---
title: "Sunni-Shia Conflict Widespread"
description: "In seven of nine nations surveyed, a majority of Muslim respondents said Sunni-Shia tensions are not limited to Iraq, but rather a broader problem."
date: "2010-03-04"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2010/03/04/sunni-shia-conflict-widespread/"
---

# Sunni-Shia Conflict Widespread

Most Muslims believe that conflict between Sunnis and Shia is not limited to Iraq but is rather a growing problem in the Muslim world more generally. In seven nations surveyed, a majority of the Muslims agreed the Sunni-Shia tensions are a broader problem; in another (Israel’s Muslim minority community) a plurality agreed. Only in Indonesia did more Muslims say the Sunni-Shia problems are confined within Iraq’s borders. In a rare point of agreement among Muslims in Lebanon, overwhelming numbers of Shia (91%) and Sunnis (99%) both say the religious conflict is a growing problem for Muslims worldwide. Most Pakistani, Egyptian, Jordanian, Nigerian, Turkish and Palestinian Muslims also see a general problem that is not limited to Iraq. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1486/survey-muslim-nations-middle-east-political-leaders-hamas-hezbollah)