This chapter discusses changes in Iraq’s religious landscape during and after the Gulf War. Because Saudi Arabia was a major adversary of the regime during the conflict, the Saudi-backed Wahhabism/Salafism became a significant threat. The regime reorganized its institutions to deal with Wahhabism and Salafism, terms that it viewed as synonymous. Several of the regime’s institutions, such as the Popular Islamic Conference Organization and the Saddam University for Islamic Studies, were originally founded with Saudi assistance. Now these institutions needed to purge Saudis and their allies from them. Following the Gulf War, there were major uprisings in the Shi’i-dominated areas of Iraq. This chapter also discusses how the regime dealt with those uprisings and dispels the popular myth that the regime’s policies were driven by Sunni sectarianism.
Conference Organization
