Sunnis

In order to counter this conspiracy, the Leader put brotherhood between Shiites and Sunnis on agenda and made efforts to bring the Islamic world closer together, Ghalibaf added.

Sunnis versus Shiites, natives versus non-natives, till we get to one zone versus another zone.

Unfortunately, this sectarian divide is now quite visible in many parts of Pakistan, where the Shias and Sunnis feel threatened by each other.

As a microcosm — Syria has Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites, Kurds, Christians and Druse — whenever central control is loosened, it is a source of insecurity for every sect, so they often reach outside for help.

Sunnis and Shias: What's the story?

Syria is home to an array of ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia and Arab Sunnis.

Their war in Yemen is a civil war to force the majority Sunnis to live under a Shiite theocracy.

When Saddam invaded Kuwait, cashing his US-Saudi IOU for sacrificing half million Iraqi Sunnis-Shia to kill a half million Shia Iranians, Saudi Arabia was unhappy.

Amid the throngs of demonstrators, it's impossible to tell Sunnis and Shi'ites or Arabs and Kurds apart, and that's their aim.

The Sunnis – living under the harsh tutelage of the Iranian-led Shi’ite militias, who have occupied the areas in their fight against ISIS – are obviously too cowed to join the protests dominated by Iraq’s Shi’ite majority in the South.

The Sunnis, meanwhile, have new resentments: their cities were destroyed in the war against IS, and Abdul-Mahdi's government has been slow to release funds for reconstruction.

A shortage of reconstruction funds could increase the danger of reinvigorating grievances among the minority Iraqi Sunnis against Iraq's Shi'te-led government.

Besides, Khomeini modelled the country on a strict sectarian outlook that heavily discriminated against other Muslim sects such as Sunnis and minorities like Bahai’s, Christians and Jews.

Both countries view themselves as the hub of a network of like-minded states and societies – Iran as the leader of the region’s Shia populations, Saudi Arabia of its Sunnis – and both resent any gains by the other.

Danny’s looks and personality allowed me to layer the story I try to tell with the Hazara culture and their oppression by the majority Sunnis.

How about if we say: “Sunnis, threat to National Security,” will followers of Sunni Islam in Nigeria not get offended?” according to the Press Statement.

It is also meaningless to express one’s opinion on reconciling the views of Sunnis and Shi’ites without recognising the nature of both groups.

More likely is an Assad strategy of emptying the country of as many Sunnis as possible and achieving a more balanced demographic balance, even if this means giving up some territory on the periphery of his core territory.

NATO has launched a new training, non-combat mission in Iraq; 15 years after Shock and Awe, Sunnis, Shi’ites, Yazidis and even Kurdish factions are not impressed.

Perhaps the rights of Shiite minorities would be guaranteed by a combination of Russia and Iran, and the rights of Sunnis would be guaranteed by the Americans and Saudi Arabia, with the EU in charge of the rights of Christians.