- Sunni-Shia relations
Sunni andShia (or Shiite) are the two major denominations of Islam. The demographic breakdown between the two-groups is difficult to assess and varies by source, but a good approximation is that 85% of the world's muslims are Sunni, and 15% are Shia, with most Shia belonging to theTwelver Shia and a small minority divided between several other sects. Shi'a make up the majority of the population inIran ,Iraq ,Azerbaijan andBahrain , and they are the largest religious group inLebanon . Sunnis are a majority in other Muslim communities inSouth East Asia ,China ,South Asia ,Africa and the rest of the Arab world. The historic background of the Sunni-Shia split lies in theschism that occurred when the Islamic prophetMuhammad died in the year 632(CE), leading to a dispute oversuccession to Muhammad as acaliph of the Islamic community spread across various parts of the world.Over the years Sunni-Shia relations have been marked by both cooperation and conflict. Today there are differences in religious practice, traditions, and customs as well as religious belief.
Differences in beliefs and practices
Beliefs
uccessors of the Prophet
The Sunnis hold that
Abu Bakr was Muhammad's rightful successor and that the method of choosing or electing leaders (Shura ) endorsed by theQur'an is theconsensus of theUmmah , (the Muslim community). Shia believe that Muhammad divinely ordained his cousin and son-in-lawAli (the father of his only two grandsonsHasan ibn Ali andHusayn ibn Ali ) in accordance with the command of God to be the nextcaliph , making Ali and his direct descendants Muhammad's successors.Sunnis follow the
Rashidun (rightly-guided caliphs), which were the first four caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad (Abu Bakr ,Umar ,Uthman Ibn Affan , andAli ). Shias discount the legitimacy of the first three caliphs and believe that Ali is the second-most divinely inspired man (after Muhammad) and that he and his descendants by Muhammad's daughterFatimah , the Imamah (Shiaimam s) are the sole legitimate Islamic leaders.The imamate of the Shia encompasses far more of a prophetic function than the
Caliphate of the Sunnis. Unlike Sunni, Shia believe special spiritual qualities have been granted not only to the Prophet Muhammad but also to Ali and the other Imams. They are all immaculate from sin and human error ("ma'soum"), and can understand and interpret the hidden inner meaning of the teachings of Islam. In this way the Imams are trustees ("wasi") who bear the light of Muhammad ("nur-e Muhammadi"). [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.38 ]Mahdi
Shia, and some Sunni differ on the nature of the
Mahdi . Shia as well as many Sunni, particularlySufi Muslims, [Glasse, Cyril, "The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira Press, 2001, p.280] believe that theMahdi will appear at end times to bring about a perfect and just Islamic society. Twelver Shia believe the Mahdi will beMuhammad al-Mahdi , the twelfth Imam returned fromoccultation where he has been hidden by God since 874 AD. In contrast, mainstream Sunnis believe the Mahdi will be named Muhammad, be a descendant of the Prophet and will revive the faith, but will not necessarily be connected with the end of the world. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.68]
=Ahadith=The Shias accept some of the same
hadith s used by Sunnis as part of the Sunna to argue their case. In addition they consider the sayings ofAhl al-Bayt that is not attributed directly to the Prophet as Hadiths. Some Sunni-accepted hadith are less favored by Shia, for example, because ofAisha 's opposition to Ali (whom they believe to have been divinely appointed by Mohammad), hadith narrated byAisha are not given the same authority as those by other companions.Emphasis
Mainstream Sunnism has been said to be "about"
Sharia , sacred law. In contrast, Shia also follow Islamic law with great "vigilance", but their belief is not defined by law but emphasises "rituals, passion and drama." [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.58]hiism and Sufism
Shiism and SunniSufis m are said to share a number of hallmarks: Belief in an inner meaning to the Quran; special status for some mortals—saints for Sufi, Imams for Shia; belief in intermediaries between man and God, veneration of Ali and the Prophet's family. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.59-60]Practices
Many distinctions can be made between Sunnis and Shia's through observation alone:
alah
When prostrating during ritual prayer ("
Salah "), Shia place their forehead onto a piece of naturally occurring material (usually a clay tablet ("mohr"), soil ("turbah "), or at times sand fromKerbala , the place whereImam Hussain was martyred), instead of directly onto aprayer mat , as Sunnis do. There is precedence for this in Sunni thought as well however, as it is recommended not to prostrate on a non-natural surface.Shia perform prayers back to back, sometimes worshipping two times consecutively (1+2+2), thus praying at three separate times during the day instead of five as is required by Sunni. [ cite web |url=http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm |title=The Origins of the Sunni/Shia split in Islam |accessdate=2007-01-29 |publisher=IslamForToday.com]
Shia, and the followers of the Sunni
Maliki sect, hold their hands at their sides during prayer; All other Sunnis cross their arms (right over left) and clasp hands, [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.43] although it is commonly held by Sunni scholars that either is acceptable.Fact|date=September 2007Mutah
Shia permitmutah —fixed-term temporary marriage—which is not acceptable within the Sunni community.Mutah is not to be confused withMisyar marriage, which has no date of expiration and is permitted by Sunnis. A Misyar marriage differs from a conventional Islamic marriage in that the man does not have financial responsibility over the woman by her own free will, and women are given more rights than in Mutah marriage. [ [http://lexicorient.com/e.o/misyar.htm Misyar marriage] ]Hijab and dressDevout Shia women traditionally wear black, as do the male religious leaders. Mainstream Shia' and Sunni women wear the hijab differently. Mainstream Sunni women cover around the perimeter of the face, but only to below their chin, thus the protuberance of the chin shows. Shia women believe that the hijab must cover around the perimeter of the face and up to the chin.Fact|date=March 2008 Some Shia' women, such as those in Iran and Iraq, use the black
chador to cover half of their face or chin by their hands when in public.Given names
Shia are often recognizable by their names which are often derived from the proper names or title of saints. Shia who trace their ancestry back to the imams carry the title
sayyid . [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.43]History
Abbasid era
The
Umayyads were overthrown in 750(CE) by a new dynasty, theAbbasids . The first Abbasid caliph, As-Saffah recruited Shiite support in his campaign against the Umayyads by emphasizing his blood relationship to the Prophet's household through descent from his uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The Shia also believe that he promised them that the Caliphate, or at least religious authority, would be vested in the Shiite Imam. As-Saffah assumed both the temporal and religious mantle of Caliph himself. He continued the Umayyad dynastic practice of succession, and his brotheral-Mansur succeeded him in 754.The sixth Shi'a Imam died during al-Mansur's reign, and there were claims that he was murdered on the orders of the caliph. ["(Ya'qubi ; vol.lll, pp.91-96", and "Tarikh Abul Fida ', vol. I, p.212.)"] .However Abbasid persecution of Islamic lawyers was not restricted to the Shia. Even the Sunni scholar and founder of the biggest Sunni school of law,
Abu Hanifah , was imprisoned byal-Mansur and tortured. Al-Mansur also hadIbn Hanbal , another one of the four major schools of Sunni law, flogged. ["(Ya'qubi , vol.lll, p.86; Muruj al-dhahab, vol.lll, p.268-270.)"]Shia sources further claim that by the orders of the tenth Abassid caliph,
