Guest Post - Shia vs. Sunni across the Middle East.
CBC News
The schism that rends the Islamic faith has its origins in centuries-old theology, but modern politics and demographics keep it alive and well across the Middle East.
Shia Muslims are a minority in global Islam, often shunned or despised by conservative Sunnis, but they are an active and increasingly influential community in several key regions and countries.
That activism is worrying Sunni leaders and Washington, which has long had troubled relations with Shia governments and groups.
King Abdullah of Jordan warned last year that Iran's oil wealth and regional influence could lead to a "Shia crescent" across the Middle East that posed security and religious challenges.
The Iranian-born American scholar, Vali Nasr, raised eyebrows and fears in the U.S. recently with an essay in Foreign Affairs magazine "When the Shi'ites Rise."
From Iran to Lebanon, Bahrain to eastern Saudi Arabia's oilfields, the growing power of Shia Muslims is prompting interest, concern, and occasionally violence or repression by Sunnis. In part, it's because Iran is awash with petro-dollars from high oil prices.
That enables Tehran to fund and arm groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to send humanitarian aid to Shia communities hit by poverty or the effects of war.
Iran is also reaping the benefits of two military actions launched by its arch-enemy, the United States. The toppling of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad have removed two neighbouring Sunni regimes that helped check Tehran's regional ambitions.
Iraq's Shia majority is taking up a long-denied mantle, political dominance in its own country, and Iran is firmly behind its co-religionists in every sense.
Shia Muslim devotees in Afghanistan whipping themselves with metal flails at Moharram, a grief-ridden festival that marks the martyrdom of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet of Mohammed, and one of the acknowledged founders of the Shia tradition.
Washington had hoped a Shia-led government in Baghdad would be a natural ally in the region, but Iraqi administrations so far have been far closer to Tehran than U.S. planners would like.
Nor are Iraq's security forces anywhere near being capable of offsetting Iranian military prowess and the sheer size of its standing army, by far the largest in the Middle East.
What's most troubling to Sunni-led regimes is the effect of Iran's resurgence on their own often repressed and occasionally restive Shia populations. So sensitive is the issue of sectarian relations in some Muslim countries that Shias aren't even counted as being from a separate religious tradition.
Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states do not even keep statistics about the number of Shias within their borders.
The tiny island nation of Bahrain is on the frontline of Shia-Sunni political confrontation in the Gulf. Rich in natural gas and probably the most democratic Arab country, Bahrain has a Shia majority but a Sunni governing elite. Violent confrontations between the communities in the past have given way to electoral politics that is still confrontational and fractious, but largely peaceful.
Bahrain's ruling al-Khalifa family started the democratization project and appears committed to maintaining it, but Iranian influence and political ambitions are still feared.
Saudi Arabia's Shia population officially doesn't exist. The government in Riyadh says simply that Saudi Arabia is 100 per cent Muslim.
In effect, that means Sunni because the assumption of many influential Saudi clergymen is that Shias are either apostate or not Islamic enough to be considered Muslims.
But in the oil-rich eastern provinces of the kingdom, hundreds of thousands of Shias are restive and concerned about their second-class status.
They are among the most enthusiastic participants in recent municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, but many Shia want far more than they're getting from the secretive, often repressive and sectarian Saudi system of government.
In Pakistan and Afghanistan, Shia minorities exist uneasily alongside large Sunni majorities. Sunni extremists, often aligned with al-Qaeda or the Taliban, have attacked Shia mosques and other targets, prompting retaliation.
Afghanistan's Shia are a visibly distinct ethnic group who are routinely discriminated against by most of the country's Sunni factions. In both countries, Iranian-influenced Shia assertiveness is having an impact on religious and communal attitudes.)
Critics recommend regional role of U.S. in Mideast
Perceptions of Iran's regional and pan-Shia ambitions have prompted the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to alter some of its Middle East policies, according to media reports and analysts.
Washington takes Sunni concerns about Iran seriously, and has supported efforts by Saudi and Jordanian officials to contain Hezbollah in Lebanon. Critics of this approach say this is a risky strategy, and recommend instead that the U.S. talk to Iran about a more constructive regional role in the Middle East.
The respected commentator, Michael Young, of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut, recently warned of the dangers of festering sectarian hostilities between the two traditions of Islam.
