Sunni vs. Shiite conflict intensifies

In another reminder that the turmoil in the Middle East is not all about us, the Saudis executed, along with 46 criminals, a prominent Shiite leader.  Protests have broken out throughout the Muslim world.  Iranians have occupied the Saudi embassy, and the two countries have severed diplomatic relations.

Those two types of Islam are hostile to each other, about like Catholics and Protestants during the 30 Year’s War.  Many of the predations of ISIS, which is Sunni (as is al-Qaida), have targeted Shiites, whose center is Iran.  Some Islamic countries, like Iraq and Syria, have mixed populations, which is a big reason for their instability.

From News from The Associated Press:

Saudi Arabia announced Sunday it was severing diplomatic relations with Shiite powerhouse Iran amid escalating tensions over the Sunni kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

The move came hours after protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and followed harsh criticism by Iran’s top leader of the Saudis’ execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iranian diplomatic personnel had 48 hours to leave his country and all Saudi diplomatic personnel in Iran had been called home.

The mass execution of al-Nimr and 46 others – the largest carried out by Saudi Arabia in three and a half decades – laid bare the sectarian divisions gripping the region as demonstrators took to the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan in protest.

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