Telling Shiite from Sunni

[greenman3610]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html


Take Representative Terry Everett, a seven-term Alabama Republican who is vice chairman of the House intelligence subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence.

“Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?” I asked him a few weeks ago.

Mr. Everett responded with a low chuckle. He thought for a moment: “One’s in one location, another’s in another location. No, to be honest with you, I don’t know. I thought it was differences in their religion, different families or something.”

To his credit, he asked me to explain the differences. I told him briefly about the schism that developed after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and how Iraq and Iran are majority Shiite nations while the rest of the Muslim world is mostly Sunni. “Now that you’ve explained it to me,” he replied, “what occurs to me is that it makes what we’re doing over there extremely difficult, not only in Iraq but that whole area.”

---------------------------

file this under "No s**t, Sherlock."

[Squatch]

1. I seem to recall on DU a few years ago, a sizeable population

of posters decried the existence of any Shiite-Sunni schism. Funny how times change.

[TomInTib]

3. I recall that, too. I just chalked it up to innocent ignorance.

There is no lack of that here on DU.

Some crazy s**t has happened because people just did not know what they were talking about.

[Squatch]

4. Yeah, I think you're right. Although, in addition to innocent ignorance

I'll chalk up a good portion of the denial, then acceptance of the schism to political expediency.

[Anakin Skywalker]

2. I Wonder If Toby Keith Cares.

I overheard one of his songs on "duh radioh" where he seemed proud he didn't know the difference between Iraq and Iran.