Religious Conflicts in the Middle East: Christianity Versus Islam and Sunni Versus Shiite

Abstract

This chapter explains religious and political conflicts in the Middle East. It focuses on two major themes, namely, (1) Christianity versus Islam and (2) Muslims against Muslims (Sunni versus Shiite). After a review of theories of religious conflicts, this chapter puts forward a new theory of religious conflict by arguing that religious conflict is a knowledge conflict which originates from differences in everyday life experiences between two groups of people as a result of socialization. This new concept is illustrated by three cases of religious and political conflicts in the Middle East, namely, (1) the conflict between the United States and Iran, (2) the Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict and (3) the Syrian War.