al-Mutawakkil , the tomb of the thirdShia Imam Husayn ibn Ali in Karbala was completely demolished, ["(Bihar al-Anwar , vol. XII, on the life of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq)"] and Shias were sometimes beheaded in groups, buried alive, or even placed alive within the walls of government buildings still under construction. ["(Shi'a Islam, p62)"]The Shia believe that they thus continued to live for the most part in hiding and followed their religious life secretly without external manifestations. ["(
Ya'qubi . vol.ll, p.224; Abu'l-Fida', vol.l, p.192; Muruj al-dhahab, vol.lll, p.81.", also "Shi'a Islam, p60.)"]Post-Abbasid era
Attacks on Shiism grew even sharper after the Mongol sack of Baghdad and the destruction of the Abbasid caliphate in 1258 according to scholar Vali Nasr. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.54] Vali Nasr also credits the influential Sunni jurist
Ibn Taymiyyah with being instrumental in developing the theological foundation for the belief that Shi'ism is a heresy, and for generally "setting the tone for much of the sectarian conflict" between the two groups. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.54, 94]hia-Sunni in
Iraq Shia Iranians migrated to what is now Iraq in the sixteenth century. "It is said that when modern Iraq was formed, 75% of the population of Karbala was Iranian", In time, these immigrants adopted the Arabic language and Arab identity, but their origin has been used to "unfairly cast them as lackeys of Iran. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.108 ] Other Iraqi Shia are ethnic Arabs with roots in Iraq as deep as those of their Sunni counterparts [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.110]
hia-Sunni in
Persia Sunni was the dominant form of Islam in most of Iran until rise of
Safavid Empire . However, many scholars and scientists in Persia who lived before the Safavid era, such asAvicenna ,Geber ,Alhacen ,Al-Farabi andNasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī , were Shi'a Muslims, as was most of Iran's elite, while other Persian scientists and scholars, such asFakhr al-Din al-Razi , were Sunni Muslims.Nizamiyya s were the medieval institutions of Islamic higher education established by Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk in the eleventh century. Nizamiyyah institutes were the first well-organized universities in theMuslim world . The most famous and celebrated of all the nizamiyyah schools wasAl-Nizamiyya of Baghdad (established1065 ), where Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk appointed the distinguished philosopher and theologian,al-Ghazali , as a professor. Other nizamiyyah schools were located inNishapur ,Balkh ,Herat and Isfahan.The Sunni hegemony did not undercut the Shia presence in Iran. The writers of
The Four Books of Shia were Iranian, as were many other great Shia scholars.According to
Mortaza Motahhari Fact|date=November 2007 [http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/iran/mutual.htm Islam and Iran: A Historical Study of Mutual Services] ] :The majority of Iranians turned to Shi'ism from the Safawid period onwards. Of course, it cannot be denied that Iran's environment was more favourable to the flourishing of the Shi'ism as compared to all other parts of the Muslim world. Shi'ism did not penetrate any land to the extent that it gradually could in Iran. With the passage of time, Iranians' readiness to practise Shi'ism grew day by day. Had Shi`ism not been deeply rooted in the Iranian spirit, the Safawids (907-1145/ 1501-1732) would not have succeeded in converting Iranians to the Shi'a creed and making them follow the Prophet's Ahl al-Bayt sheerly by capturing political power.
hiites in Iran before Safavids
The domination of the Sunni creed during the first nine Islamic centuries characterizes the religious history of Iran during this period. There were however some exceptions to this general domination which emerged in the form of the Zaydīs of
Tabaristan , theBuwayhid , the rule of Sultan Muhammad Khudabandah (r. Shawwal 703-Shawwal 716/1304-1316CE) and theSarbedaran . Nevertheless, apart from this domination there existed, firstly, throughout these nine centuries, Shia inclinations among many Sunnis of this land and, secondly, original Imami Shiism as well as Zaydī Shiism had prevalence in some parts of Iran. During this period, Shia in Iran were nourished fromKufah ,Baghdad and later fromNajaf andHillah . [ [http://www.al-islam.org/mot/iraqishiism/ Four Centuries of Influence of Iraqi Shiism on Pre-Safavid Iran] ] Shiism were dominant sect inTabaristan ,Qom ,Kashan ,Avaj andSabzevar . In many other areas the population of Shia and Sunni was mixed.The first Zaidi state was established in Daylaman and
Tabaristan (northernIran ) in 864 C.E. by theAlavids [Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites (2005) Referencing: Iranian Influence on Moslem Literature] ; it lasted until the death of its leader at the hand of theSamanids in 928 C.E. Roughly forty years later the state was revived inGilan (north-western Iran) and survived under Hasanid leaders until 1126 C.E. After which from the 12th-13th centuries, the Zaidis of Daylaman,Gilan andTabaristan then acknowledge the Zaidi Imams of Yemen or rival Zaidi Imams within Iran. [Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites (2005) Referencing: Encyclopedia Iranica]The Buyids, who were Shi'a and had a significant influence not only in the provinces of
Persia but also in the capital of the caliphate inBaghdad , and even upon the caliph himself, provided a unique opportunity for the spread and diffusion of Shi'a thought. This spread of Shiism to the inner circles of the government enabled Shias to withstand those who opposed them by relying upon the power of the caliphate.Twelvers came to Iran from Arab regions in the course of four stages. First, through the
Asharis tribe at the end of the seventh(CE) and during the eighth(CE) century. Second through the pupils ofSabzevar , and especially those ofShaykh Mufid , who were from Ray andSabzawar and resided in those cities. Third, through the school ofHillah under the leadership ofAllama Hilli and his sonFakhr al-Muhaqqiqin . Fourth, through the scholars ofJabal Amel residing in that region, or in Iraq, during the 16th(CE) and 17th(CE) centuries who later migrated to Iran. [http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?print=589 A Study of the Migration of Shi'i Works from Arab Regions to Iran at the Early Safavid Era] ]On the other hand
Ismailis sent Da'i (missionaries) duringFatimid caliphate to Iran as well as other Muslim lands. When Ismailis divided into two sects,Nizari s established their base in Iran.Hassan-i Sabbah conquered fortresses and capturedAlamut in1090 CE. Nizaris used this fortress until Mongol raid in1256 CE.After the Mongol raid and fall of the Abbasids, the Sunni
ulema suffered greatly. In addition to the destruction of the caliphate there was no official SunniMadh'hab for a while. Many libraries andMadrasah s were destroyed and some of the Sunni scholars migrated to other Islamic lands likeAnatolia andEgypt . In contrast Shia where unaffected as their center was not in Iran at this time. For the first time Shia could invite other Muslims openly.Several local Shia dynasties like
Sarbadars were established during this time. The kings of the Aq Qoynlu and Qara Qoynlu dynasties ruled inTabriz with a domain extending toFars andKerman . InEgypt theFatimid government ruled ("al-Ka-mil ofIbn Athir , Cairo, 1348; Raudat al-safa'; and Habib al-siyar of Khwand Mir").Shah Muhammad Khudabandah, the famous builder of
Soltaniyeh , was among the first of the Mongols to convert to Shi'aism, and his descendants ruled for many years in Persia and were instrumental in spreading Shia thought. [("Abu'l-Fida', vol.ll, p.63 and vol.lll, p.50")]Sufism played a major role in spread of Shiism in this time. According toHossein Nasr After the Mongol invasion Shiims and Sufism once again formed a close association in many ways. Some of the
Ismailis whose power had broken by the Mongols, went underground and appeared later within Sufi orders or as new branches of already existing orders. In Twelve-Imam Shiism also from thirteenths(CE) to the sixteenth(CE) century Sufism began to grow within official Shiite circles. [Nasr(1972) p.115]Nasr insists on the role of Sufis orders on spread of Shiism.
