Iraq Religious Conflict

“There is still no Iraqi people, only masses lacking any patriotic ideal, connected by no common tie, prone to anarchy and always ready to rise up against any government whatsoever”. This is how Emir Faisal, the King of Iraq in 1921 explained to people the difficulties of ruling the Middle Eastern country of Iraq. For thousands of years, Iraq has been engaged in an ongoing conflict with its neighbouring countries, western nations, or within its own society. The division of the Islamic faith to create the Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims has caused tension and oppression between the two religious groups. Paired with the pressure from the original Kurdish minority group to receive their own independence; Iraq is continuously struggling to unite its

Iraq was a part of the Persian Empire when the prophet Mohammed died in 632 CE. Soon after his death, the Arabs burst out of Arabia and converted many of the original Kurdish population to Islam. The division of the Muslim faith came about in 656 CE when an argument over who should lead Islam occurred. Two different leaders were chosen, and the Sunni and Shi’ite Islam groups were formed. (King, 2006). The Shi’ites faith is practiced more often in Iraq; with 63% of them are Shi’ite and 20% of them being Sunni. The remaining 17% are the original Kurdish community who consider themselves separate to the Arabs and speak their own language; however, the majority of them practice the Sunni Islam faith. (Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, 2014). For years the different ethnic and religious groups in Iraq have been dysfunctional and unable to unite as a nation in Iraq. The Kurdish community in particular resents the Iraqi government, and longs for their own independent nation known as Kurdistan. These groups found it increasingly difficult to unify during the time when the dictator Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni Muslim, became the president of Iraq in 1979, and engaged Iraq in several conflicts that forced many people to flee from persecution. (BBC News,

After the people of Iraq, especially the Shi’ite majority tried countless times to remove Hussein from power, the US eventually invaded Iraq in 2003, and Baghdad fell on the 9th of April, 2003. (King, 2006). After this affair, law and order in Iraq broke down, and the Shi’ite Muslims soon took over the power. Civil war began to break out whilst the infamous terrorist group known as ISIS gained Sunni followers. The group was efficiently disbanded and defeated by the Americans, and in 2011, the US withdrew from Iraq as it finally appeared to be stable. However, the conflict in Syria complicated the matter and ISIS returned to invade Iraq in 2014, and the Sunni minority welcomed ISIS, as they were tired of the Shi’ites controlling the country. ISIS has been involved in horrific massacres, suicide bombings and executions against the Shi’ites and Kurdish community. (Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, 2014). In the same year 400 000 Iraqi internationally displaced people were in Anbar, 350 000 in Kirkuk and 310 000 in Baghdad. From 2014 the amount of applications to seek asylum have increased 45%, to make it 866,000 applications from Iraqi people who are desperately attempting to escape the horrific totalitarian regime ISIS has enforced in the region. (International Business Times UK,