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Elizabeth Whalen
Mrs. Lucarelli
Comp Civ
9 November 2015
How does Islam Affect the Middle East?
With over 300 million Muslims living in the Middle East, almost everybody in this
geographical region is influenced by Islam. Islam is able to divide millions of citizens in the
Middle East within the Muslim religion because of their slightly diverse beliefs; however, it also
unites the people as a whole. The two groups, the Sunni and Shia Muslims create diversity
amongst the Middle East; however, Islam did give a massive group of people similar beliefs to
follow, so overall they are united under one religion.
Sunni and Shia Muslims make up the majority of the Muslim population. 90% of all
Muslims are Sunni, which means that they believe that Muhammad did not choose certain people
to lead Islam, but any faithful follower of Islam can become a leader. The Shia Muslims make up
about 10% of the Muslim population. Shia Muslims believe that only descendants of Ali can be
leaders of the Muslim people. These diverse beliefs lead to many disputes in the Middle East. To
start, The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are a group of terrorists who are made up of
Sunni Muslims. ISIS targets infidels, including Shia Muslims because they do not have the same
exact beliefs as ISIS. ISIS interprets the Koran in very outrageous ways. For example, they
believe that they can rape any infidel because of the way they interpret Koran. A young girl who
was raped says, He told me that according to Islam he is allowed to rape an unbeliever. He said
that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God (N.Y. Times: Quran gave ISIS right to rape).
Clearly, because of a slight difference in beliefs, many problems can potentially arise, and a huge
group of people are at risk because of the Sunni group. ISIS claims that by being harmful toward
others they are doing what God wants them to do. Even though Sunnis and Shias are practicing

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the same religion, because the Shias have a couple of slight differences, they are a huge target for
ISIS. On the other hand, a group called the Houthis who are a Shia rebel group are being
extremely violent toward other Sunnis. The Houthis are conquering many areas including
Yemens capitol Sanaa. When the Houthis gained power in Sanaa, they were controlling
everything. They were less accommodating . . . They were disappearing people, kidnapping
people, torturing them, putting them in prison for no reason (Basu). Clearly, the Houthis are an
extremely violent group who will harm, or even kill, anybody who opposes them. The Houthis,
along with ISIS, are gaining more and more power as they continue to take over more land. This
will lead to even more violence and disputes between the Sunnis and the Shias. Currently, at
least 40% of Sunnis do not accept Shias as fellow Muslims. In many cases, even greater
percentages do not believe that some practices common among Shias, such as visiting the shrines
of saints, are acceptable as part of Islamic tradition (Mapping the Global Muslim Population).
This proves how only a few differences can cause many people to not accept one another. Many
of these Sunnis and Shias are not even a part of the many different terrorist groups which shows
how in general, Sunnis and Shias cannot and will not accept each other. All of these different
subgroups within Islam are causing huge divisions among the Muslims, and they are causing an
abundance of disagreements which lead to violence among the people.
Though the many different beliefs within Islam may cause huge conflicts; overall, Islam
has been able to unite the people of the Middle East. To start, all Muslims follow the same
practices of Islam and they all have the same core beliefs. For example, all of the followers
believe in one god; Allah, and his prophet Muhammad. Also, all Muslims believe in the Koran
which is believed to be a book which contains the words of Allah. Many problems arise because
of different interpretations of the Koran. Despite this, all Muslims still do have the same general

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beliefs. All Muslims are united in their belief in God and the Prophet Muhammad and are bound
together by such religious practices as fasting during the holy month of Ramadan and almsgiving
to assist people in need (The Worlds Muslims Unity and Diversity). Every single Muslim has the
same goals and beliefs. They all have the same religious practices and holidays that they
celebrate. Even though there are many disagreements among the Muslim communities, the
religion as a whole does unite each and every Muslim in the Middle East. In the Middle East,
Islam is the most common religion. According to the article Mapping the Global Muslim
Population, more than half of the 20 countries and territories in that region have populations
that are approximately 95% Muslim or greater (Mapping the Global Muslim Population). The
fact that there are countries where almost 100% of the population has beliefs in Islam proves that
at some point in time, somebody had to have conquered land in the Middle East. Because this
land is still occupied by the Muslim people, this shows how they are still united under common
beliefs and practices.
All in all the Muslim population in the Middle East is divided, yet at the same time it is
unified. Minor differences in beliefs lead to major disputes. Many of the arguments are between
the Sunni and Shia Muslims. Despite these differences, Islam is the most common religion found
in the Middle East, and it has been for a very long time. Islam in the Middle East is affecting
many other countries now, including the United States because of its current issues. Therefore, it
is important for everybody to understand why and how these problems arise among the Muslim
communities.
Works Cited

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Basu, Tayna, Who are the Houthis?, The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, April 09 2015,
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/04/who-are-yemenhouthis/390111/
Mapping the Global Muslim Population, Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project
RSS, October 06 2009, http://www.pewforum.org/2009/10/07/mapping-theglobal- muslim-population/
N.Y. Times: Quran gave ISIS right to rape, WND, http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/n-y-timesquran-gave-isis-right-to-rape/
The Worlds Muslims: Unity and Diversity, Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project
RSS, August 08 2012, http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslimsunity- and-diversity-executive-summary/