The extremist sects of the
Hurufis andShasha'a grew directly out of a background that is both Shiite and Sufi. More important in the long run than these sects were the Sufi orders which spread in Persia at this time and aided in the preparing the ground for the Shiite movement of Safavids. Two of these orders are of particular significance in this question of the relation of Shiism and Sufism:TheNimatullahi order andNurbakhshi order. [Nasr(1972) p.116]hiaism in Iran after Safavđids
Ismail I initiated a religious policy to recognize Shi'a Islam as the official religion of theSafavid Empire , and the fact that modern Iran remains an officially Shi'ite state is a direct result of Ismail's actions. Unfortunately for Ismail, most of his subjects were Sunni. He thus had to enforce official Shi'ism violently, putting to death those who opposed him. Under this pressure, Safavid subjects either converted, or pretended to convert, but it is safe to say that the majority of the population was probably genuinely Shi'ite by the end of the Safavid period in the 18th century, and most Iranians today are Shi'ite, although there is still a Sunni minority. [ [http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/empires/safavid/ Shah Ismail I, 1501-26] ] Safavids systematically sought to establish Shia as the religion of the state.Immediately following the establishment of Safavid power the migration of scholars began and they were invited to Iran ... By the side of the immigration of scholars, Shi'i works and writings were also brought to Iran from Arabic-speaking lands, and they performed an important role in the religious development of Iran ... In fact, since the time of the leadership of Shaykh Mufid and Shaykh Tusi, Iraq had a central academic position for Shi'ism. This central position was transferred to Iran during the Safavid era for two-and-a-half centuries, after which it partly returned to Najaf. ... Before the Safavid era Shi'i manuscripts were mainly written in Iraq, with the establishment of the Safavid rule these manuscripts were transferred to Iran.
This led to a wide gap between Iran and its Sunni neighbors until the 20th century. During the early days of the
Islamic Revolution ,Ayatollah Khomeini endeavored to bridge the gap between Shiites and Sunnis by declaring it permissible for Shiites to pray behind Sunni imams and by forbidding criticizing the Caliphs who precededAli — an issue that had caused much animosity between the two sects. [ [http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1175008835987&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs%2FMAELayout#9 Frequently Asked Questions on Iran] ]hia-Sunni in
Levant Shias claim that despite these advances, many Shi'as in
Syria continued to be killed during this period merely for being Shi'ah. One of these wasMuhammad Ibn Makki called "Shahid-i Awwal (the First Martyr)", one of the great figures in Shi'a jurisprudence, who was killed inDamascus in 1384CE ("al-Ka-mil ofIbn Athir , Cairo, 1348; Raudat al-safa'; and Habib al-siyar of Khwand Mir").Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi was another eminent scholar, killed inAleppo on charges of cultivating Batini teachings and philosophy ("al-Ka-mil ofIbn Athir , Cairo, 1348; Raudat al-safa'; and Habib al-siyar of Khwand Mir").Modern Sunni-Shia relations
Currently an estimated 85% of Muslims are Sunni, 13% Shia, and 2% members of other groups.Fact|date=February 2007 In addition to Iran,
Iraq has emerged as a major Shia government when the Shi'a achieved political dominance in 2005 under American occupation.The two communities have often remained separate, mingling regularly only during the
Hajj pilgrimage inMecca . In some countries like Iraq, Syria, andBahrain , communities have mingled and intermarried. Shias have been treated harshly in some countries dominated by Sunnis, especially in Saudi Arabia. Some Sunnis have complained of mistreatment in Shia-dominated states of Iraq and Iran.Fact|date=February 20081919-1970
At least one scholar sees the period from collapse of the
Ottoman Empire through the decline ofArab nationalism as time of relative unity and harmony between traditionalist Sunni and Shia Muslims - unity brought on by a feeling of being under siege from a common threat,secularism , first of the European colonial variety and then Arab nationalist. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.106]A remarkable example of Sunni-Shia cooperation was the
Khilafat Movement which swept the subcontinent of India following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the seat of the Caliphate, inWorld War I . Shiaulama (scholars) "came to the caliphate's defence" attended the 1931 Caliphate Conference in Jerusalem. This was despite the fact they were theologically opposed to the idea that non-Imams could be Caliphs or successors to the Prophet Muhammad, and that the Caliphate was "the flagship institution" of Sunni, not Shia authority. This has been described as unity of traditionalists in the face of the twin threats of "secularism and colonialism." [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.106 ]Another example of unity was a fatwa issued by Al-Azhar's rector, Sheikh
Mahmud Shaltut , recognizing Shia Islamic law as the fifth school of Islamic law. In 1959, al-Azhar University in Cairo, the most influential center of Sunni learning, "authorized the teaching of courses of Shia jurisprudence as part of its curriculum." [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.107 ]Post-1970
Following this period, Sunni-Shia strife has seen a major uptick, particularly in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most common explanation for the bloodshed is conspiracies by outsiders - "the forces of hegemony and Zionism which aim to weaken [Islam] " (
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani andYusuf Al-Qaradawi ), [ [http://mideastwire.com/topstory.php?id=13704 Rafsanjani & Al-Qaradawi call upon nation to unite & reject fighting] ] unspecified "enemies" (Iran presidentAhmadinejad ), [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/04/news/saudi.php Saudi king meets with Iranian president - International Herald Tribune] by Hassan M. Fattah, March 4, 2007] or Americanneo-liberal s who wish to provoke "a debilitating Islamic civil war." (Dilip Hiro ). [ [http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/dilip_hiro/2007/03/the_enemy_of_my_enemy.html The enemy of my enemy] March 6, 2007Dilip Hiro ]Another scholar lays the blame at entirely different source, the unintended effects of the
Islamic revival . According toVali Nasr , as the Muslim world was decolonialised andArab nationalism lost its appeal, fundamentalism blossomed and reasserted the differences and conflicts between the two movements, particularly in the strict teachings of Sunni scholarIbn Taymiyyah . [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, 2006, p.106-7 ] The Iranian Islamic revolution, changed the Shia-Sunni power equation in Muslim countries "from Lebanon to India" arousing the traditionally subservient Shia to the alarm of traditionally dominant and very non-revolutionary Sunni. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.148-50] "Where Iranian revolutionaries saw Islamic revolutionary stirrings, Sunnis saw mostly Shia mischief and a threat to Sunni predominance." [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.143-4] Although the Iranian revolution's leader,Ayatollah Khomeini , was very much in favor of Shia-Sunni unity, he also challengedSaudi Arabia , in his view an "unpopular and corrupt dictatorship" and an "American lackey" ripe for revolution. In part because Saudi Arabia was the world's major international funder of Islamic schools, scholarships, fellowships, etc., this angered not only Saudi Arabia but its many fundamentalist allies and benefactors throughout the Sunni world. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.143-4, 147-8, 150-1]Iraq
Shia-Sunni discord in Iraq starts with disagreement over the relative population of the two groups. According to most sources, including
