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Iraq is a nation suffering from extensive religious strife and thus serves as an excellent example of how well religion can become a factor in dividing a previously united people, promoting violence, and leading to social breakdown. The Baath Party which previously controlled Iraq was committed to a secular state, butalso to political repression. Nevertheless, women had far more freedom than in surrounding Muslim nations and there was little in the way of religious violence.

Despite being strongly secular, though, the Baath Party never hesitated to exploit religion when it seemed useful. From the start of the war with Iran, Baath Party leaders made a public show of attending religious observances. Even Saddam Hussein was depicted in prayer on posters placed throughout the country. The Baath Party also gave large amounts of money to fix important mosques in order to gain more support from the Shia Muslims.

Iraq is roughly composed of 60% Shia and 40% Sunni Muslims, but most political and economic power typically rested with the Sunnis. On the other hand, the war with Iran provided an excellent reason for the secular regime to better integrate Shia Muslims in the government and society. Nearly 75% of the lower ranks of the army were Shia, but even during major setbacks in the war with Shia Iran there was never a major sectarian insurrection. The secular government united Sunni and Shia Muslims under a banner of general religious piety, nationalism, and ethnicity.

The American invasion and occupation of Iraq changed all that. Today both Sunni and Shia Muslims are at each others' throats in a civil war that is tearing apart families, neighborhoods, and communities which were once so fully integrated that no one much cared about such distinctions. Shia are looking for revenge for decades of suppression at the hands of Sunnis; Sunnis are afraid that they will suffer suppression at the hands of Shia. Some of this must have always lurked under the surface, but much of it appears to be a result of taking away anything larger for Sunni and Shia to be united by.

The Sunni/Shia line is not the only one dividing Iraqis, and even without it there might still be some forms of violence in Iraq, but the role of religion and religious bigotry cannot be underestimated here. Violence is committed by members of one religious group against another and the violence won't stop without directly addressing the problems of religion, religious bigotry, and religious division. The civil war in Iraq is a poster child for the threat which religious division poses for the human race.

Biography: Saddam Hussein
Short biography of Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq. Reviews his political history as well as some of the reasons for his popularity.

Iraq: Islamic Relations
Relations between Shia Muslim and Sunni Muslims in Iraq, with the role played by the ruling Baath Party.

Iraq: Islam
History of Islam with an emphasis on the how it was introduced and how it has developed in Iraq.

Iraq: Conflict with Iran
Overview and history of the war between Iraq and Iran.

Iraq: Religious Liberty
United States State Department report on religious liberty in Iraq, detailing the relationship between religion and state and the treatment of religious minorities.