Word: ites
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...reaching effects, though it seems unlikely to be repeated. In many ways, the situation in Iran was a unique phenomenon in the Middle East. The Shah had a more limited base of support than the remaining monarchies in the Islamic world apparently have. Most Iranians belong to the Shi'ite branch of Islam, which predominates in Iran, Iraq and Kuwait. The holy men of Iran have a long history of political activism. As one religious leader toting a gun in post-revolutionary Tehran put it, "Politics is a part of life, and the mullah's field of interest is life...
Turkey. Islam is still a potent force in secular Turkey, and religious violence between the dominant Sunni Muslims and the Alevis, a Shi'ite sect, has recently injected a dangerous new element into the country's chronic political instability. Ancient rivalries between the two groups are being exploited by both right-and left-wing extremists. Last December Sunni gangs massacred a hundred Alevis in the southern Turkish town of Maras. But unlike the Shah's Iran, Turkey has a functioning democratic system, and no single issue or popular figure unites the opposition. The government is fearful, however, that "political opportunists...
...some extent is a house divided, although its divisions are not as extensive as those in Christianity. About 90% of all Muslims are Sunnis (from sunna, "the tradition of the Prophet"), who consider themselves Islam's orthodoxy. In Iran and Iraq, the majority of Muslims are Shi'ites ("partisans" of 'Ali), who differ from the Sunnis in some of their interpretations of the Shari'a and in their understanding of Muhammad's succession. The Prophet left no generally recognized instructions on how the leadership of Islam would be settled after his death. The Sunnis believe...
...situation in Kurdistan." In an effort to achieve a ceasefire, Bazargan dispatched a government team to Sanandaj, including Chief of Staff Vali-Ullah Qarani and Minister of the Interior Ahmed Sadr Haj-Sayed-Javadi. Khomeini also sent Ayatullah Mahmoud Taleghani, the respected leader of Tehran's Shi'ite Muslims, to the area...
...month ago Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini had lavishly praised Mehdi Bazargan, his choice as the first Prime Minister of postrevolutionary Iran, for his "confidence in the holy writ of Islam" and his "past record in the national and Islamic struggle." By last week, the 78-year-old Shi'ite leader's view had changed sharply. Speaking to theological students at his headquarters in the holy city of Qum, he rapped his slightly younger (71) appointee. "You are weak, mister," he thundered. He also lambasted Bazargan's 17-member Cabinet as "weak characters" who believe that "everything should...