The CIA World Factbook , the majority of Iraqis are Shi'ite Arab Muslims (around 65%), and Sunnis represent about 32% of the population. [ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iz.html#People CIA World Factbook. Iraq] ] However, Sunni are split ethnically betweenArab s,Kurd s andTurkmen . Many Sunnis hotly dispute their minority status, including ex-Iraqi Ambassador Faruq Ziada, [ [http://www.counterpunch.org/ziada12272006.html "Iraqis By the Numbers" by FARUQ ZIADA ] ] and many believe Shia majority is "a myth spread by America". [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.200] One Sunni belief shared byJordan 's King Abdullah as well as his then Defense Minister Shaalan is that Shia numbers in Iraq were inflated by Iranian Shias crossing the border. [ Robin Wright and Peter Baker, "Iraq: Jordan Sees Threat to the Election from Iran", "Washington Post", Dec. 8, 2004] Shia scholar Vali Nasr believes the election turnout in summer and December 2005 confirmed a strong Shia majority in Iraq. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.201]The governing regimes of Iraq were made mainly of Sunnis for nearly a century until the 2003 Iraq War. The British, having put down a Shia rebellion against their rule in the 1920s, "confirmed their reliance on a corps of
Sunni ex-officers of the collapsedOttoman empire ". The British colonial rule ended after the Sunni and Shia united against it. ["The Arab Shia", p46)]The Shia suffered indirect and direct persecution under post-colonial Iraqi governments since 1932, especially that of
Saddam Hussein . Under Saddam public Shia festivals such as Ashoura were banned. It is said that every Shia clerical family of note in Iraq had tales of torture and murder to recount. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", (Norton, 2006), p.187] In 1969 the son of Iraq's highest ShiaAyatollah Muhsin al-Hakim was arrested and allegedly tortured. From 1979-1983 Saddam's regime executed 48 major Shia clerics in Iraq. [ according to pro-Khomeini author Abdel-Majid Trab Zemzem, in his book "The Iraq-Iran War, Islam and Nationalisms", translated from the French by Zinab Mohammad, , United States Publishing Company, 1986, p.42-3] They included Shia leaderMohammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister. Tens of thousands of Iranians and Arabs of Iranian origin were expelled in 1979 and 1980 and a further 75,000 in 1989. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.110] Shia opposition to the government following thefirst Gulf War was reportedly suppressed.Iraq War
Some of the worst Shia-Sunni sectarian strife ever has occurred after the American invasion of Iraq, steadily building up to present. [ [http://www.motherjones.com/news/featurex/2007/03/civil_war.html Civil War] ] While thousands have been killed by American and allied military collateral damage, [George Monbiot in The Guardian, Tuesday November 8, 2005 http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1636606,00.html] this has become overshadowed by the cycle of Sunni-Shia revenge killing -- Sunni often using suicide bombing, Shia favoring death squads. [ [http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w051128&s=ackerman120105 THE RISE OF SHIA DEATH SQUADS] ] Dead link|date=July 2008
According to one estimate, as of early
2008 , 1,121 Muslim suicide bombers have blown themselves up in Iraq. [ [http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/14/7682/ March 14, 2008 The Independent/UK "The Cult of the Suicide Bomber" by Robert Fisk ] "month-long investigation by The Independent, culling four Arabic-language newspapers, official Iraqi statistics, two Beirut news agencies and Western reports"] Sunni suicide bombers have targeted not only thousands of civilians, [over half of the 20,000 fatalities worldwide from terrorism in 2006 occurred in Iraq according to the American National Counterterrorism Center [http://wits.nctc.gov/reports/crot2006nctcannexfinal.pdf Report on Terrorist Incidents 2006] p.3] but mosques, shrines, [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BA05CFF2-8D0A-4B2D-BBD0-B92EB85E1267.htm Al Jazeera English - News - Car Bomb Blast Near Iraq Shrine] ] wedding and funeral processions, [ [http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/05/24/bomb-iraq.html Iraqi funeral procession bombed; at least 26 killed] ] markets, hospitals, offices, and streets. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", (Norton, 2006), p.203] Sunni insurgent organizations includeAnsar al-Islam . [Ansar al-Islam is listed as a terrorist group by the US State Dept: [http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/68049.pdf] ] Radical groups includeAl-Tawhid Wal-Jihad ,Jeish al-Taiifa al-Mansoura ,Jeish Muhammad , andBlack Banner Organization . [ [http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/64344.htm US Dept. of State. Chapter 5 - Country Reports: Middle East and North Africa Overview ] ]Takfir motivation for many of these killings may come from Sunni insurgent leaderAbu Musab Al-Zarqawi . Before his death Zarqawi was wont to quoteMuhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab , especially his infamous statement urging followers to kill the Shi'a of Iraq, [Al Jazeera SEPTEMBER 17, 2005, " [http://english.aljazeera.net/English/Archive/Archive?ArchiveID=14984 Al-Zarqawi declares war on Iraqi Shia] ," Accessed Feb 20, 2008 ] and calling the Shias "snakes". [" [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/03/wirq103.xml Zarqawi rails against Shia 'snakes'] "Daily Telegraph , 03/06/2006, Accessed Feb 7, 2007.] An al-Qaeda-affiliated website posted a call for "a full-scale war on Shiites all over Iraq, whenever and wherever they are found." ["New York Times", September 19, 2005, Sabrina Tavernise and Robert F. Worth, "Relentless Rebel Attacks Test Shiite Endurance", ]Wahabi suicide bomber s continue to attack Iraqi Shia civilians, [CBC News: "Sectarian violence kills 36 during climax of Shia holy festival". Jan 2007. Link: [http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/01/30/garbage-bomb-070130.html] ] and the Shiaulema have in response declared suicide bombing as haram:"حتي كساني كه با انتحار ميآيند و ميزنند عدهاي را ميكشند، آن هم به عنوان عمليات انتحاري، اينها در قعر جهنم هستند"
Some believe the war has strengthened the
"Even those who kill people with suicide bombing, these shall meet the flames of hell." [Ayatollah Yousef Sanei 's interview withCNN , Feb 6, 2007: [http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2007/02/002139.php Ayatollah Yousef Sanei fatwa] (in Persian)]takfir thinking and may spread Sunni-Shia strife elsewhere. [ [http://www.motherjones.com/news/featurex/2007/03/aftermath.html The Iraqi Effect: The War has increased terrorism worldwide sevenfold] ]On the Shia side, in early February 2006 militia-dominated government death squads were reportedly "tortur [ing] to death or summarily" executing "hundreds" of Sunnis "every month in Baghdad alone," many arrested at random. [ [http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article347806.ece Iraq's death squads] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1883854,00.html Iraq 'failing to tackle death squads'] ] [ " [http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/04/02/iraq_militias_wave_of_death/ Iraq militias' wave of death, Sectarian killings now surpass terrorist bombings] ," The Boston Globe, April 2, 2006] According to the British television Channel 4, from 2005 through early 2006, commandos of the Ministry of the Interior which is controlled by the
Badr Organization , andwho are almost exclusively Shia Muslims - have been implicated in rounding up and killing thousands of ordinary Sunni civilians. [ [http://www.channel4.com/news/dispatches/article.jsp?id=301 Channel 4 program Dispatches] ]
The violence shows little sign of getting opposite sides to back down. Iran's Shia leaders, some of whom have strong ties with Iraqi Shia, are said to become "more determined" the more violent the anti-Shia attacks in Iraq become. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival" (Norton 2006), p.223] One Shia Grand Ayatollah,
Yousef Sanei , who has been described as a moderate, reacted to the 2005 suicide bombings of Shia targets in Iraq by saying the bombers were `wolves without pity and that `sooner rather than later, Iran will have to put them down` [Robert Baer, "The Devil You Think You Know," "Newsweek International", August 15, 2005. Originally on http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8853607/site/newsweek/, now on {http://mangans.blogspot.com/2005/08/devil-you-think-you-know.html Mangan's "The Devil You Think You Know" ] ]Jordan
