Shia

"They ordered the passengers off the bus," said Hassan, a 16-year-old construction worker who survived the September 19 sectarian attack on Hazaras, a...

I'm not arguing that Shiites have a lot in common with rodents and insects. But you wouldn't know it by watching Bahrainis and Saudis snuff them out with barely a peep from Western and majority-Sunni Arab nations.

Three issues have plagued the region for decades and threaten to derail progress at every turn. I call them the Mideast's "Stink Bombs" -- hyper-divisive issues that inflame passions and serve a politicized minority only.

The so-called sectarian divide of Bahrain is a manipulative simplification of a far greater divide: that of the colonially-installed government that has no connection with or compassion for the people of Bahrain.

By compiling numerous comments made by a range of religious clerics, scholars and authorities, the goal is to assess the substance of the religious discourse concerning Shi'a Islam and the permissibility of WMD acquisition, possession and use.

Some observers say this clash has its roots in a geo-religious power struggle between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia; the more likely story is one of tension between the "haves" and the "have-nots."

If Egypt were to become a theocracy I wouldn't mind if it was run by the Sufis.

The return of Muqtada Al-Sadr, a junior Shia cleric and head of the Mehdi Army militia, from his refuge in Iran to a prominent role in Iraqi politics ...

The failure of Iraqi's high-paid politicians to live up to their responsibilities to their people and work toward resolving the core issues facing the country -- or to show up for work at all -- is putting Iraq once again in mortal danger.

What we are witnessing is nothing less than the seminal competition over the heart of the Arab/Muslim world. Two regional players are in an epic battle for the same goal, albeit from fundamentally different angles to advance totally different agendas.

Abdulemam, an icon among bloggers for his use of social media in pursuit of greater government transparency and accountability, was recently detained by Bahraini intelligence on bogus charges.

The thousands of classified documents released by wikileaks have revealed that the Iranian regime has enjoyed far more extensive links with al-Qaeda and the Taliban than hitherto publicly acknowledged.

Some have argued that the Cold War-era mutual assured destruction doctrine would contain Iran. That is a big assumption -- specially in light of the Iranian regime's ideology.

This is a crisis that cannot be understated. The post-election period reveals that no election result is safe from court intervention and constitutional brigandry in the new Iraq.

A prominent Shia politician from the Sadrist political bloc has blamed the Iraqi government for failing to protect religious sites in Baghdad followin...

The results of the Iraqi elections at the end of last month deepened a sense of conspiracy and dangerous inertia in the country. Events show that this disillusionment is threatening to reverse the security gains of the previous two years.

The U.S.'s policy setbacks provide a great gift to the Iranian clerical rulers by helping them enhance their clout and expand their international maneuvering space against the West.

A concordat between the three promises way too much -- security, recognition, energy -- to be sabotaged by needless bellicosity.

Drone attacks are terrorism too. Killing entire families, including women and children, in the "border" areas of the "AF-PAK" theater to hit one "militant" or "extremist," without charge or trial, repeated countless times.

By alienating Sunnis and former Baathists, the DoD and Malaki's government are increasing tensions that could portend serious problems in Iraq's not-too-distant future.

Just a couple weeks ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took to the podium inside the U.N.'s grand hall and suggested that there was a worldwid...

Iran's Revolutionary Guards today vowed to take revenge after blaming Britain and the US for a suicide bombing that killed six of its commanders and 3...