President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt claims that Shiites are “always loyal to Iran,&quot; while King Abdullah of Jordan has coined the axiom about a rising “Shiite crescent.” This “rise of the Shiites” and the resulting “Sunni/Shia divide” is alleged to be creating an ever widening chasm in the region.
具有讽刺意味的是，这一观念带给以色列一些的确意想不到的夥伴。埃及总统穆巴拉克宣称，什叶派“总是忠于伊朗”，而约旦国王阿卜杜拉则创造了正在崛起得“什叶派新月”的名词。这一“什叶派崛起”以及随之而来的“逊尼派与什叶派的分裂”据称在中东地区制造了一个不断加大的鸿沟。