@maxkasy What an excellent article! It is truly sad how the most powerful nations have for centuries promoted and exploited sectarian and class divisions for their own ends, whether intentionally or not. The remedy for this is the willing unification of these disparate peoples and the conscious elimination of these ancestral sources of contention and strife. Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century and continuing to this day, the Baha'i Faith has brought together many individuals from all the backgrounds present in the regions in question, from the jewish, christian, zoroastrian and all different sects of islam and from the majority of the differing ethnic groups. They all came together in peace and harmony and continue to promote peace in the wider society to this day. For this they have been heavilly persecuted, especially in Iran. Had the majority of the people in those areas adopted those same principles, this perennial violence, whether produced by foreign meddling or not, would hardly be possible, especially not to the degree that it has. I am heartened when I see more evidence of those ideals being promoted among the young Iranians, Iraqis and others, but real change is, unfortunately, still a distant goal.