"Once opened, the floodgates of Sunni-Shiite antagonism could become a Leviathan," Young wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "...sweeping away the fragile reality on the ground.
Even in societies where Sunnis and Shiites now peacefully co-exist, sectarian discord would become the norm."
Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) www.God-101.com
Showing posts with label sunni. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sunni. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Islam, Religion of Violence?
(From my book: "The Plain Truth About God-101" (what the church doesn't want you to know!)
Islam is not only the religion of Muhammad. Islam means devotion to God, and is a newer version of the religion of Abraham.
After Muhammad’s death, Islam got off to a rocky start when warfare was used to spread the faith and three of the first four Caliphs died by violence.
The fourth Caliph, Ali, was a cousin of Muhammad and his followers then tore the community apart by claiming that Ali should have been the first caliph by virtue of his blood ties to Muhammad.
These people came to be known as the Shi’a or Shiite sect while the great majority of the followers of Muhammad, (who claim that succession does not rely on blood ties) are known today as the Sunni.
A great many differences exist to this day between these two main sects of Islam, and the distinctions go far deeper than just who should have succeeded Muhammad.
In fact, in the interpretation of the Koran itself, there are quite a few differences between the sects. There are passages that summarize the things a Muslim should believe. However, these were too brief to be sufficient. In addition, they were also too bare to be satisfying.
Because of this, we find different “creedal statements” circulating amongst the communities of both the Shiite and Sunni’s, as well as amongst the Sufi. (Who are mystical branches of Islam.)
On top of the differences between the sects of Islam, we have to remember that while Christianity was founded on the principal of “love” for on another, the main driving force behind Islam is that it was bound up in war, expansion and aggression from its very inception.
History has now given us an almost unbroken string of militant Islamic movements such as the "Assassins" of the 11th-12th century, the Wahhabis, (1715) and then the Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers. (Even if he is technically a Persian and not Arab)
As a result, no matter how close or far from the intended message of the Koran it was, portions of it were always used to justify Arab extremist and expansionist views.
In spite of this, religion is not the only factor to be considered here, and Islam can’t be blamed for all that is happening in the Middle East and elsewhere.
About the only places where religion has not played a great role in that part of the world is in Darfur, Uganda and Rawanda.
Some of the major hot spots in the last while are in Iraq, Lebanon,(Hamas and Fatah) Gaza, Somalia, Sudan and the Yugoslav wars.
These areas are not only wracked by religious tensions but are also the result of political, cultural, and nationalist factors that all contribute to the general instability of their particular area.
So, in the long run it would be unfair to say that Islam is a religion of violence by itself, but would rather be more accurate to say that because of outside forces such as politics and tribal or cultural differences, religion has been used in this area to further the agenda of different groups and ideologies!
Your Philosophical Scribe;
Allan
Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html
Islam is not only the religion of Muhammad. Islam means devotion to God, and is a newer version of the religion of Abraham.
After Muhammad’s death, Islam got off to a rocky start when warfare was used to spread the faith and three of the first four Caliphs died by violence.
The fourth Caliph, Ali, was a cousin of Muhammad and his followers then tore the community apart by claiming that Ali should have been the first caliph by virtue of his blood ties to Muhammad.
These people came to be known as the Shi’a or Shiite sect while the great majority of the followers of Muhammad, (who claim that succession does not rely on blood ties) are known today as the Sunni.
A great many differences exist to this day between these two main sects of Islam, and the distinctions go far deeper than just who should have succeeded Muhammad.
In fact, in the interpretation of the Koran itself, there are quite a few differences between the sects. There are passages that summarize the things a Muslim should believe. However, these were too brief to be sufficient. In addition, they were also too bare to be satisfying.
Because of this, we find different “creedal statements” circulating amongst the communities of both the Shiite and Sunni’s, as well as amongst the Sufi. (Who are mystical branches of Islam.)
On top of the differences between the sects of Islam, we have to remember that while Christianity was founded on the principal of “love” for on another, the main driving force behind Islam is that it was bound up in war, expansion and aggression from its very inception.
History has now given us an almost unbroken string of militant Islamic movements such as the "Assassins" of the 11th-12th century, the Wahhabis, (1715) and then the Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers. (Even if he is technically a Persian and not Arab)
As a result, no matter how close or far from the intended message of the Koran it was, portions of it were always used to justify Arab extremist and expansionist views.
