Pages

Search This Blog

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Why Shiite Expansion Will Be Short-Lived

Why Shiite Expansion Will Be Short-Lived


The sectarian conflict in the Middle East can neatly be divided into two sides: Sunnis and Shiites. Or so it would seem. The reality, it turns out, is more complicated. Sunni unity is a myth -- the countries that constitute the Sunni camp are divided over a variety of issues. And the Shiites, whose power has grown since the early 1990s, nonetheless suffer from the inescapable constraints of being a minority population.

 


A Demographic Challenge

Indeed, the single most defining characteristic of the Shiite camp is that it comprises only a fraction of the Muslim population. More than three-fourths of all Muslims practice Sunni Islam.

According to a 2011 study by the Pew Research Center, only four countries have a Shiite majority: Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Iraq. But other countries have notable Shiite minority populations as well, including...

Read more »https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/why-shiite-expansion-will-be-short-lived?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_term=article&utm_campaign=20150514&mc_cid=0ac147a275&mc_eid=52511177bc

No comments: