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In There’s a New Narrative in Town Cori Dauber does a terrific job of dissecting the 4 Feb. John Burns/Dexter Filkins NYT article "Shiite Coalition Takes a Big Lead in Early Vote Count in Iraq". The Iraqi parties and slates are much more complex than the Sunni vs. Shia vs. Kurd meme. The Iraqi public is also less interested in the ethnic issue than are the reporters. Prof. Dauber:

Indeed, the representation of the one slate as "religious" and the other as "secular" may itself be somewhat misleading. There are religious parties in the Sistani-backed coalition, to be sure. But that slate pulled almost all clerics off it’s role of candidates and has made clear over and over and over — no Iranian style theocracy.

Dauber’s analysis is just a click away, so please read her post in full – you need the context she has highlighted from the NYT article – it’s redundant to repeat it here.

Note that the religious-ethnic conflict theme of the article seems contrary to what John Burns said just four days ago when interviewed on PBS Newshour.

Back to Dauber’s analysis:

But reporters like neat tidy dividing lines, and that’s one that works. I’ve yet to see anyone really explain what the difference between the two slates is, beyond the personality driven fact that Sistani backs one, and the other is a vehicle for Allawi.

I agree with Prof. Dauber – the daily news on the breakfast table offers rather weak illumination. For those interested in more background, here are a few sources:

[1] Fouad Ajami is a key resource. He touches on the subtlety of the religious issues in his 31 Jan. CFR interview Iraqi Elections ‘Gave the Lie’ to View That Democracy Is Alien to Middle East:

…We were lucky that the man at the helm of the clerical institution of the Shia of Najaf was a man of tremendous restraint, a man who represented the quietist tradition of Shiism. Now meanwhile across the street, so to speak, the Association of Muslim Scholars, which is the Sunni association, decreed that voting was impermissible. So, in fact, religion was brought into this election on the side of reason and moderation by Sistani, and then on the side of the insurgency, one way or another, by the Association of Muslim Scholars…

[2] Zeyad, of Healing Iraq took a swing at explaining the makeup of each of the main parties in his 25 Dec post Election Mania.

[3] A summary-level piece was in the 3 Feb. Gulf News "There are Four Political Families in the New Iraq". This is by Iranian journalist Amir Taheri [for much more, browse the list of publications at his Benador Assoc. page].

[4] Another extensive resource is the Iraqi blog IEDs – Iraq Election Discussions. I recommend a visit to this blog, written by eight Iraqi authors (I’ll chance a prediction that you will appreciate their new banner graphics).