More than just the image of a dictator coming to his end, the Shiite rituals surrounding Saddam Hussein’s execution on Saturday showed how the deep-seated divisions and hatreds between the Shiites and the Sunnis, the rulers and the ruled, are rippling across the Muslim world.

Clearly, the Iraqi Shiite prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, was deliberate in insulting Arab Sunni Muslims inside and outside Iraq when he set the execution for the day they began to celebrate Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.

The prime minister’s message — which was widely received, judging by the fierce Sunni reactions all over the Muslim world — was “Hey, there’s a new sheriff in town, and his religion is different from yours.”

That was a sacrilege, delivered as a poisoned gift to the Sunnis.

Shiite Muslims didn’t begin their celebration of Eid al-Adha until Sunday, hence the second hidden message from Iraq’s new Shiite rulers: offering up Saddam’s life as a sacrificial gift to themselves as on the first day of their holiday.

The Shiite clergy in Iraq, all the way up to the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, okayed the decision, making the sectarian divide officially sanctioned. So did the Shiite power next door, Iran, which declared it a day of celebration.

Tariq al-Homaid, the editor in chief of the Saudi daily newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, the epitome of Sunni power in the Arab press, reflected widespread Sunni sentiments on Sunday when he called the Maliki government the “exact equivalent” of the Sunni “terrorist” group Al Qaeda.

Still other messages were delivered on Saturday at those Baghdad gallows.

One cannot help but wonder how the Arab dictators and the “undisputed” leaders of the Arab world felt as they sat transfixed before their televisions or computers, watching footage of the unbelievable treatment of a condemned “fellow ruler.”

Did they realize that Saddam did not fall alone, that his sons and relatives preceded him, and that many of his associates and friends are to follow?

Uncomfortable thoughts, indeed, but inevitable in view of the images floating around the globe of the tyrant’s body swinging at the end of a rope.

And what of the extended families who for decades benefited from the largesse of daddy, who extended to them a license to steal and abuse? They too, the dear sons and daughters, must be a bit nervous, watching Iraq’s savage retribution.

Could they possibly think for a moment that all good things come to an end?

Probably not. Dictators are hard of hearing. Many like to believe that it can never happen to them. They are different, they are not as bad as Saddam, and their country is not as bloody as Iraq or Iran, they all think.

So did Marie Antoinette. On the eve of the French Revolution, the Austrian queen of France genuinely thought herself, her court, and her ruling class compassionate.

But her head still rolled off the guillotine in a public square in Paris, as did that of her husband, their relatives, friends, and thousands of French aristocrats.

We don’t know where it will happen next, but there is no doubt the dominos will continue to fall.