The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has made worldwide headlines since capturing Tikrit and Mosul, two major provincial capitals in Iraq, in June 2014. Almost overnight, the organization went from just one of many factions fighting for political dominance in Syria to a major regional player. Although weak state institutions in Iraq created a power vacuum that contributed to the success of ISIS, the deep sectarian divide between Iraq’s Shia and Sunni Muslims played a much larger role.
The modern-day struggle between Sunni and Shia cannot be severed from decisions made by Britain after World War I and U.S. occupation authorities after the 2003 Iraq War. As these Western powers created new political systems, they failed to focus on the sectarian realities of the region and carved out new states dominated by one sectarian group at the expense of others. Because a truly inclusive Iraqi state did not exist under either Western power, a true Iraqi national identity that may have served to keep the nation together was never able to form.
Going back further in history to the Ottoman rule in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Shia and Kurdish (who in Iraq are mostly Sunni) communities preserved a delicate peace in Iraq under a policy of non-interference and concessions. At the end of World War I, however, a British-backed mandate overturned centuries of Ottoman governance and necessitated the formation of a new national identity for Iraqi citizens. Instead of creating an inclusive state or creating multiple states along ethnic and religious lines, the British imposed a Sunni elite over the primarily Shia nation, heightening sectarian conflict and instability and laying the foundations for civil war. The British believed the Shia of Iraq were more fanatical, and ironically thought that placing power in the hands of a Sunni elite would prevent sectarian violence. These British actions significantly hindered the formation of a true Iraqi national identity. The Shia and other minority groups felt disenfranchised and underrepresented by the new Iraqi state that only supported the Sunni minority.
A Shia-dominated government that better reflected the religious composition of the country was established by the U.S.-led coalition after the 2003 Iraq occupation. However, from the start of his rule in 2006, former prime minister al-Maliki promoted pro-Shia policies and distrusted Iraqi Sunnis. His discriminatory policies have caused wide-scale unemployment and economic hardship in Sunni-dominated regions of Iraq, and government security forces have been accused of detaining Sunnis without trial and violently suppressing protests against sectarian discrimination. Inadequately funded public services and faltering state institutions have also created a power vacuum in western Iraq filled by ISIS and other extremist groups. Rather than attempting to treat all Iraqi citizens equally, the Shia-dominated government instead sought revenge for years of Sunni oppression. Instead of resolving longstanding sectarian issues, the Shia government created a new oppressed group. In trying to rectify the missteps of the British mandate, the U.S. created similar conditions of inequality.
The Iraqi central government will only cause further resentment from the Sunni minority by subordinating and forcing pro-Shia policies upon it. For the past century, the lack of an inclusive political system in the Iraqi central government caused by the establishment of governments dominated by a single sectarian group, be it Sunni or Shia, has crippled the formation of an Iraqi national identity and caused widespread dissent. The parliamentary majority held by Shia parties should not be used to silence Sunni opposition or deny key services to majority Sunni areas. By granting key cabinet positions formerly held by Shia members of the governing coalition to Kurds and Sunnis, the new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, is taking a step in the right direction. However, to counteract the decade of Shia favoritism by al-Maliki’s government, further action is necessary. Iraqi security forces must become more inclusive and recruit Sunni brigades to fight in primarily Sunni areas and the government must adequately provide essential services and employment in all parts of Iraq. Only a truly inclusive government, representing the interests of all the ethnic and religious groups of Iraq, can calm sectarian tensions and bring lasting peace to the nation.
Zilu (Lucian) Li is a senior at Bellaire High School who worked as a summer 2015 intern for the Baker Institute’s Women’s Rights in the Middle East Program. He is interested in pursuing a humanities-related major.