Religion and Nationalism in Iraq

Present-day Iraq represents a volatile mixture of the forces of religion and nationalism. The major groups, the Sunni, Shia and Kurds are locked in a sharply divided contest over the definition of national identity and the distribution of national power, as well as the control of territory. This struggle in Iraq shows symptoms of religious nationalism. A new book compares the experience in Iraq to other cases, like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka and Sudan, where religion and nationalism have come together in a lethal way and tries to see how ethnicity and religion compete to define national ideals.

Guest

• David Little, Visiting Professor of the Practice in Religion, Ethnicity and International Conflict at Harvard Divinity School, Faculty Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and co-editor of “Religion and Nationalism in Iraq: A Comparative Perspective”.