Although the country of Jordan is 95% Sunni and has seen little Shia-Sunni fighting within, it has played a part in the recent Shia Shunni strife. It is the home country of anti-Shia insurgent but of
Raed Mansour al-Banna , who died perpetrating one of Iraq's worst suicide bombings in the city of Al Hillah. Al-Banna killed 125 Shia and wounding another 150 in the February 28 vehicle bombing of a police recruiting station and adjacent open air market. In March 2005 Salt, al-Banna's home town, saw a three-day wake for al-Banna who Jordanian newspapers and celebrants proclaimed a martyr to Islam, which by definition made the Shia victims "infidels whose murder was justified." Following the wake Shia mobs in Iraq attacked the Jordanian embassy on March 20, 2005. Ambassadors were withdrawn from both countries. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50921-2005Mar20?language=printer Iraq-Jordan Dispute Deepens; Diplomats Recalled in Aftermath of Suicide Bombing, March 21, 2005]Washington Post ] [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival" (Norton, 2006), p.227-8]All this resulted despite the strong filial bonds, ties of commerce, and traditional friendship between the two neighboring countries. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival" (Norton, 2006), p.227-8] . Jordan, for example, had refused to ally itself against Iraq during the first
Gulf War despite its alliance with America and the economic hardship that resulted.Pakistan
Pakistan, the country with the second largest Muslim population in the world, has seen serious Shia-Sunni discord. Almost 77% of
Pakistan 's population is Sunni, with 20% being Shia, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan#Demographics] but this Shia minority forms the second largest Shia population of any country, [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival" (Norton), 2006, p.160] larger than the Shia majority in Iraq.Shia Muslims have played an important part in Pakistan's history. In the last two decades, "as many as 4,000 people are estimated to have died in sectarian fighting in Pakistan", "300 in 2006." [ [http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0202/p01s02-wosc.html "Shiite-Sunni conflict rises in Pakistan," by David Montero, February 02, 2007] ] Amongst the culprits blamed for the killing are
Al Qaeda working "with local sectarian groups" to kill what they perceive as Shi'a apostates, and "foreign powers ... trying to sow discord." [ [http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0202/p01s02-wosc.html "Shiite-Sunni conflict rises in Pakistan," by David Montero, February 02, 2007] ]Background
Some see a precursor of Pakistani Shia-Sunni strife in the April 1979 execution of deposed President
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on questionable charges by Islamic fundamentalist GeneralMuhammad Zia ul-Haq . Ali Bhutto was Shia, Zia ul-Haq a Sunni. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.89]The "Islamization" of General Zia ul-Haq that followed was resisted by Shia who saw it as "Sunnification" as the laws and regulations were based on Sunni fiqh. In July 1980, 25,000 Shia protested the Islamization laws in the capital Islamabad. Further exacerbating the situation was the dislike between Shia leader Khomeini and General ul-Haq. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.161-2]
Shia formed student associations and a Shia party, Sunni began to form sectarian militias recruited from
Deobandi andAhl-i Hadith madrasah s. Preaching against the Shia in Pakistan was radical clericIsrar Ahmed . Muhammad Manzour Numani, a senior Indian cleric with close ties to Saudi Arabia published a book entitled ``Iranian Revolution: Imam Khmeini and Shiism." The book, which "became the gospel ofDeobandi militants" in the 1980s, attacked Khomeini and argued the excesses of the Islamic revolution were proof that Shiism was not the doctrine of misguided brothers, but beyond the Islamic pale. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.164] Anti-Shia groups in Pakistan include theLashkar i Jhangvi andSipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan , offshoots of theJamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). The groups demand the expulsion of all Shias from Pakistan and have killed hundreds of Pakistani Shias between 1996 and 1999. [Rashid, "Taliban" (2000), p.194] As in Iraq they "targeted Shia in their holy places and mosques, especially during times of communal prayer." [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.166] From January to May 1997, Sunni terror groups assassinated 75 Shia community leaders "in a systematic attempt to remove Shias from positions of authority." [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.167]Lashkar i Jhangvi has declared Shia to be `American agents` and the `near enemy` in global jihad. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.168]An example of an early Shia-Sunni fitna shootout occurred in Kurram, one of the tribal agencies of the Northwest Pakistan, where the Pushtun population was split between Sunnis and Shia. In September 1996 more than 200 people were killed when a gun battle between teenage Shia and Sunni escalated into a communal war that lasted five days. Woman and children were kidnapped and gunmen even executed out-of-towners who were staying at a local hotel.Kaplan, Robert, "Soldiers of God : With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan", New York : Vintage Departures, 2001, p.242]
Afghanistan
Shia-Sunni strife in Pakistan is strongly intertwined with that in Afghanistan. Though now deposed, the anti-Shia Afghan
Taliban regime helped anti-Shia Pakistani groups and vice versa.Lashkar i Jhangvi andSipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan , have sent thousands of volunteers to fight with the extremeDeobandi Taliban regime and "in return the Taliban gave sanctuary to their leaders in the Afghan capital of Kabul." [Rashid, "Taliban" (2000), p.263] "Over 80,000 Pakistani Islamic militants have trained and fought with Taliban since 1994. They form a hardcore of Islamic activists, ever ready to carry out a similar Taliban-style Islamic revolution in Pakistan." According to Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid. [Rashid, "Taliban" (2000), p.194]Shia-Sunni strife inside of Afghanistan has mainly been a function of the puritanical Sunni
Taliban 's clashes with Shia Afghans, primarily the Hazara ethnic group.In 1998 more than 8000 noncombatants were killed when the Taliban were betrayed in Mazar-i-Sharif and
Bamiyan where many Hazaras live. [Goodson, "Afghanistan's Endless War," (2001), p.79] Some of the slaughter was indiscriminate, but many wereShia targeted by the Taliban. Taliban commander and governor Mullah Niazi banned prayer at Shia mosques [Rashid,"Taliban" (2000), p.73] and expressedtakfir of the Shia in a declaration from Mazar's central mosque:Last year you rebelled against us and killed us. From all your homes you shot at us. Now we are here to deal with you. The Hazaras are not Muslims and now have to kill Hazaras. You either accept to be Muslims or leave Afghanistan. Wherever you go we will catch you. If you go up we will pull you down by your feet; if you hide below, we will pull you up by your hair. [ [http://www.hrw.org/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-03.htm#P186_38364 Human Rights Watch Report, `Afghanistan, the massacre in Mazar-e-Sharif`, November 1998. INCITEMENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST HAZARAS BY GOVERNOR NIAZI] ]
Assisting the Taliban in the murder of Iranian diplomatic and intelligence officials at the Iranian Consulate in Mazar were "several Pakistani militants of the anti-Shia, Sipah-e-Sahaba party." [Rashid,"Taliban" (2000), p.74]
Iran & Shia Statehood
Iran is unique in the Muslim world because its population is overwhelmingly more Shia than Sunni (Shia constitute approximately 80% of the population) and because its constitution is theocratic based on rule by a Shia jurist.
