Arnold Hottinger explains the Shiite-Sunni divide
Tensions and violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims are often in the news in countries like Iraq, Pakistan and Bahrain, but why are they at daggers drawn?
Swiss Middle East expert Arnold Hottinger, tells swissinfo.ch that the split between the two goes back far into Islamic history, but that the conflicts today are driven by extremists from both parties.
Hottinger was for many years the Middle East correspondent of the Neuer Zürcher Zeitung newspaper and has published many books on Islam and the Middle East.
swissinfo.ch: How did it come about that a Sunni minority should rule over a Shiite majority, as for example in Bahrain, where there are currently popular protests?