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Article: BAHRAIN - Khomeinism & Saddam's 'Arab Shield'.
- Article from:
- APS Diplomat Redrawing the Islamic Map
- Article date:
- March 29, 2004
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The Jaafari revolution against Pahavi rule brought Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini to power in Iran in early 1979. This heralded the first Shiite resurgence in modern history, not only on the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf but also on the Arab side including a predominantly Jaafari Bahrain, as well as in Iraq where the Jaafari Shiites formed a majority of about 60%, and in other parts of the Muslim world where Shiite communities were large.
Suddenly, the status quo in the Arab part of an overwhelming Sunni world of Islam was being threatened by what Sunni religious leaders had long condemned as "rafadiyoun" (rejectionists - hence heretics to people like the ...