In spite of this, religion is not the only factor to be considered here, and Islam can’t be blamed for all that is happening in the Middle East and elsewhere.
About the only places where religion has not played a great role in that part of the world is in Darfur, Uganda and Rawanda.
Some of the major hot spots in the last while are in Iraq, Lebanon,(Hamas and Fatah) Gaza, Somalia, Sudan and the Yugoslav wars.
These areas are not only wracked by religious tensions but are also the result of political, cultural, and nationalist factors that all contribute to the general instability of their particular area.
So, in the long run it would be unfair to say that Islam is a religion of violence by itself, but would rather be more accurate to say that because of outside forces such as politics and tribal or cultural differences, religion has been used in this area to further the agenda of different groups and ideologies!
Your Philosophical Scribe;
Allan
Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Do we move the Jews again?
A couple of notes on the Mid-East situation.
Well, this is all fine and good for making political hay but the sad fact of the matter is that most of the trouble in Iraq has little to do with the U.S.
Irag is in a state of virtual "civil war" and it's not against the States as much as it is the (Iranian sponsored) Shia against the Sunni Arabs. Until this issue (and the Kurds) is resolved there will be no peace or harmony in that country.
The U.S. has one of two options, either get further involved in a no-win situation or get the hell out. Period.
NOW, I said some weeks ago that I would look at the situation in the Middle East in general terms and see if there was a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
After pondering this difficult question for days on end I am afraid that the only thing that will heal tensions in the Middle-East is TIME.
No amount of brokering will solve conflicts there in an expedient manner.
No amount of negotiations will heal the rift between factions in the Middle East except distance.
No person will have the sway and influence to unite all the parties in a comprehensive peace process.
No. Other than letting time make these issues irrelevant the only other solution would be to take all the Israelies and move them to the United States.
The best solution there would be to give/sell the Jews "Long-Island" and let them set up the state of Israel there.
It's either that or put them in Utah. We can then send all the Mormons to the Middle East, where with their multiple-wives, they would fit in quite nicely!!!
(Now we all know that this last suggestion was done "tongue-in-cheek" but the sad fact of the matter is that it has about as much chance of happening as any other solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.)
Your Mid-East Peace Broker
Allan W Janssen
Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html
A senior U.S. diplomat has criticized his country's role in Iraq while President George W. Bush says the United States is still expecting to win the war, but is changing its tactics.
"We tried to do our best but I think there is much room for criticism because there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States in Iraq," Alberto Fernandez, an Arabic-speaking diplomat in the State Department's bureau of Near Eastern affairs, said on Al-Jazeera television on Saturday.
Well, this is all fine and good for making political hay but the sad fact of the matter is that most of the trouble in Iraq has little to do with the U.S.
Irag is in a state of virtual "civil war" and it's not against the States as much as it is the (Iranian sponsored) Shia against the Sunni Arabs. Until this issue (and the Kurds) is resolved there will be no peace or harmony in that country.
The U.S. has one of two options, either get further involved in a no-win situation or get the hell out. Period.
NOW, I said some weeks ago that I would look at the situation in the Middle East in general terms and see if there was a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
After pondering this difficult question for days on end I am afraid that the only thing that will heal tensions in the Middle-East is TIME.
No amount of brokering will solve conflicts there in an expedient manner.
No amount of negotiations will heal the rift between factions in the Middle East except distance.
No person will have the sway and influence to unite all the parties in a comprehensive peace process.
No. Other than letting time make these issues irrelevant the only other solution would be to take all the Israelies and move them to the United States.
The best solution there would be to give/sell the Jews "Long-Island" and let them set up the state of Israel there.
It's either that or put them in Utah. We can then send all the Mormons to the Middle East, where with their multiple-wives, they would fit in quite nicely!!!
(Now we all know that this last suggestion was done "tongue-in-cheek" but the sad fact of the matter is that it has about as much chance of happening as any other solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.)
Your Mid-East Peace Broker
Allan W Janssen
Allan W Janssen is the author of The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!) at; www.God-101.com
And the petition to have people mind their own business instead of yours at; http://www.petitiononline.com/moses/petition.html
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