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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Sectarianism Renews Divisions in the Middle East

    By executing a Shiite cleric last weekend, the Sunni nation of Saudi Arabia created a martyr. It also inflamed its dangerous rivalry with Shiite Iran. Hardliners in both countries are now using sectarian differences to pursue political goals.

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    By Warren Olney • Jan 5, 2016 • 34m Listen

    By executing a Shiite cleric last weekend, the Sunni nation of Saudi Arabia created a martyr. It also inflamed its dangerous rivalry with Shiite Iran. Hardliners in both countries are now using sectarian differences to pursue political goals. Stability in the Middle East is at risk, along with implementing the Iran nuclear deal, finding an end to Syria's civil war and defeating the Islamic State. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia violate human rights and make war on their neighbors. Should the US choose one over the other or look for middle ground?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    The Sectarian Battle for Middle East Influence
    1. 1:44Obama Announces Plan to Limit Gun Violence
    2. 8:25Sectarianism Renews Divisions in the Middle EastYou’re reading this
    3. 43:12Immigrants Are Told "Don't Open the Door" to ICE during Raids
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Paul von Zielbauer

      Co-founder of Geezer magazine, former producer for To the Point and Which Way LA?; former reporter for the New York Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Jenny Hamel

      KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Scott Peterson

      Christian Science Monitor

    • KCRW placeholder

      Robin Wright

      contributing writer at The New Yorker magazine, and a joint fellow at U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson Center

    • KCRW placeholder

      Max Boot

      columnist who covers national security for the Washington Post

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    The Sectarian Battle for Middle East Influence
    1. 1:44Obama Announces Plan to Limit Gun Violence
    2. 8:25Sectarianism Renews Divisions in the Middle EastYou’re reading this
    3. 43:12Immigrants Are Told "Don't Open the Door" to ICE during Raids
    Back to To the Point