An Interactive Guide To The Sunni-Shiite Divide

An Interactive Guide To The Sunni-Shiite Divide
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SARA HUSSEIN A picture taken on June 21, 2014 at a checkpoint in the Iraqi town of Taza Khurmatu, shows Shiite Turkmen, who describe themselves as members of a Sahwa or 'Awakening' force, standing in front a poster depicting an Iraqi soldier walking past a flag with the acronyme 'ISIL' (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ), as they ready to head out to defend their homes in the nearby town of Bashir after it was seized by Sunni militants. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SARA HUSSEIN A picture taken on June 21, 2014 at a checkpoint in the Iraqi town of Taza Khurmatu, shows Shiite Turkmen, who describe themselves as members of a Sahwa or 'Awakening' force, standing in front a poster depicting an Iraqi soldier walking past a flag with the acronyme 'ISIL' (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ), as they ready to head out to defend their homes in the nearby town of Bashir after it was seized by Sunni militants. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo credit should read KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)

An ancient religious divide is helping fuel a resurgence of conflicts in the Middle East and Muslim countries. Struggles between Sunni and Shia forces have fed a Syrian civil war that threatens to transform the map of the Middle East, spurred violence that is fracturing Iraq, and widened fissures in a number of tense Gulf countries. Growing sectarian clashes have also sparked a revival of transnational jihadi networks that poses a threat beyond the region.

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