Word: sunni
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...rather than accept defeat, might choose to go out with a big bang by bombing the oil fields up and down the gulf. At the same time, Arab countries tremble over the possible repercussions from Khomeini's Shi'ite Muslim fanaticism; most of the gulf rulers are Sunni Muslims presiding over nations with Shi'ite minorities that may be susceptible to the Ayatullah's political influence. For most of the gulf states, it is a no-win situation; an outright victory by either Iraq or Iran would create a too powerful neighbor, while a protracted stalemate...
...Iraqi government is extremely vulnerable to such pressure. In the first place, its political and military leadership is largely Sunni Muslim, while over half of Iraq's 12.8 million people are Shi'ite Muslims who share a sense of community with their religious brethren in Iran. Moreover, the Baghdad regime is Baathist, and the Baath Party, both in Iraq and Syria, favors secularism, social reconstruction and economic development. To make matters worse, Iran has reportedly been inciting the Kurds in northern Iraq to rebel against Baghdad. For their part, the Iranians suspect that the current border troubles...
...neighboring province of Kurdistan, meanwhile, autonomist rebels killed at least four government military officers. Antigovernment riots also claimed ten lives in southeastern Baluchistan province, and religiously motivated gunfights between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims left at least 40 dead and 200 wounded in the Persian Gulf port of Bandar Lengeh. About the only good news that greeted the Ayatullah was the arrest in Tehran of the leader and 35 members of an anticlerical Islamic terrorist ring, known as Forqhan, which has claimed responsibility for the murder of at least two members of the Revolutionary Council...
...most powerful influence that cemented Khomeini's hold on his country is the spirit of Shi'ism?the branch of Islam to which 93% of Iran's 35.2 million people belong. In contrast to the dominant Sunni wing of Islam, Shi'ism emphasizes martyrdom; thus many Iranians are receptive to Khomeini's speeches about what a "joy" and "honor" it would be to die in a war with the U.S. Beyond that, Shi'ism allows for the presence of an intermediary between God and man. Originally, the mediators were twelve imams, who Shi'ites believe were the rightful successors...
...East. Leaders of the House of Saud regard Khomeini as an outright menace. Egypt's President Anwar Sadat denounced Khomeini as a man who is trying to play God and whose actions are a "crime against Islam [and] an insult to humanity." Nonetheless, the Ayatullah's appeal to Muslims, Sunni as well...