Sunnis there have complained of discrimination, particularly in important government positions. [ [http://www.iran.org/news/TIB_970602.htm Interview with Molavi Ali Akbar Mollahzadeh] The Iran Brief,] In a joint appearance with former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani calling for Shia-Suni unity, Sunni ShiekhYusuf al-Qaradawi complained that no ministers in Iran have been Sunni for a long time, that Sunni officials are scarce even in the regions with majority of Sunni population (such as Kurdistan, or Balochistan). [ Al-Jazeera discussion between Qardawi and Rafsanjani [http://mideastwire.com/topstory.php?id=13704 Rafsanjani & Al-Qaradawi call upon nation to unite & reject fighting, 2007-02-15] ] Sunnis cite the lack of a Sunni mosque in Tehran, Iran's capital and largest city, despite the presence of over 1 million Sunnis there, [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35497.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2004] ] and despite the presence of Christian churches, as a prominent example of this discrimination. Although reformist President Mohammad Khatami promised during his election campaign to build a Sunni mosque in Tehran, none was built during his eight years in office. The president explained the situation by saying Supreme Leader AyatollahAli Khamenei would not agreed to the proposal. [ [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DL17Ak03.html Iran's unsung rebellion By Syed Saleem Shahzad ] ] As in other parts of the Muslim world, other issues may play a part in the conflict, since most Sunnis in Iran are also ethnic minorities. [ [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35497.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2004] ]Soon after the 1979 revolution Sunni leaders from Kurdistan, Balouchistan, and Khorassan, set up a new party known as "Shams", which is short for Shora-ye Markaz-e al Sunaat, to unite Sunnis and lobby for their rights. But six months after that, they were closed down, bank accounts suspended, and had their leaders arrested by the government on charges that they were backed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. [ [http://www.iran.org/news/TIB_970602.htm Interview with Molavi Ali Akbar Mollahzadeh] The Iran Brief,]
A UN human rights report states that
...information indicates Sunnis, along with other religious minorities, are denied by law or practice access to such government positions as cabinet minister, ambassador, provincial governor, mayor and the like, Sunni schools and mosques have been destroyed, and Sunni leaders have been imprisoned, executed and assassinated. The report notes that while some of the information received may be difficult to corroborate there is a clear impression that the right of freedom of religion is not being respected with regard to the Sunni minority. [ [http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord1997/vol3/iran.htm UN Human Rights System, Report of the Special Representative on Iran] ]
Members of the 'Balochistan Peoples Front' claim that Sunnis are systematically discriminated against educationally by denial of places at universities, politically by not allowing Sunnis to be army generals, ambassadors, ministers, prime minister, or president, religiously insulting Sunnis the media, economic discrimination by not giving import or export licenses for Sunni businesses while the majority of Sunnis are left unemployed. [ [http://balochistanpeoplesfront.blogspot.com/2006/12/shia-equality-or-shia-supremacy.html Shia equality or Shia supremacy? Balochistan People's Front] Reza Hossein Borr, leadership consultant and author of "New Vision for the Islamic World"]
There has been a low level resistance in mainly Sunni Iranian Balouchistan against the regime for several years. Official media refers to the fighting as armed clashes between the police and "bandits," "drug-smugglers," and "thugs," to disguise what many believe is essentially a political-religious conflict.
Revolutionary Guards have stationed several brigades in Balouchi cities, and have allegedly tracked down and assassinated Sunni leaders both inside Iran and in neighboring Pakistan. In 1996 a leading Sunni, Abdulmalek Mollahzadeh, was gunned down by hitmen allegedly hired by Tehran as he was leaving his house in Karachi. [ [http://www.iran.org/news/TIB_970602.htm Interview with Molavi Ali Akbar Mollahzadeh] The Iran Brief, Issue Number 35, June 2, 1997]Members of Sunni groups in Iran however have been active in what the authorities describe as terrorist activities. Balochi Sunni AbdulMalek Rigi continue to declare the Shia as
Kafir andMushrik . [Source quoting the newspaperEntekhab : [http://www.persianblog.com/posts/?weblog=varedi-st.persianblog.com&postid=5050734] dead link] These Sunni groups have been involved in violent activities in Iran, and have waged terrorist [http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=449498 (dead link)] attacks against civilian centers, including an attack next to a girl's school [ [http://portal.tds.net/news.php?story=23390 No casualties in renewed bombing in south-east Iran02/16/07] ] according to government sources. The "shadowy Sunni militant groupJundullah " has reportedly been receiving weaponry from theUnited States for these attacks according to the semi-official Fars news agency. [See [http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20070218&articleId=4840 Weapons used in Terrorist Attacks in southeastern Iran on ground forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, came from the US according to the semi-official Fars news agency , Global Research, February 18, 2007 ] ] [ [http://londonontario.indymedia.org/newswire/display/396/index.php dead link] ] The United Nations [ [http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1206.html UNSC condemns terrorist act in Iran's Zahedan ] [http://www.kayhanintl.com/feb17/domestic.htm dead link] ] and several countries worldwide [ [http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=49774&NewsKind=CurrentAffairs Solana condemns Zahedan, Iran terror attack, February 17, 2007] [http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0702177566174100.htm Georgia condemns terrorist bombing in Zahedan Tehran, Feb 17, IRNA ] ] have condemned the bombings. "(See2007 Zahedan bombings for more information)"Non-Sunni Iranian opposition parties, and Shia like Ayatollah Jalal Gange’i have criticised the regimes treatment of Sunnis and confirmed many Sunni complaints. [NCRI Statement, " [http://briefoniran.com/content/view/114/26/ Ahmadinejad sheds crocodile tears for Sunnis in Iran] "]
Following the 2005 elections, much of the leadership of Iran has been described as more "staunchly committed to core Shia values" and lacking Ayatollah Khomeini's commitment to Shia-Sunni unity. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival," Norton, (2006), p.225] Polemics critical of Sunnis were reportedly being produced in Arabic for dissemination in the Arab Muslim world by
Hojjatieh -aligned elements in the Iranian regime. [ [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GI09Ak01.html "Shia Supremacists Emerge from Iran's Shadows" "Asia Times", August 27, 2005] ]yria
Syria is approximately three quarters Sunni [ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sy.html World Factbook] ] , but its government is predominately
Alawi , a Shia sect that makes up less than 15% of the population. UnderHafez al-Assad ,Alawi dominated theBaath Arab Socialist Party, a secularArab nationalist party which has ruled Syria under a state of emergency since1963 and does not tolerate opposition. Alawi are often considered a form of Shia Islam that differs somewhat from the larger Twelver Shia sect. [ Dictionary.com definition [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alawi] ]A very serious 20th century conflict in Syria with sectarian religious overtones was that between the Alawi-dominated al-Assad regime and the
Islamist SunniMuslim Brotherhood culminating with the1982 Hama Massacre , where an estimated 10,000 to 25,000 were killed by the Syrian military following a Muslim Brotherhood uprising. Prior to the uprisingMuslim Brotherhood attacks against military cadets at an artillery school inAleppo , car bomb attacks in Damascus, and bomb attacks against the government and its officials had killed several hundred.How much of the conflict was sparked by Sunni v. Shia divisions and how much by Islamism v. secular-Arab-nationalism, is in question, but according to scholar Vali Nasr the failure of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Republic of Iran to support the Muslim Brotherhood against the Baathists "earned [Khomeini] the Brotherhood's lasting contempt." It proved to the satisfaction of the Brotherhood that sectarian loyalty trumped Islamist solidarity for Khomeini and eliminated whatever appeal Khomeini might have had to the MB movement as a pan-Islamic leader. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.154]
