It is widely believed that the Bedoon in Kuwait are denied citizenship mainly because most Bedoon are Shia Muslims. The Bedoon issue in Kuwait is largely sectarian. From 1965 until 1985, the Bedoon were treated like Kuwaiti citizens and guaranteed citizenship, they had free access to education, health care and all other privileges of Kuwaiti citizens. By 1985 at the height of the Iran–Iraq War, the Bedoon were suddenly reclassified as "foreigners" in the Kuwaiti government's databases and denied Kuwaiti citizenship.