Word: sectarian
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First, the good news. Iraqi officials finally settled on a date for the country's second parliamentary election since Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003, breaking a deadlock caused by months of sectarian disputes. But two days later, a series of car bombs in Baghdad killed at least 127 people and wounded more than 400. Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed al-Qaeda for the attacks, accusing the Sunni militant organization of attempting to "create chaos in the country." The coordinated attacks--the third in a string of massive bombings in Baghdad since August--prompted doubts over...
...Tehran certainly has the tools to make trouble. The Quds Force, an élite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was able to stir up sectarian tension in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein by helping arm and finance the Shi'ite militias that first fought against the U.S.-led coalition and then conducting a campaign of violence against Sunni Iraqis. The commander of the Quds Force, Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani, is also credited with reining in the Shi'ite militias in 2007 - a key factor in helping the U.S. surge strategy succeed...
...Ayodhya, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The Babri mosque, which was built by a Mughal Emperor in 1528, is believed by many Hindus to have been built on the birthplace of the Hindu god Ram, and right-wing Hindu politicians had for years sought to exploit sectarian passions by promising to build a temple honoring Ram on the site of the mosque. On Dec. 6, 1992, amid the sounds of the ceremonial conch, a Hindu mob ravaged the mosque, reducing it to rubble. The act sparked Muslim outrage around the country, provoking several months of intercommunal rioting...
...Critics of the arms proliferation are calling for the government to address the root causes of discontent in Thailand's south - on both sides of the sectarian divide. Buddhists complain that an environment where simply commuting to work exposes them to possible assassination is unacceptable. They feel that too few insurgents have been punished for their crimes and wonder why the Thai authorities have not done a better job infiltrating militant cells. In turn, Muslims resent what they see as an official attitude that regards members of their religion as potential terrorists who must be suppressed by draconian emergency laws...
...managed to evade the ongoing wave of vicious Taliban bombings. But few are taking chances. The luxury hotel venue was heavily fortified. And on the streets beyond, an uneasy calm prevailed where rioting over power shortages erupted during the summer and targeted killings - related to criminal, political and sectarian feuds - have risen to the highest levels in a decade. (See pictures from Pakistan's dying film industry...