Micah Halpern – Memphis Flyer

The two main sects within Islam are not at all like the various sects within Christianity, or, for that matter, within Judaism. Sunnis hate Shiites and Shiites hate Sunnis. Since the middle 7th century, each side has taught and preached that the other side is practicing a corrupt form of Islam. It is because the other side is practicing corrupted Islam that the true followers (whichever side that is) believe it is their obligation to teach about the denial and the destruction of the other.

It began with the death of Muhammad in 632. Muhammad failed to declare a successor. That decision caused a divide among his followers. Sunnis believed that the best successor should emerge from among the students of Muhammad. Shiites believed that Muhammad’s mantle of leadership should be passed down through the family.

Sunni is the larger sect, comprising about 85 percent of Muslims. Shiites comprise the remaining 15 percent. There are other, smaller sects but their numbers worldwide are dwarfed by these two groups. The largest country with a Shiite majority is Iran. Iraq also has a majority of Shiites, about 60 percent.

Every once in a while, Sunni or Shiite leaders announce their intention to unite the factions in order to confront a common enemy. The pitch always sounds good, but almost always falls flat. The common enemy they most often speak of is the West — specifically Israel and the United States.

If these two Muslim sects were to stop their conflict, the Middle East would be a different place. Not a peaceful place, but a place with differently focused conflict. For instance, much of the tension in Syria is Shiite versus Sunni. The conflict in Yemen is Shiite versus Sunni. And the power struggle engaging Iran and Saudi Arabia is, of course, Shiite versus Sunni.

And yet, despite the conflict, every Friday over the past few weeks, Shiites and Sunnis in some Iraqi cities have come together in major squares. By the tens of thousands, sometimes even by the hundreds of thousands, they have gathered united, as one voice, in protest over the current divisive situation. The slogans they are shouting and the placards they are raising say, “Sectarianism is dead” and “Stop stealing from us in the name of religion.”

Iraqis are coming together in main squares in Baghdad and Basra to call upon their politicians to stop quarreling and quibbling. The protesters want services — education, water and electricity. For years, their politicians have told the citizens of Iraq that the problem in government is religious sectarianism — Shiites versus Sunnis — and now many young people in Iraq are saying that they aren’t buying it any more.

Young Sunnis and young Shiites want accountability. More crucially, they want to know why ISIS has succeeded in taking over huge swathes of Iraq. In today’s world, if anything is to unite Sunnis and Shiites, it will be ISIS. To put it succinctly, other than the West, right now, the only thing that Shiites hate more than Sunnis and Sunnis hate more than Shiites is ISIS. The Iraqi people want unity among conventional Muslims to fight and rid Iraq of extremist ISIS.

Shiite militias are operating under an umbrella called Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), while Sunni tribes are much more loosely aligned in their fight and are against ISIS more independently — tribe by tribe. In the end, through unity of forces, they could possibly be successful and turn their country around. But it is a long shot.

The fear of ISIS brutality is everywhere in Iraq. While gathering in town squares as a way of protest is empowering, the fear of beheading at the hands of ISIS is still, understandably, a major disincentive to organizing, fighting, and resisting. When 800 ISIS members marched into Mosul in June of last year, 55,000 Iraqi police and soldiers ran away. A city of two million people collapsed into the hands of 800 ISIS members.

So, while Shiite-Sunni unity is the only real chance for success in fighting ISIS, given their ancient hatred for each other, coupled with ISIS intimidation, I don’t see Muslim unity in Iraq’s immediate future.

Micah D. Halpern’s latest book is Thugs: How History’s Most Notorious Despots Transformed the World through Terror, Tyranny, and Mass Murder.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not the only Middle East leader to take a road trip recently. And despite all of the hoopla about “the speech,” his was probably not the most important message being delivered.

More important, although much less sensational and therefore much less covered by the press, was the visit of King Abdullah of Jordan to his newly crowned counterpart in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And then there was the visit, several days later, of Abdel Fatah al Sisi, the president of Egypt, who also met with Salman, the king of Saudi Arabia.

After the formalities were dispensed with, the real business at hand began. And in each of those meetings, like Netanyahu in Washington, one important topic was under discussion: Iran. Then came ISIS. It is hugely important for the United States to understand that when it comes to these sensitive subjects, Israel does not stand alone. Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are all also the sworn enemies of both ISIS and Iran.

These meetings — by Middle East leaders, rulers to be more specific, held in the region itself — were extremely important. Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt are all part of the coalition against ISIS. And yes, all three have strong relations with the United States. But more than anything else, both of these two monarchs, as well as the Egyptian president, are all in the cross hairs of ISIS.

They all know that ISIS wants to take over their countries. And they are keenly aware that there are already individual people and organized groups inside each of their countries who are affiliated with ISIS and with Al Qaeda. The violence is growing and it is reaching critical mass.

Each leader came with the same plan in mind. In the course of their meetings, the two kings and the president agreed to increase their cooperation against ISIS even outside the coalition. They have no choice. They agreed to step up and strike ISIS and Al Qaeda, to support one another, and to share information. We know all of this because they chose to leak it to their domestic Arabic press.

They understand that, for them, fighting ISIS is a battle of survival. Abdullah and Salman know very well that in order for their reigns to survive they must defeat ISIS.

We also know from official sources that the Egyptian/Saudi conversation was very straightforward. Egypt wanted to make certain that the new king, like the Abdullah, the previous king of Saudi Arabia, continues to support him both politically and monetarily. And both countries needed to make certain that they share intel on terror and Islamic extremists. From information and leaks, we know that they decided to create a joint force to confront the new challenge from ISIS in Iraq and in Syria and to control the tension emerging from Libya and Yemen.

Add Jordan to the mix, and we now have a move to unify Arabs against the ISIS threat. That’s big news.

In the beginning the collaboration will probably be limited to intelligence and training. But if successful, the links will grow and these countries will actually help each other on joint missions on the ground and from the air.

Salman, al Sisi, and Abdullah need to work well together — a move to unify Arabs against the ISIS threat. There is no other option. What they do and say will have tremendous impact on the rest of the Arab world. They can convey a sense of stability — or not. They can create a sense of mission and vision and draw people away from ISIS — or they will fail and their monarchies will be in tumult.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan all come with essential powerful and important skill sets. Saudi Arabia is the richest; Egypt is the most populous; Jordan has one of the highest adult literacy rates in the region at 97 percent.

They all have clout. The only way to defeat ISIS or to defeat Iran is if the Arabs in the neighborhood actually work together. And now. They finally see these new threats as serious challenges to their very existence — and they are now strategizing on how to confront it.

We should wish them luck.

Micah D. Halpern’s latest book is Thugs: How History’s Most Notorious Despots Transformed the World through Terror, Tyranny, and Mass Murder.