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Sectarian discrimination

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sectarian discrimination

Sectarianism can be defined as a practice that is created over a period of time through consistent social, cultural and political habits leading to the formation of group solidarity that is dependent upon practices of inclusion and exclusion. Sectarian discrimination focuses on the exclusion aspect of sectarianism and can be defined as 'hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group', for example the different denominations of a religion or the factions of a political belief.

Sectarian discrimination is commonly an underlying factor in periods of sectarian violence. Sectarian violence can be characterised as a conflict either between or among groups with specific ethnicity or religion, where the reason for the violence is their differences. An example of sectarian violence is the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

Middle East and Asia

Iraq

Main article: Sectarian violence in Iraq

The main sectarian conflict in Iraq is between Shia and Sunni Muslims, and it has led to large amounts of discrimination, bloodshed and instability. While the majority of Muslims in Iraq are Shia and the minority are Sunni, a number of scholars, including Hassan al’-Alawi, have consistently argued that sectarianism in Iraq privileges Sunni Arabs and discriminates against Shi’ites. The sectarian tensions between these two sects of Islam can be traced back to creation of the State of Iraq under British mandate, when the British appointed a Sunni oriented king, Faisal I. The first written evidence of sectarian discrimination is from 1935 when Shia lawyers wrote the Najaf Charter which documented their frustrations and discontent towards the sectarian discrimination against the Shia community in Iraq.

There are mixed views on how the Ba’ath regime effected sectarianism in Iraq. One perspective believes that the Ba’ath regime implemented policies that hardened lines between sectarian identities, contributing to worsened sectarian tensions. The second perspective believes that the Ba’ath regime tried to suppress sectarianism by implementing policies such as prison sentences for destroying, religious materials, places of worships or rituals.

More recently, the Sunni minority have been expressing feelings of increasing marginalisation by the Shia-led government led by Prime minister Nouri Maliki. The feelings of sectarian discrimination within the Sunni population has led to the creation of a narrative of communal victimhood.

Syria

Main article: Sectarianism and Minorities in the Syrian civil war

The United Nations Human Rights Investigators, operating in Syria determined the Syrian civil war an overtly sectarian conflict. A deep sense of threat arising from sectarian discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities has caused such groups to align with parties involved in the conflict in hope they will provide protection, however this is contributing to deeper sectarian divides within the country.

The civil war has changed the sectarian distribution of Syria, due to large amounts of displacement and ethnic cleansing in specific areas. The country now can be seen as divided into four zones; aegis of the regime, the Rebels, or the Kurds.The zones under the control of the regime’s army can be considered the most diverse zone, consisting of mainly Sunnis, a large number of Alawites and a small number of minorities who have fled into the area looking for protection. The rebel-controlled zones, are dominated by Sunni Arabs, and the minorities who lived in these areas have either been forced to convert to Sunnism or have fled. Lastly the Kurdish dominated zones, existing mainly along the northern border is controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).