Why do all the newscasters keep calling what is happening in Syria and Iraq a "Civil War?" That is not an even vaguely correct term. A correct term would be "Sectarian War" -- but most Americans don't realize that this means "Religious War." The Shiite and the Sunnis have been, literally, at each others throats for some 1400 years -- still over the same thing -- who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad.
There is no "Civil society" in Syria and Iraq -- they are "Religious societies." Americans assume that "Civil" means "non Religious," i.e. non-sectarian.
The Caliph is the supreme religious and political leader of an Islamic State, a Caliphate. Caliph means "Successor," in this case to Muhammad.
The last Caliphate ended in 1924 when the first President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as part of his reforms, constitutionally abolished the institution of the Caliphate. -- the end of the Ottoman Empire.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment