ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is a Sunni jihadist group and an aggressive force in the Middle East. The Levant has been described as the "crossroads of western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and northeast Africa, and the northwest of the Arabian plate." ISIL declared an Islamic "caliphate" in regions under its control in Iraq and Syria after it swept through much of the Sunni Arab heartland north of Baghdad in June and then stormed minority Christian and Yazidi Kurdish areas. However, the United States has blunted their movement with air strikes supporting Iraqi Security Forces, Kurds, and Shiite Militiamen. Of note, Mosul Dam was wrested from ISIL last August with a joint operation of air strikes and a task force of combined forces. Completed in 1984, the dam is once again controlled by the Iraqi government. It is located on the Tigris River upstream from Mosul, and supplies electricity to Mosul's 1.7 million residents. In case you missed it in high school, this area is called the Fertile Crescent, and is known as the cradle of civilization. You might know it as Mesopotamia.

A "caliphate" is a political-religious state comprising the Muslim community and the lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death of the Prophet Muhammad (570-632). Born in Mecca, Arabia (now called Saudi Arabia), he is the founder of the religion of Islam, and is accepted by Muslims throughout the world as the last of the prophets of God.

A "caliph" is a supreme religious and political leader. Sunnis believe Muslim leaders can be elected, or picked, from those qualified for the job, where as Shiites believe leaders should be direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. Both Shia and Sunni are branches of Islam and the adherents of both are Muslims, all bound by the same Quran, the same five pillars of Islam - belief in one God, daily prayer, fasting, charity, and hajj, or pilgrimage. Where they mainly differ is on the question of who should have succeeded the Prophet Muhammad, who founded Islam in 620. Sunnis make up about 85 percent of the world's Muslims (including the vast majority of U.S. Muslims).

As The Associated Press Stylebook puts it:

"The schism between Sunni and Shiite stems from the early days of Islam and arguments over Muhammad's successors as caliph, the spiritual and temporal leader of Muslims during that period. The Shiites wanted the caliphate to descend through Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law. Ali eventually became the fourth caliph, but he was murdered; Ali's son al-Hussein was massacred with his fighters at Karbala, in what is now Iraq. Shiites consider the later caliphs to be usurpers. The Sunnis no longer have a caliph."

To support the Iraqi government and quell the tide of the ISIL, last June the United States sent 300 advisers to Iraq, and an additional 350 U.S. military personnel are authorized to" protect diplomatic facilities and personnel in Baghdad," according to USA Today. Defense Department spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said the move builds on deployments announced in June and will bring to 820 the total number of U.S. forces working on diplomatic security in Iraq. Kirby said the forces will come from the U.S. Central Command and will include medical personnel, helicopters and an air liaison team. Canada is sending between 50 to 100 military advisers to Iraq as part of an effort to "bolster Iraqi forces against Islamic militants" after a request from President Barack Obama.

As an adviser and on the ground with my Iraqi infantry company, I was privileged to experience firsthand the Shia vs Sunni religious rift. The Iraqi army leadership was adamant that they were soldiers, and were admonished to get along and not have an issue with their religions. An important day for me was when a young Iraqi trooper asked me if I could get a crucifix for him to wear around his neck. He told me he was Christian, which surprised me because I did not know there were Christians in the Muslim world. I sought out our chaplain and he gave me a bible and the crucifix to present to the soldier. To this day I remember how proud that young man was to wear the crucifix around his neck.

Jack Evensizer, M.S., is a resident of Dalton Gardens and an enlightened religious researcher.