"Religion of Peace": in Egypt, Muslims kill 100s of other Muslims

Islam, the self-styled "Religion of Peace", is not monolithic, any more than Christianity or the Catholic Church itself is monolithic. The two main branches or divisions of Islam are Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. The Shi'ites [Ed., please check spelling.] are the ones who dominate in Iran and Iraq, although you could get an argument about Iraq. [No kidding. Ed.] It is believed that the mad mullahs of Iran want to establish a "Shia crescent" all the way from their country through Syria and Lebanon to the Mediterranean.

The Sunnis are the other ones, a persecuted minority (?) in Iraq, but the dominant group in most of the Gulf States and, most dangerously, Saudi Arabia. Extremist Sunnis are the core of ISIS. As Junior Trudeau, who loves all Muslims, says, "Sunni ways, my friends. Sunni ways."

There are others, like Sufists or Sufi Muslims. Non-Muslims often mistake Sufism as a sect of Islam. Sufism is more accurately described as an aspect or dimension of Islam. Sufi orders (Tariqas) can be found in Sunni, Shia and other Islamic groups. Sufism is often defined as "Islamic mysticism", "the inward dimension of Islam", or "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", not unlike the "charismatics" of both Protestant and Catholic Christianity. Although the overwhelming majority of Sufis are adherents of Sunni Islam, there strands of Sufi practice can also be found within Shia Muslim communities.

There are fewer Sufis today than there were yesterday, in Egypt, where officials are investigating the massacre of 305 (and counting) worshippers at a Sufi mosque in the town of Bir al-Abed, in the Sinai. Witnesses say the attackers were carrying the flag of the Islamic State (ISIS) and (of course) yelling "Allahu akbar!"

They bombed the Al-Rawda mosque, driving survivors outside where dozens of gunmen opened fire on those trying to escape. The assailants reportedly set parked vehicles parked in the vicinity on fire to block off access to the building, and fired on ambulances trying to help victims. Thirty children are among the dead and more than 100 people were wounded.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has vowed to respond with "the utmost force", and the Egyptian military says it has already conducted air strikes on terrorist targets. Egyptian security forces have for years been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai peninsula, and militants affiliated with ISIS have been behind scores of deadly attacks in the desert region. "What is happening is an attempt to stop us from our efforts in the fight against terrorism," Mr Sisi said in a televised address. "The armed forces and the police will avenge our martyrs and restore security and stability with the utmost force."

And so the Islamic civil war continues. Walt wonders why we are investing financial and human resources in trying to bring peace (???) to that perpetually troubled part of the world, especially when we can no longer be sure which side is the right side to be backing. (See, for example, "Why the Canadian Army is 'suspending' ops in Iraq", WWW 28/10/17.) Why not just get our troops and matériel out of the sandpit, and let the Islamists duke it out? Answers on the back of a postage stamp, please, to the usual address.