Syria explained; how it became a religious war (CNN)

[dimbear]

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/04/syrian-wars-got-religion-and-that-aint-good/

(CNN) - How did Syria go from an internal uprising to a wider clash drawing funding and fighters from across the region?

In a word, Middle East experts say, religion.

Shiite Muslims from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran have flooded into Syria to defend sacred sites and President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime. Sunni Muslims, some affiliated with al Qaeda, have rushed in to join rebels, most of whom are Sunni.

Both sides use religious rhetoric as a rallying cry, calling each other "infidels" and "Satan's army."
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Good dispassionate summary of the events on the ground.

[trotsky]

1. Interesting info:

Religious civil wars are longer and bloodier than other types of clashes, according to studies. They are also twice as likely to recur and twice as deadly to noncombatants.

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." -- Blaise Pascal