The three major degrees of conservatism in the Muslim world are the Shia (the most liberal) the Sunnis (more insistant on orthodoxy) and the Wahabi of Saudi Arabia (right-wing).

The state of Iraq under Saddam was primarily secular, and the deepseated religous argy-bargy between Shia and Sunni was kept suppressed.

The Ba'ath party, Saddam's, was predominantly secular Sunni. The strongest anti-Saddam sentiment in Iraq was that of the Shi'a, who were a suppresse dminority.

Both Shi'a and Sunni have perpetrated major offenses against the West. The 9-11 suicides were Sunni, as were the Bali, London Tube and Madrid bombers. The attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut and the Jewish Center in Buenos Aires in 1994 were perpetrated by Shia.


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