Was there any sectarian conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites before the ....?

Question

....invasion of Iraq? Most Iraqis say there was none. What do you say?

Thanks so much.

Answer 1

Not very much, except the Sunnis controlled the Shia majority, but they all coexisted

Answer 2

In Iraq things were pretty much peaceful between the two sects.  But there is a very long, bloody history between them outside of Iraq dating back centuries.

Some say that it was common fear of Saddam Hussein that kept the two groups from fighting.  There was certainly a lot of resentment among the Shiites that the minority Sunni were able to control Iraq completely while Hussein was in power.