Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | – – The Sunni-Shi’a schism provides for different narrative and prescriptions for arriving at the ‘utopian Islamic society’ and the incoming of the Messiah, al-Mahdi. The theological, doctrinal and jurisprudential differences between the two main branches of Islam has translated into two different visions on the role of […]
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Shiites
Lebanon PM Hariri Resigns in fear for Life, Slamming Iran
Middle East Monitor | – – Lebanon’s prime minister Saad al-Hariri resigned on Saturday, citing an assassination plot against him and accusing Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of sowing strife in the Arab world. His resignation thrusts Lebanon back into the frontline of Saudi-Iranian regional rivalry and seems likely to exacerbate sectarian tensions between […]
Iraq: How Youtube & Facebook Fake News Raised Kurdish-Shiite Tensions
By Histyar Qader | Erbil | (Niqash.org) | – – After clashes in northern Iraq this week, hundreds of fake pictures have flooded Iraqi social media. Some are real, some not, but leaders on both sides say it’s leading to a dangerous escalation of tensions. Given the partisan nature of much of the media funding […]
Iraqi PM Rebukes Tillerson on Popular Mobilization Militia
TeleSur | – – “Popular Mobilisation fighters should be encouraged because they will be the hope of country and the region,” Abadi said. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has defended the role of his country’s Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashd al-Sha’abi, following a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that members of the […]
Alarmed Kurdistan forces Mobilized at Kirkuk as Iraqi troops said to Mass on Border
TeleSur | – – According to Kurdish TV station, Rudaw, an additional 6,000 Peshmerga forces have been mobilized in Kirkuk to defend from a possible Iraqi threat. Kurdish TV channel Rudaw has reported that tens of thousands of Kurdish fighters have been deployed in the Kurdistan region of Iraq’s capital of Kirkuk to defend the […]
Saudi Arabia: Official Hate Speech Targets Minorities
Human Rights Watch | – – Incitement Leads to Discrimination Against Shia, Other Groups (Beirut) – Some Saudi state clerics and institutions incite hatred and discrimination against religious minorities, including the country’s Shia Muslim minority, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 62-page report, “‘They Are Not Our Brothers’: Hate Speech by […]
Iranian Leader: Trump is “Disturbed,” speaks like a Cowboy or Mobster
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iranian hardliners are still responding to Trump’s speech at the UN Monday, in which he accused Iran of backing terrorism and called the nuclear deal the worst deal the US had ever made. Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that Donald Trump’s address to the […]
Can Iran keep its Influence in Baghdad?
Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Iran wants to reunite the fighting Shiite Muslim political parties in Iraq that once gave it unconditional support. But that job is far from easy. Last week Mahmoud Shahroudi, the head of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, which advises that country’s theological leader, Ali Khamenei, visited Baghdad. […]
Al-Sadr in Jidda: Are Saudis looking for channel to Iran, or anti-Iran Client?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday paid a visit to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port, Jidda, at the invitation of the Saudi royal family. He was hosted by Crown Prince Muhmmad bin Salman, who is acting head of state while his father is on vacation. […]








