|
|
Article: Iraq reopens old faultlines in Muslim politics; Volatility between Sunni and Shi'ite isn't new, but it's dangerous now, writes Anthony Shadid.(Dispatches)
- Article from:
- The Sunday Independent (South Africa)
- Article date:
- February 18, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Independent News & Media PLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Egypt is the Arab world's largest Sunni Muslim country, but as a writer once quipped, it has a Shi'ite heart and a Sunni mind. In its eclectic popular culture, Sunnis enjoy a sweet dish with raisins and nuts to mark Ashura, the most sacred Shi'ite Muslim holiday.
Raucous festivals bring Cairenes into the street to celebrate the birthdays of Shi'ite saints, a practice disparaged by austere Sunnis. The city's Islamic quarter tangles like a vine around a shrine to Imam Hussein, Shi'ite Islam's most revered figure. The blend makes the words of Mahmoud Ahmed, a book vendor sitting on the shrine's marble promenade, even more striking.
"The Shi'ites are rising," he said, ...