Yemen
"See
Human rights in Yemen article."Muslims in Yemen including Shaf'i (Sunni) majority and
Zaydi (Shi'a) minority. Zaidi are sometimes called "Fiver Shi'a" instead of Twelver Shi'a because they recognize the first four of theTwelve Imams but acceptZayd ibn Ali as their "Fifth Imām" rather than his brotherMuhammad al-Baqir .Both Shi'a and Sunni dissidents in Yemen have similar complaints about the government -- cooperation with the American government and an alleged failure to following
Sharia law [Yemen Facing Insurgency on Two Fronts, By Stephen Ulph (see above)] -- but it's the Shia who have allegedly been singled out for government crackdown.During and after the US-led invasion of Iraq, members of the Zaidi-Shia community protested after Friday prayers every week outside mosques, particularly the Grand Mosque in Sana’a, during which they shouted anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans, and criticised the government's close ties to America. [ [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE310012007?open&of=ENG-366 Amnesty Report] ] These protests were led by ex-parliament member and Imam, Bader Eddine al-Houthi [ [http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/040709/2004070905.html Yemeni President: al-Houthi is an ill man, mentally abnormal ] ] . In response the Yemeni government has implemented a campaign to crush "the Zaidi-Shia rebellion," [
[Amnesty: Ratification without implementation:the state of human rights in Yemen [http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/yemen/document.do?id=BA9AC78C2ABBD03E8025690000692CE0] ]BBC report: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3863463.stm] ] and harass journalists. [Yemen: [http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/yemen/document.do?id=ENGMDE310142005 Harassment of journalists must stop] ] These latest measures come as the government faces a Sunni rebellion with a similar motivation to the Zaydi discontent. [ [http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369665 Yemen Facing Insurgency on Two Fronts] , By Stephen Ulph, Jamestown Foundation] [Amnesty: Yemen: [http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/yemen/document.do?id=F71C226B2BDDD19D80256D7B00104266 The Rule of Law Sidelined in the Name of Security]Bahrain
"See
Bandargate scandal "The small Persian Gulf island state of
Bahrain has a Shia majority but is ruled by Sunni Al-Khalifa family as a constutitional monarchy, with Sunni dominating the ruling class and military and disproportionately represented in the business and landownership. [Momen, Moojan, "Introduction to Shi'i Islam", Yale University Press, 1985, p.145] "Al Wifaq, the largest Shi'a political society, won the largest number of seats in the elected chamber of the legislature. However, Shi'a discontent has resurfaced in recent years with street demonstrations and occasional low-level violence." [ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ba.html Bahrain] ] [ [http://www.bahrainrights.org/node/652 bahrainrights] ]Bahrain has many disaffected unemployed Shia youths and many Shia have protested Sheikh
Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah 's efforts to create a parliament as merely a `cooptation of the effendis`, i.e. traditional elders and notables. Bahrain's 2002 election was widely boycotted by Shia. Mass demonstrations by Shia have been held in favor of full fledged democracy in March and June 2005, against an alleged insult to Ayatollah Khamenei in July 2005. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.234-5]Nigeria
An example of governments working "to drive wedges between Sunnism and Shiism" was found in
Nigeria in1998 when theNigeria n government of GeneralSani Abacha accusedMuslim Brotherhood leader SheikhIbrahim al-Zak Zaki of being a Shia. This despite the fact that ther are few if any Shia among Nigerias Muslims and the Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni organization. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.156]audi Arabia & Salafis
hia and the Saudi state
While Shia make up only between 8-15% of Saudi Arabia's population, they form the majority of the residents of the eastern province of Hasa where much of the petroleum industry is based, and make up the majority of the work force there. Between 500,000 and a million Shia live there, [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.236] concentrated especially around the oases of Qatif and Al Ahsa. Majority of Saudi Shia belong to the sect of the
Twelvers [Library of Congress: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sa0045)]Saudi Arabia being an
absolute monarchy generally recognizes no rights by law or plurality to "any" political participation outside the ruling family and its supporters.Fact|date=February 2008 And being an absolute monarchy, the ruling elite have tried to portray a homogenous society in culture and religion. Since the religion of the rulers is Wahhabi, they have tried to create a uniform wahabi society thus leaving out Shi'as, Sufis and other Sunnis from the homogenous mainstream.Fact|date=February 2008Relations between the Shia and the Wahhabi Sunnis are inherently strained because the Wahhabis consider the rituals of the Shia to be the epitome of
shirk , or polytheism. In the late 1920s, theIkhwan (Abd al Aziz ibn Abd ar Rahman Al Saud's fighting force of converted Wahhabi beduin Muslims) were particularly hostile to the Shia and demanded that Abd al Aziz forcibly convert them. In response, Abd al Aziz sent Wahhabi missionaries to the Eastern Province, but he did not carry through with attempts at forced conversion. In recent decades the late leading Saudi cleric, Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz, issued fatwa denouncing Shia as apostates, and according to Shia scholarVali Nasr "Abdul-Rahman al-Jibrin, a member of the Higher Council of Ulama, even sanctioned the killing of Shias, [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.236] a call that was reiterated by Wahhabi religious literature as late as 2002." [Toby Jones, `The Iraq Effect in Saudi Arabia,` "Middle East Report", 237, Winter 2005, p.24]Government policy has been to allow Shia their own mosques and to exempt Shia from
Hanbali inheritance practices. Nevertheless, Shia have been forbidden all but the most modest displays on their principal festivals, which are often occasions of sectarian strife in the gulf region, with its mixed Sunni-Shia populations [Library of Congress: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sa0045)] .According to a report by the
Human Rights Watch :"Shia Muslims, who constitute about eight percent of the Saudi population, faced discrimination in employment as well as limitations on religious practices. Shia jurisprudence books were banned, the traditional annual Shia mourning procession of
Ashura was discouraged, and operating independent Islamic religious establishments remained illegal. At least seven Shi'a religious leaders-Abd al-Latif Muhammad Ali, Habib al-Hamid, Abd al-Latif al-Samin, Abdallah Ramadan, Sa'id al-Bahaar, Muhammad Abd al-Khidair, and Habib Hamdah Sayid Hashim al-Sadah-reportedly remained in prison for violating these restrictions." [HRW Link: http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/mideast/saudi.html]And
Amnesty International adds:"Members of the Shi‘a Muslim community (estimated at between 7 and 10 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s population of about 19 million) suffer systematic political, social, cultural as well as religious discrimination." [Amnesty report. Link: http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/saudi/report.html]
As of 2006 four of the 150 members of Saudi Arabia's "handpicked" parliament were Shia, but no city had a Shia mayor or police chief, and none of the 300 girls schools for Shia in the Eastern Province had a Shia principal. Saudi textbooks "characterize Shiism as a form of heresy ... worse than Christianity and Judaism." [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.237]
Forced into exile in the 1970s, Saudi Shia leader Sheikh
Hassan al-Saffar is said to have been "powerfully influenced" by the works of Sunni Islamists of theMuslim Brotherhood andJamaat-e Islami and by their call for Islamic revolution and an Islamic state. ["The Shiite Question in Saudi Arabia", "Middle East Report", 45, International Crisis Group, 2005, p.3. Quoted in Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.117]Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Shia in Hasa ignored the ban on mourning ceremonies commemorating
