Ending the legacy of Sunni-Shia violence
By Farish A.
Noor
New Straits Times, May 27, Page 14.
APPEAL FOR PEACE: From the
beginning, the divide has always been political rather than theological
THE Muslim
world, it must be remembered, does not exist in a vacuum or in a world without
Others. Lest we forget, the developments in the Muslim world today are taking
place in an overcrowded world where other faith communities exist and where
other external variables come into play as well.
Nothing can be
done to isolate Muslims from the realities of the world beyond their community,
and it would be naive to assume that developments in the Muslim world have no
impact beyond the Muslim community, or that external agents and actors have no
influence on how Muslims interact with one another.
The recent call
by two Muslim leaders, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former
Iranian president Muhammad Khatami, for Sunni and Shia Muslims to cease
hostilities between each other and to reflect upon the root causes of
intra-Muslim violence, was, therefore, timely indeed.
It was timely
for the simple reason that we seem to be on the brink of a widespread pandemic
of violence that stretches from Syria to Pakistan, to Bangladesh all the way to
Southeast Asia, where Sunni and Shia Muslims have been at each other's throats
for too long; and in the process have also rendered their respective countries
weak, vulnerable and exposed to the now-trendy wave of "regime
change".
Nowhere is this
more painfully evident than in Syria, where a civil war of horrific proportions
has been raging for months, leading to the loss of tens of thousands of lives
and a potential refugee crisis that would destabilise not only Syria but also
other neighbouring countries in the region.
Most worrisome
is the fact that the rebels who oppose the Syrian regime happen to be backed by
several Sunni-Arab states and their Western benefactors, who have goaded their
supporters to depose the Shia-Alevi leadership of Syria.
This has been
cast in religious terms, and the Sunnis have been encouraged to see the Shias
as if they were non-Muslims.
What is often
left out of the analysis by the international media is the fact that many of
these rebel groups happen to be backed (rather openly) by some North American
and West European states as well -- thereby raising the question: is this truly
a case of popular rebellion, or is it really a foreign-funded attempt to topple
a government?
It ought to be
noted that Sunni-Shia violence is not new, and has been with the Muslim world
for centuries.
But from the
very beginning, it has to be remembered that the Sunni-Shia divide was, and
remains, a fundamentally political rather than theological one.
Since Shah
Ismail Savafi's declaration that Shiaism would be the "official"
religion of the Iranian kingdom, Iran has been seen as the foremost Shia Muslim
power in the world.
This brought
Iran into conflict with Sunni Ottoman Turkey, and after the defeat of Shah
Ismail at the hands of Sultan Selim I at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1517, the
borders of the Sunni and Shia worlds have remained fixed until today.
But let us
remember that this was primarily a conflict between two rival Muslim powers:
Ottoman Turkey and Savafid Iran, and that the differences between the two were
more about power, hegemony and leadership of the Muslim world; and less to do
with doctrinal or theological differences between Sunni and Shia.
Indeed, for much of Muslim history, Sunnis and
Shias have been comingling and living with each other, and this accounts for
the pluralism that remains a fact of life in Muslim society until today.
The big
difference, however, is this: during the height of the Ottoman Empire, the Savafid
and Qajar dynasties of Iran, the Moghul Empire in India, etc, Muslims were
still the masters of their own destiny.
That came to an
untimely end with the advent of colonialism and imperialism, and since then,
many Muslim polities have been reduced to shells of their former selves.
The division of
the Muslim world in the wake of World War 1 has left Muslim polities at odds
with each other until today, with no signs of Muslim unity in any meaningful
form.
It is against
this backdrop of a fragmented, weak and dependent Muslim world that the
Sunni-Shia conflict ought to be seen as even more divisive and detrimental to
political stability and long-term development.
The current
bloody impasse in Syria can only lead to further chaos if left unchecked,
adding Syria to a list of other dysfunctional and weak Muslim polities such as
Iraq and Afghanistan as well. Those who have taken a partisan route and who
support the current foreign-funded adventure of "regime change" in
Syria ought to note that this conflict is merely a sad repetition of the
"Great Game" that was played in the 19th century, at the height of
the Empire.
How long will it take for Muslims to realise
that they have become the pawns of a wider and bigger political geostrategic
game not of their own making?
Thus, to echo
the sentiments of the appeal for peace: the Sunnis and Shias truly need to stop
their warmongering between each other, and look at themselves to understand
what they have become.
Assalaamu'alaikum Warahmatullaahi Wabarakaatuh.
Tajuk penulisan saya pada kali ini ialah 'Antara Sunni & Syiah'.
Tajuk ini saya gunakan kerana saya tertarik kepada satu karangan mengenai tajuk ini dalam Majalah SUARA HIDAYATULLAH dalam perjalanan dari Jakarta ke Kuala Lumpur beberapa waktu yang lalu.
Saya telah menulis 9 masukan dalam blog ini yang berkaitan dengan peperangan. Lihatlah di bawah tajuk
1. 'War Criminal Conference' pada 26 Oktober, 2009
2. 'Yahudi Kuasai Dunia Melalui NGO' pada 25 Disember, 2009
3. 'Dari Buku - Jewish Manchester' oleh Bill Williams pada 7 April, 2010
4. 'Yahudi Zionis Dayus' pada 2 Jun, 2010
5. 'Menuju Pembebasan Palestin' pada 16 Jun, 2010
6. 'Islam - Sikap Ummatnya' pada 2 Jun, 2011
7. 'Palestin - Tindakan Yang Diiringi Do'a' pada 21 September, 2011
8. 'Thou Shall Not Kill' pada 3 Mei, 2012
9. Extracts of Writings and Speeches on War and Propaganda pada 9 Oktober, 2012
Semua penulisan ini sedikit sebanyak menceritakan mengenai pergaduhan dan peperangan yang berterusan di dunia khususnya di bumi Islam.
Di dalam karangan ke 8 saya telah turunkan kandungan buku yang saya baca bertajuk 'Where to Invade Next'. Sebuah senarai telah saya ketengahkan bahawa negara-negara berikut menjadi sasaran Amerika Syarikat setelah Afghanistan dan Iraq diserang. Iaitu:
1. Iran
2. Pakistan
3. Uzbekistan
4. Venezuela
5. Syria
6. Sudah, dan
7. Korea Utara
Melihat kepada senarai ini kita akan lebih memahami melihat keadaan pergolakan yang berlaku di Syria pada masa ini. Di Pakistan ke adaannya purak pusanda. Iran dikecam terus. Sudan sudah pecah dua dan terus bergolak. Korea Utara baru melancar roketnya dan terus dikecam. Chavez sedang sakit barah di Cuba. Keadaan juga sudah mula berdengung di Uzbekistan.
Dari senarai ini jelaslah bahawa negara-negara berikut tidak menjadi sasaran Amerika Syarikat di waktu buku itu ditulis, iaitu:
1. Tunisia
2. Libya, dan
3. Mesir
Jelaslah 'The Arab Spring' atau kebangkitan rakyat di Tunisia, Libya dan Mesir tidaklah merupakan satu rancangan pihak yang dikuasai Yahudi kerana Tunisia mempunyai sebuah kerajaan yang menentang Al Qaedah, Libya mempunyai hubungan yang baik dengan Britain sejak Tony Blair menjadi Perdana Menteri dan Hosni Mubarak adalah Presiden Mesir yang telah berjanji tidak mengusik Israel dengan habuan berbilion dollar Amerika bantuan untuk Mesir.
Kehendak rakyatlah yang telah menjatuhkan rejim-rejim di atas.
