On the morning of June 25 and in the days that followed, Iraqi newspapers were overloaded with articles condemning the brutal killing of four Egyptians Shiites in a village near the Giza governorate.

Naturally, prominent Iraqi political and religious figures issued statements condemning the killings and many comments were posted on the pages of social media sites, where the incident was displayed with links referring to fatwas recently issued by clerics accusing Shiites of apostasy.

The Iraqi public, which has been preoccupied with the heated internal crisis that has been ongoing for years now, had not paid proper attention to the changes that had occurred in Egypt since the Jan. 25 revolution until today. Yet, despite this, the incident involving Shiite Sheikh Hassan Shehata — who was burned alive by residents of his village in Egypt — seemed more horrifying than the series of daily explosions occurring in Iraq and claiming hundreds of lives.

The level of sectarian fears prevailing in the Middle East in general — which has been further exacerbated by the Syrian crisis turning into an existential battle between forces who believe they represent the Sunni and Shiite sects — justifies the events that shook up the region’s entities, which are not really as strong as portrayed in their national anthems.