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Sectarian Tensions Boil Over into Syria

[Christian Science Monitor] Rania Abouzeid - For more than four decades, Syria has been a fiercely secular state. Its majority-Sunni population is ruled by a minority Shiite sect, the Alawites. But the country's majority Sunni population now views Syria's deepening relationship to Shiite Iran with creeping suspicion. "Syrians are speaking of Shiitization," says Redwan Ziade, a political analyst and human rights activist in Damascus. Whisperings of new Iranian-funded Shiite religious institutions abound, as do rumors that Iran is offering cash and other incentives to persuade Sunnis to convert. Regardless of whether the rumors are true, the Syrian state is working to allay concerns among Sunnis.
2007-02-14 01:00:00
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