Sectarianism fails to explain the current turmoil in the Arab world. In fact, the sectarian lens of the alleged Sunni-Shiite divide obscures rather than illuminates complex realities on the ground. It masks the challenging political and economic changes that have swept this region, not to mention the ongoing foreign interventions and their impacts. It is true that religious identities continue to be prominent, but sectarianism is something totally different: the deadly politicization of these religious identities.

To assess why most of the Arab world is increasingly becoming a wasteland torn apart by violence committed in the name of sectarian identity and solidarity, we must turn to hidden realities that most observers refuse to see.

One of these realities is the continuing ascendency of unpopular and brutal clan-type presidents and kings. Despite the election of presidents and the crowning of old kings and emirs, all leaders have resisted real inclusion and continued to exercise politics by either force or bribe. They all came to realize that their narrow legitimacy can only be enhanced if they turn sections of the population into clients, benefiting from lavish economic opportunities in return for total loyalty.

Sunni Saddam Hussein brought in Christians to represent him abroad, while many Shiites dominated his Baath Party, leaving security and intelligence matters in the hand of his most loyal kin. Alawite President Bashar al-Assad of Syria retains high-ranking posts in the air force and intelligence services for his loyal clan, while allowing new merchant Sunni families to benefit from neoliberal economic openings. President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt entertained the idea of talking in the name of Sunnis before he was ousted, but in reality, his concerns centered on turning his small family into a Mubarak-style clan along the lines of his contemporaries among Arab presidents and kings.