“So before I was nine, I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world. And all of us against the infidel.”
- Leon Uris: The Haj
Good article, shows the truth of the passage above. And if you don’t know the basics of the Sunni-Shia split, you don’t know a thing about the Middle East.
Most folks can not even contemplate what goes on in the Middle East.
Talk to some liberal hipster and try to explain that Bacha Bazi is and they’ll deny it. Saying that you made it all up. That it never happens.
Tell some liberal that there are child brides in the ME and that some haven’t even reached a double-digit age.
Try to explain that in their culture, if your elder tells you to cut the throat of your best friend, who is from another tribe because of a 50yr old feud that has been reignited, then it’s time to cut some throats. They won’t believe you.
Try to tell some liberal that the Sunni’s and Shia’s loathe each other and that it would be like Southern Baptist vs Christian Baptists, only much much much more violent. And the only reason they don’t kill each other more often is they tend to find common enemies(USA). And when the common enemy is gone, they go right back to killing each other. They won’t believe you.
There are so many things about the place that most will never understand or accept unless they’ve been there. And even then, for some, they still don’t believe it. State Dept folks being some of them. Go to the US Embassy in Baghdad. It’s an oasis in the middle of what is still a dangerous place. Not dangerous like it was 2004-2009/10, but dangerous nonetheless. They fly into BIAP, fly to the Embassy, surrounded by guys with guns, and then fly home. They aren’t out and about like they were years ago. They don’t realize that the Iraqi they’re dealing with would like to cut their throat, even though they’re all laughing about something, while sipping some chai.