Sectarianism

Turkey's claim that its regional foreign policy is not sectarian "at all" is as convincing as its government's claims over the past few years that the Turkish state is "at a strictly equal distance" from every faith, including citizens with no faith at all.

'Holy Lands: Reviving Pluralism in the Middle East' by Nicolas Pelham (Columbia Global Reports, 183 pages, $14)

Six months after the breakthrough deal between Iran and the P5+1 group in July 2015, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency, declared on Jan. 16 that Iran has complied with the initial requirements of the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action." As a result, the U.N. sanctions on Iran and its international isolation are ending after several decades.

Yes, it is the latest reflection of a regional power struggle and rivalry of domination. Yes, it is the culmination of proxy wars between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Yes, the rift has sectarian (Shiite/Sunni) and perhaps nationalistic (Persian-Arab) overtones, since no power struggle expresses itself in terms of sheer power. But, no it is not primarily an ethnic or sectarian clash.

With tensions growing between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the sectarian conflict in the Middle East is approaching the boiling point. The second American intervention in Iraq altered the long-established balance in our region, and created an environment where sectarianism came to the surface. The Arab awakening shattered whatever checks remained.

I saw it in my inbox yesterday morning. It was a photo of a Muslim family from Iraq: A father, a mother and a sweet young girl. The father carried a sign reading, "I am Shia." The mother, in her traditional hijab (headscarf), carried another sign reading, "I am Sunni." The little girl, sitting between the two parents, presented the synthesis: Her sign read "I am Sushi."

The region is going through its worst sectarian crisis in the last three decades. This conflict, which will certainly have a long life span, had cast its shadows long before.

A number of veteran experts and former diplomats have cautioned against Turkey's participation in a 34-state Islamic military alliance that consists solely of Sunni states to fight terrorism, saying that forming of such a Sunni bloc would trigger more sectarian divide in the region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has said his only concern is Islam, while slamming the defenders of terrorists and atheists in Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an went on two important visits to regional capitals over the last two months: The first was to Riyadh on March 2, while the other was to Tehran on April 7.