[a_Turk]

Soner Cagaptay is the head of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

[expatpat]

Seems to me that the Sunnis in Iraq ought to start cozying up to the US authorities in Iraq real fast, instead of fighting them. The US can't be too crazy about a shi'ite takeover of Iraq either.

[a_Turk]

ping..

[cripplecreek]

The problem with islam in 3 words.


TOO MANY MUSLIMS.

[Monti Cello]

We gotta teach them Shiites and Sunnis how to let 8th century bygones be bygones, and how to pardner up and get rich together.

[Mr. Mojo]

......Sunnis in the region, many of whom regard Shiite Islam as a perversion. (The feeling being mutual)

They're both right.

[Redcoat LI]

Given the title,I expected a much longer article.

[GeekDejure]

The Problem Within Islam

The Problem is that Islam actually exists in the first instance... considering that it is nothing but a death worshipping cult of brainwashed people who are totally forbidden to think for themselves and then act accordingly !!!

.

[Mortimer Snavely]

"Islam remains rooted in its history of deep mistrust between the Shiite and Sunni sects, which, since the 8th century, have been violently feuding over the issue of succession to the Prophet Muhammad. The past 1,300 years of Islamic history have been almost uniformly marked by episodes of strife between these two sects, and political domination by one group has almost always meant persecution of the other."

What this means for the Arab world is that, broadly speaking, the largest part of the the solution is political, not theological. When Arab speakers can provide a viable political alternative to Arab National Socialism (Ba'athism) that can serve as a counterweight to Islamism, I will breathe a lot easier.

I see no other way for an environment amenable to the ecumenical movement promoted by the author to be implemented. Such an environment can only exist in a liberal democracy, where religious purity is not on the political agenda, and the free exchange of ideas is the to-be-expected, the social norm.

[swarthyguy]

Nice timing in light of the recent massacres of Shias in Iraq and Pakistan.

Looks like a new war is brewing.

And, I believe India is the only country that has a Presedent who's been a Sunni - Zakir Hussain and her current President is Abdul Kalam, a Shia.

Trust the Fundamentalist Secularist wild eyed Hindus to trump the entire pathetic arabic governances.

[Lady Heron]

Whether shiite or sunni, the problem with islam is islam!

[DoctorMichael]

This predicament can also be helpful, however, by showing a way out of sectarian hatred within Islam. It is time now for Muslims -- clerics and secular pundits alike -- to begin a frank debate towards healing sectarian divides through ecumenical dialogue.

Fat chance. Don't hold your breath.