The tension between the Sunni and Shi’ite creeds has increased and this tension is considered unlikely to be resolved any time soon. According to Le Figaro, on June 5, 2010, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Hervé Morin, the Defense Minister of France that “There are two countries in the world that do not deserve to exist: Iran and Israel.” I think the Saudi’s are using the Arabic proverb “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” The little enemy(Israel)of my big enemy(Iran)is my friend, for the time being. Let Israel take out your biggest worry in the region.
Oddly, some people who are pretty smart have projected that in a future world conflict, the Shia countries will ally (for convenience, not ideology) with the West and Russia against the Chinese and Sunnis. I’m not sure I can see that happening. Anyway, the Sunni/Shia split appears to be as raw and determinative as the Protestant/Catholic split in the 1500’s and 1600’s. You’d think that with clever leadership we could find a way to turn that to our advantage.