Religious Conflict in Iraq and the Operation of Shiite Militias in the Country after the Expulsion of ISIL

Abstract

The paper deals with the religious aspect of the Iraqi conflict, exploring chiefly the dynamics of the conflict between the country’s Sunni and Shia communities. Should the conflict between the Sunni and Shia of Iraq be religiously motivated, we will find several characteristics, that would clearly demonstrate the religious or sectarian dimension of the conflict. The paper uses the methods of analysis, synthesis as well as the descriptive method. We have found that the conflict between the Shia and the Sunni has been purposefully escalated, firstly by Nouri al-Maliki (whose sectarian politics alienated the Sunni Arabs) and ISIS (which was even criticized by al-Qaeda for being too brutal against the Shia). Further we found that the Iraqi army under Shia command lacked motivation to defend Sunni areas from ISIS. Lastly, it was the PMF militias, forming after a fatwa by a Shia cleric, and bearing references to Shia symbolism in the names of their units. We conclude, that at the current phase, the conflict in Iraq has a strong sectarian dimension, while lacking a coherent Iraqi identity.