Sectarian conflict has escalated between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq. How can the dilemma of civil war be avoided?
We must learn from history. Spain destroyed itself by civil war, as well as America. In the Arab and Islamic world, the Ottoman Empire and the state of the Safavid dynasty survived the massacres of Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq and Anatolia. In Lebanon, the civil war had devastated the state and eliminated the national consensus, where different states chose to settle their conflicts in Lebanon. Sectarianism is a devilish seed that sets the ground for civil war. To avoid this dilemma, the culture of tolerance in the Arab world needs to be strengthened. We must be united by humanitarian and national ties and not divided by religious differences. We must eliminate any provoking discourse that aims to produce suicide bombers and ideological clashes that usually result in armed militias that kill people in the name of religion whether the “other” is a Muslim or a Christian. We must preserve our homelands, our national unity and the sovereignty of our countries from any regional or internation
