Word: sunni
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...roundup began only one day after Gemayel had reappointed Chafik al Wazzan, 57, a soft-spoken Muslim lawyer, as Prime Minister. In accordance with an unwritten 1943 accord, the President is always a Maronite Christian and the Prime Minister is a Sunni Muslim. Even so, Wazzan's appointment was a reassuring sign to Lebanon's Muslims, including the Palestinians, who are wary of Christian rule. During the siege of Beirut, Wazzan earned the admiration of his fellow Muslims for his defiance of the Israelis...
...political power was divided among the various religious groups according to a 6-to-5 ratio of Christians to Muslims in the population. Under the National Covenant, an unwritten agreement reached at the time, the country's President is always a Maronite, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of Parliament a Shi'ite Muslim. But the Maronites overwhelmingly dominated the setup through their power in the military and their economic influence. Moreover, the Muslims are now believed to be the majority in the population...
Back in Basra, I talked to one of that city's leading citizens, a Sunni merchant. He said he had no plans to leave, although almost all foreigners have already fled and business has come to a standstill. He is counting on a cease-fire by the end of October, although he agrees that the Iranians will not easily give up their dream of capturing Basra. "Most of the Iranians are members of the Shi'ite sect of Islam, and they want Basra," he explains, "because they know the Shi'ites here will welcome them with open...
...There is a possibility of a division between the Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. I believe this would be more devastating than anything else in this area. This [Islamic fundamentalist] movement takes its direction from Tehran, and it is like a tidal wave. Eventually it will disappear. But what damage it can cause in this area! It could take many governments with it. It would really bring this area closer to what we see happening everywhere [violent upheaval], unless the majority of Arabs stand up and face...
...help keep the advancing Iranian forces at bay. If Iraq succumbs to Khomeini's aggression, it would probably become a Shi'ite-ruled Arab nation inclined to spread the Islamic revolutionary gospel throughout the Arabian peninsula, where sizable Shi'ite populations have long resented the clannish Sunni monarchies that rule them. The tiny island state of Bahrain, where 55% of the population are Shi'ites (some of Iranian origin), nearly fell victim last December to a Khomeini-inspired coup attempt...