Sectarian conflict is often seen as a defining feature of the modern Middle East.Yet the reality is much more complicated.At the local level,especially,communities are not nearly as riven or driven by sectarian prejudice as the conventional wisdom says they are.But what makes communities resilient to the worst impulses of sectarianism-in particular,the deeply rooted grievances between Shi'a and Sunni Muslims? Researchers convened a group of Middle East scholars to examine communities in Lebanon,Bahrain,Syria,and Iraq as case studies.The Henry Luce Foundation funded the project.The researchers found that weak borders,as in Syria,can allow sectarian agitators to penetrate a community.Political elites often fan sectarian tensions for their own gain.And steep socioeconomic disparities between one group and another can make those tensions much worse.
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