It’s often described as Islam’s civil war, the conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims—a split in Islam that goes back to the days after the death of the Prophet Muhammad and disagreements over who would lead the growing faith.
It’s reared its head many times from the conflict between the Ottoman and Safavids to today’s proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Extremists have brutally targeted Shia communities and many Sunnis in Iraq and Syria talk of being marginalised by what the US and Saudi Arabia fear will be a Shia crescent from Iran to Lebanon.
Discussing this will be writer and commentator Dilip Hiro and Muslim Chaplain and humanitarian Adam Kelwick, with Aaqil Ahmed, the former head of religion at the BBC and Channel 4.