Distribution of Sunni and Shia Islam in the Middle East and North Africa. Photo by Peaceworld111 on Wikipedia, used under CC BY-SA 4.0

In his last State of the Union address US President Barack Obama stated that conflicts in the Middle East “date back millennia.” One Arab researcher takes time to explain to him that one aspect of the conflict — today's so-called Sunni-Shia rift is anything but ancient.

“The Middle East is going through a transformation that will play out for a generation, rooted in conflicts that date back millennia,” Obama said.

In a series of tweets, entitled About the so-called “ancient” Sunni-Shia rift, Palestinian writer, career entrepreneur, and Arab Spring activist Iyad El-Baghdadi delves into history picking examples of times when the sect of scholars and politicians did not matter:

In the late 19th century, Shiite scholar Al Afghani was a prominent member of the anti-colonialist, pan-Islamic revival movement.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

Al Afghani's disciple was none other than prominent Sunni scholar Mohammad Abduh, who would later become Egypt's Grand Mufti.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

One of the Sunni Abduh's lasting works was his commentary on Nahj al Balagha, one of most important Shia references.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

In 1931, Iraqi Shia cleric Kashif al Ghita led Sunni clerics in prayers in Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, at an anti-imperialist conference.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

In the 1940s, Pakistan, a majority Sunni state, was founded by Jinnah, a Shiite Muslim.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

In the early 1950s people answering the Iraq census didn't know whether to pick “Sunni” or “Shia” coz many were mixed.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

In 1958, Egypt's Grand Mufti declared that Shiism will be taught in Al Azhar as the fifth school alongside Sunni schools of jurisprudence.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

In the 1960s Sunni Saudi Arabia supported the Zaydi Shias in Yemen in a civil war against Egypt-supported Republicans.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

In the 1980s, the majority of the Iraqi army fighting Iran in the Iraq-Iran war was made up of Arab Shias.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

In the 1990s & 2000s, Shiite Iran supported Sunni Palestinian militant group Hamas.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

El-Baghdadi further explains the “divide and conquer” rift is political in nature and a “willful and cynical sectarianization of a regional power struggle.” He tweets:

The current dynamic isn't a conflict of sectarianism but a willful and cynical sectarianization of a regional power struggle.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

According to El-Baghdadi, tyrants are the only beneficiaries of this split and that sectarianism has been “weaponised for power”:

Tyrants are rarely ideologically committed to Sunnism or Shiism; but are happy to exploit either when it's expedient.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

Sectarianization became the pragmatic thing to do. Hatemongering ideologues became useful and hence became stars on TV and media.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

Fact is, I acknowledge the old theological rift and the communal differences but I emphasize their modern political weaponization.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

Has the region been sectarianized? Yes. Are the differences real? Yes. Is the current war posturing an ancient theological dispute? No.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016

Many theological and communal differences are innocuous, mundane, and not particularly deadly, until they are weaponized for power.

— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 13, 2016