In describing the Iraqi dilemma since 2003, some Iraqis have been attributing the problem to political rather than social factors, whereby all disputes were ascribed to political causes. The prevailing thought among these Iraqis is that Iraq did not suffer from any social, sectarian, religious or ethnic rifts that contributed to this fractious state of affairs.

Other Iraqis believe that the problem Iraq is facing is purely social; that the country does not, in fact, exist, and that its formation under the Sykes-Picot Agreement necessitated the unification of disparate peoples incapable of coexisting.

Today, more than a decade after the Saddam Hussein regime was ousted in 2003, we must admit that a real social problem exists in Iraq — a problem born of historic roots, the perpetuation and exacerbation of which is driven by religious differences and racism.

Yet, the aforementioned does not mean that this social problem is a formative one. Iraq, as other countries in the world, is composed of a variety of religiously or ethnically diverse social groups, such as Arabs, Kurds, Christians and Muslims. Many countries have histories replete with religiously or ethnically motivated bloody civil wars, such as Lebanon, which suffered a civil war that lasted 15 years, killing roughly 150,000 people.