Have the Shia and Sunnis just stopped and thought it out?

I gotta imagine that these folks who are blowing up each other in a quasi religious frenzy haven't thought it out.

The Shia are killing Sunnis trying to cleanse their land of the followers of the prophet.

The Sunni are killing Shias trying to cleanse their land of the followers of the prophet.

.... Oh wait! You mean it's the SAME prophet?

OOOps, My Bad!
[more below the fold]

If the Shia just stop the killing a moment and think about it -- They're outnumbered.
Take a look at this great map and the breakdown by Shia or Sunni in these Arab countries: All along the south coast of the Mediterranean, its Sunni 90+%... The highest concentration of Shia is in Iran Only 4 other countries have a substantial Shia population.

You want to talk about "foreign fighters" coming to "aid" their co-religionist brothers.... Hooo Baby!

If they had enough sense to open the Quran instead of just waving it around until they find someone in range to hit with it, they would both work TOGETHER to build a garden worthy of paradise for all their brothers [and sisters].

The Sunnis should be grabbing the cover [somewhat] offered by the "occupation" forces of Americans to get their lives back together. But wait, the Americans can't protect them from the Shia. What's the solution for the Sunni? Get a guest army from Egypt & Libya funded by the Saudis to go up against the Shia militias.

Listen guys! The only reason that you Shia aren't staring down the wrong end of the guns of a very large multinational Sunni force is that the Americans are in the way. If they leave, the others will be in there in a moment. AND THEY WILL BE PISSED OFF! You had better realize that you can't have it all. Take what you can get and then work on making your country a haven of learning and progress.

Sunnis - Listen, you can't go killing the Shia because their reinforcements are closer than the future multinational force. The force may avenge your death after you take revenge on the Shia, but you will still be very dead and your family will be too. Why do you think the Iranians are working on a bomb for? Not for Israel, [that sounds good and plays well in the press] for the multinational force that will sweep down upon them if something sparks them to it. Something like the "ethnic cleansing" looming on the horizon for YOU.

Oh, and if both of you stop shooting at, blowing up and otherwise harming the Americans, they may stay around long enough for you BOTH to get your country together again without the bloodshed. They may be dumb and not know your language, but they've got the technology and tools to help you rebuild what was broken and destroyed.

•  Better get on the next flight to Iraq.

  Condi can name you her Special Envoy.

  by Bob Johnson on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 12:48:55 AM PDT

•  My guess is that the US has pretty much no cred.

  in Iraq.  I doubt if there will be much progress until  a truly international force gets in there and the US gets out.

  by epppie on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 12:50:14 AM PDT

•  Wow

  I'll bet you could straighten those guys right out.

  Might want to brush up on some history first.

  by baba durag on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 12:55:46 AM PDT

•  Too bad you weren't around in 1618

  Could have saved those silly European religious freaks a lot of trouble.

  by melvin on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 12:59:16 AM PDT

  •  Somebody tell those Protestants they're

    outnumbered. They've got northern Germany, Beligium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and England. But the rest is all Catholic: France (except a few pesky Huguenots), southern Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Ireland.

    But seriously, this diary is absurd. It is impossible to ignore history and just try to brush it aside.

    by dole4pineapple on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 01:10:47 AM PDT

•  Fighting wars over religion is illogical

  but nevertheless it happens. Think about all of the pointless bloodshed that occurred during the French Wars of Religion or the Thirty Years War. And for what? The Protestants and Catholics fundamentally believed the same thing, right? All the Protestants wanted was to believe in salvation through faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, predestination (for Calvinists), and then just ignore the Pope and get rid of holy icons. They still agreed fundamentally on just about everything else. Look at the English and the Irish. And there are still tensions between them.

  The answer is that there are often political overtones to religious conflicts, and when conflicts have gone on for long enough, a deep sense of bitterness develops between the two groups. Ever wonder why there has historically been so much animosity between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox?

  They formally separated after the Schism of 1054, but the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders led to a deep sense of resentment against Catholics on the part of Orthodox Christians. And that made it impossible for the churches to ever re-unite. And what was the cause for them separating in the first place? Well, the main reason was the Byzantine Emperors wanted control over the Church, so they did not recognize the authority of Rome, instead they recognized the Patriarch of Constantinople (appointed by the emperor) as the head of the church. Nonetheless, after the Schism, there was considerable tension and hostility between the West and the Byzantine Empire, in large part due to religion.

  So it's easy for us to say, "oh, why don't the Sunni and Shi'ia just get along since they believe in the same thing anyway." But it's more complicated than that. It always is.

  by dole4pineapple on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 01:01:32 AM PDT

•  Yep

  considering how their conflict is entirely based on logic, reason and scientific inquiry, your plan simply can not fail.

  by scionkirk on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 01:04:53 AM PDT

•  While you're at it

  why not tell the Protestants and Catholics in N. Ireland to make nice.

  by bobdevo on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 02:10:49 AM PDT

•  Pox on Religion

  I know it’s not PC, but sometimes I really hate religion, all religions.  Believing something just because you are to lazy to draw your own conclusions is bad.  But then, they spawn these people who take belief over the top and are willing to sacrifice morals in favor of a belief.  Makes me hate religion in general.

  by John Boy on Sun Sep 17, 2006 at 03:07:41 AM PDT