SAUDI Arabia and Iran are on the brink of war as tensions in the Middle East mount

well there is that matter of the ballistic missile fired from Yemen at Riyadh airport...

still war? I doubt either side wants it
 
Shape Shifter said:
Saudi Arabia wants to be considered the centre of Islam, Iran is challenging them.
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And Iran no longer has the support of the Obama regime. The Saudis/Israelis know, that unlike Mom Jeans Obama, Pres. Trump can be counted on. ... And that new Saudi prince is something else!
 
Shape Shifter said:
Yes I know that very well indeed Shia are honour bound to go to the Hajj at least once. However you need to dig below the surface a little more.


https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/422808/
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very good article.one we rarely see beyond the "Sunni/Shi'a divide"

and it makes a good point that Nimr was more of a populist for SA then an Iranian mullah.
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Sunni-Shiite tensions are not some intrinsic dimension of the Middle East; instead, they’re the product of a series of tectonic shifts in the region’s power politics, which in turn have prompted state (and, increasingly, non-state) actors to advance their interests by manipulating religious sentiments. What matters most in this story of upheaval is the interplay between government institutions and individual identity, he argues, not religion per se.

“The reasons these religious differences get inflamed or get sectarianized is because of a breakdown of governance, a breakdown of economic distribution,” Wehrey asserted. “There have been plenty of times in the Middle East when these differences have been subsumed by other identities.”

 
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