Ashura . When police broke them up three days of rampage ensued -- burned cars, attacked banks, looted shops -- centered around Qatif. At least 17 Shia were killed. In Feb. 1980 disturbances were "less spontaneous" and even bloodier. [Wright, Robin, "Sacred Rage", Simon and Schuster, (2001), p.150] Meanwhile broadcasts from Iran in the name of the Islamic Revolutionary Organization attacked the monarchy, telling listeners, `Kings despoil a country when they enter it and make the noblest of its people its meanest ... This is the nature of monarchy, which is rejected by Islam.` [BBC monitoring service from March 1980 quoted in William B. Quandt, "Saudi Arabia in the 1980s", Brookings Institution, 1981, pp.39-40]By 1993, Saudi Shia had abandoned uncompromising demands and some of al-Saffar's followers met with King Fahd with promised made for reform. In 2005 the new King Abdullah also relaxed some restrictions on the Shia. [Nasr, Vali, "The Shia Revival", Norton, (2006), p.238, 240] However Shia continue to be arrested for commemorating
Ashura as of 2006. [Human Rights Watch link: http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/saudia14717.htm] In December 2006, amidst escalating tensions in Iraq, 38 high ranking Saudi clerics called on Sunni Muslims around the world to "mobilise against Shiites". [Link: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C12%5C12%5Cstory_12-12-2006_pg4_8] In return,Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi in 2007 responded:The
Wahhabi s ignore the occupation of Islam's firstQiblah byIsrael , and instead focus on declaringTakfir ingfatwa s against Shias. [Press release byISNA : http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-865630&Lang=P]audi Sunni
A large fraction of the foreign Sunni extremists who have entered Iraq to fight against Shia and the American occupation are thought to be Saudis. According to one estimate, of the approximately 1200 foreign fighters captured in Syria between summer 2003 and summer 2005, 85% were Saudis. [Robert Baer, "The Devil You Think You Know," "Newsweek International", August 15, 2005. Originally on http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8853607/site/newsweek/, now on {http://mangans.blogspot.com/2005/08/devil-you-think-you-know.html Mangan's "The Devil You Think You Know" ] ]
Another reflection of grassroots Wahhabi or Saudi antipathy to Shia was statement by Saudi cleric Nasir al-Umar, who accused Iraqi Shais of close times to the United States and argued that both were enemies of Muslims everywhere. [Jones, Toby "The Iraq Effect in Saudi Arbia, "Middle East Report" 237 (Winter 2005), p.24]
Al Qaida
Some Wahabi groups, often labeled as
takfir i and sometimes linked toAl Qaeda , have even advocated the persecution of the Shi'a as heretics [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20051024004108/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/407AAE91-AF72-45D7-83E9-486063C0E5EA.htm Al-Zarqawi declares war on Iraqi Shia] aljazeera.net, 14 September 2005] [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=18911 Baghdad goes under curfew after bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra] ] Such groups have been allegedly responsible for violent attacks and suicide bombings at Shi'a gatherings at mosques and shrines, most notably inIraq during theAshura mourning ceremonies where hundreds of Shias were killed in coordinated suicide bombings, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4276367.stm Blasts target Iraq's Shia Muslims on the eve of Ashura] 18 February, 2005] [ [http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/sep/16iraq.htm Latest Iraq blast targets Shia mosque, September 16, 2005 ] "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, vowed to wage an 'all-out war' on the country's Shia majority"] [" [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050918/news_7n18iraq.html Four days after al-Qaeda in Iraq declared all-out war on the Shiite majority, more than 250 people have been killed] " San Diego Union Tribune, September 18, 2005] but also inPakistan andAfghanistan . However Al-Qaida deputy DrAyman al-Zawahiri in a video message directedAbu Musab al-Zarqawi , of Al-Qaida in Iraq, not to attack civilian targets but to focus on the occupation troops. His call seems to have been ignored, or swept away in the increasing tensions of Iraq under occupation.Efforts to foster Sunni-Shia unity
In a special interview broadcast on Al Jazeera on February 14, 2007, former Iranian president and chairman of the
Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, AyatollahAli Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and highly influential Sunni scholarYusuf Al-Qaradawi , "stressed the impermissibility of the fighting between the Sunnis and the Shi’is" and the need to "be aware of the conspiracies of the forces of hegemony and Zionism which aim to weaken [Islam] and tear it apart in Iraq." [ [http://mideastwire.com/topstory.php?id=13704 Rafsanjani & Al-Qaradawi call upon nation to unite & reject fighting] ]Even on this occasion there were differences, with Rafsanjani openly asking "more than once who started" the inter-Muslim killing in Iraq, and Al-Qaradawi denying claims by Rasanjani that he knew where "those arriving to Iraq to blow Shi’i shrines up are coming from”. [ [http://mideastwire.com/topstory.php?id=13704 Rafsanjani & Al-Qaradawi call upon nation to unite & reject fighting] ]
International Islamic Unity Conference
audi-Iran Summit
In a milestone for the two countries' relations, on March 3 2007 King
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad held an extraordinary summit meeting. They displayed mutual warmth with hugs and smiles for cameras and promised "a thaw in relations between the two regional powers but stopped short of agreeing on any concrete plans to tackle the escalating sectarian and political crises throughout the Middle East." [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/04/news/saudi.php Saudi king meets with Iranian president By Hassan M. Fattah] iht.com, March 4, 2007] ]On his return to Tehran Ahmadinejad declared that
"Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are aware of the enemies' conspiracies. We decided to take measures to confront such plots. Hopefully, this will strengthen Muslim countries against oppressive pressure by the imperialist front." [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/04/news/saudi.php Saudi king meets with Iranian president - International Herald Tribune ] ]
Saudi officials had no comment about Ahmadinejad's statements, but the Saudi official government news agency did say:
"The two leaders affirmed that the greatest danger presently threatening the Islamic nation is the attempt to fuel the fire of strife between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and that efforts must concentrate on countering these attempts and closing ranks, [http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/05/top5.htm] "
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said
"The two parties have agreed to stop any attempt aimed at spreading sectarian strife in the region." [ [http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/4/worldupdates/2007-03-04T095839Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-289931-1&sec=Worldupdates Ahmadinejad, Saudi king reject sectarian strife ] ]
Persecution of Shia Muslims
Notes
References
*
Further reading
* The Arab Shia: The Forgotten Muslims, by Graham E. Fuller and Rend Rahim Francke. New York: Saint Martin's Press, 1999, ISBN 0-312-23956-4
* Shi'a Islam, byTabatabaei andNasr ,SUNY Press, 1979.
* Don’t Fear the Shiites: The Idea of a Teheran-Controlled »Shiite Crescent« over the Greater Middle East is at Odds with Reality, by Michael Bröning. In: "International Politics and Society", 3 /2008, pp. 60-75.See also
*
Status of religious freedom in Iran
*Status of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia
*Misconceptions about the Shi'a
*Succession to Muhammad
*Historic background of the Sunni-Shi'a split
*Shiites in the Arab world
*Muslim Brotherhood
*The Amman Message External links
*http://www.alburhan.org/
*http://www.alburhan.com/
*http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EH28Ak03.html
*http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/religion-shia-sunni.htm
*http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_151_200/are_shias_kaafirs.htm
*http://soundvision.com/info/muslims/shiasunni.asp
*http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/4578030.html - short history of sunni-shia split, and religious practice differences
* [http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27847 Symposium: One Islam?] - participants includeRobert Spencer
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2075213032137142322 Ayatollah Rafsanjani and Sheikh Qaradhawi on Unity of Muslims] atGoogle Video
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uERqAzDr_W8 Does Al-Qaida encourage the sectarian warfare?] atYouTube
* [http://www.insight-info.com/articles/item.aspx?i=1204 Imam Khomeini and Islamic Unity]♥
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