most of the issues plaguing the region are fundamental differences and an apparently irreconcilable tension between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. This seems like as good a place as any to start, so let me do my best (in my limited understanding of Islam) to explain the difference.

The Difference between Sunnis and Shiites

In 632 the prophet Muhammad (the founder of Islam) died. This left his followers with the difficult decision of who was going to maintain the faith. One group (which became know as the Sunnis) felt that the leader of the faith should be the one most likely to keep the tenants of Islam. They chose the prophet’s advisor, Abu Bakr, to lead the religion and recognize the heirs of the caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. The caliphs ruled continuously until the end of WWI (when the Ottoman Empire fell).

The Shiites, on the other hand, believed that the leader of Islam should come directly from Muhammad’s blood line. They chose Ali (who also happened to be the fourth caliph), Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law (don’t ask me). Ali and his successors are known as Imams, and are considered to be descendants of Muhammad.


That's all I've got for you...for now. Tantalizing, isn't it? Believe me, there's plenty more where that came from, but it's better in doses. This is just the initial drip from the wellspring of excitment that is the Middle East, and one small baby step in trying to better understand the world around us.

Come back tomorrow for a little history on how the violence started in the first place, and maybe even a who's who of the major players in the Sunni-Shiite world. We'll figure this thing out together.

Thanks for reading.