SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 27: A new study of the Rand Corporation - a leading US think tank - advocates that Sunni, Shia and Arab, non-Arab divides should be exploited to promote the US policy objectives in the Muslim world.

The recently released Rand study - titled "US Strategy in the Muslim World After 9/11" - has been conducted on behalf of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, US Air Force.

One of the primary objective of the study was to "identify the key cleavages and fault lines among sectarian, ethnic, regional, and national lines and to assess how these cleavages generate challenges and opportunities for the United States."

The Study pointed out that the majority of the world's Muslims are Sunni, but a significant minority, about 15 per cent of the global Muslim population, are Shias. It went on to say that the expectations of Iraqi Shia for a greater say in the governance of their country presents an opportunity for the United States to align its policy with Shia aspirations for greater freedom of religious and political expression, in Iraq and elsewhere.

The study maintained that with the moves toward rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh, there are reports that Saudi Arabia's Shias are now turning from Iran and placing their hopes on the United States.

It believes that a Shia government in Iraq will increase their ability to help their brethren in Saudi Arabia. "Such expectations could present an opportunity for the United States to align its policy with Shia aspirations for greater freedom of religious and political expression and a say in their own affairs in countries controlled by others."

On the division between the Arab and the non-Arab worlds, the study pointed out: "Arabs constitute only about 20 per cent of the world's Muslims, yet interpretations of Islam, political and otherwise, are often filtered through an Arab lens.

A great deal of the discourse on Muslim issues and grievances is actually discourse on Arab issues and grievances." By contrast, the study says: "The non-Arab parts of the Muslim world are politically more inclusive, boast the majority of the democratic or partially democratic governments, and are more secular in outlook.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Kashmir conflict, the study said, are not catalytic events per se but rather chronic conditions that have shaped political discourse in the Middle East and South Asia for over half a century.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Kashmir have retarded the political maturation of the Arab world and Pakistan by diverting scarce material, political, and psychic resources from pressing internal problems, the study added.

The Rand Study also called for madressah and mosques reforms in the Muslim world and suggested that US should "support the efforts of governments and moderate Muslim organizations to ensure that mosques, and the social services affiliated with them, serve their communities and do not serve as platforms for the spread of radical ideologies." The study even suggested that there should be government appointed and paid professional imams in all mosques to suppress anti-Western and anti-American feelings.

"While only Muslims themselves can effectively challenge the message of radical Islam, there is much the United States and like-minded countries can do to empower Muslim moderates in this ideological struggle," according to Angel Rabas, lead author of the study.

"The struggle in the Muslim world is essentially a war of ideas, the outcome of which will determine the future direction of the Muslim world and profoundly affect vital US security interests," she added.

In March 2003, the Rand Corporation released a report - titled "Civil Democratic Islam: Partners, Resources, and Strategies" - that called for supporting the modernists Muslims against "fundamentalists and traditionalists" and promoting Sufism to formulate a "market economy" version of Islam.