The Eclipse of Sectarianism
The sectarian fervor widely associated with the Middle East has recent roots. A chain of political and religious upheavals, beginning in 1979, ignited and fueled sectarian hatred and added an ethnic bent to it. The results were catastrophic: Sectarianism caused deep societal fissures and cost hundreds of thousands of lives over a sustained period of […]Hassan Hassan writes for The Atlantic:
The sectarian fervor widely associated with the Middle East has recent roots. A chain of political and religious upheavals, beginning in 1979, ignited and fueled sectarian hatred and added an ethnic bent to it. The results were catastrophic: Sectarianism caused deep societal fissures and cost hundreds of thousands of lives over a sustained period of time.
Almost exactly 40 years after this surge in sectarianism began, however, we might finally be witnessing its ebb. Sectarianism today is arguably at a recent low, and a reversal of the main causes that catalyzed and intensified it suggests that the demobilization might continue.
