Shiiti, Sunni....What is really happening?

Anis Albasha

It is said that religion is important for the government not to spread virtue but to control people. Anyone follows the news would notice that the conflict between the two major Muslim sects Shiites and Sunnis has been escalated recently. Right now, there is a proxy war between powers from both sects in a number of countries such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen. The question here is: "is this a religious war between Shia and Sunni Muslims as it has been depicted in the media, or religion has been used deliberately to cover certain political agendas?" 

I have noticed that it is difficult for most people in western countries to understand the nature of the perpetuated disagreement between Shiites and Sunnis. Many times I was asked by some western people about what is happening between Shiites and Sunnis. A lot of westerners have no clue about the differences between these two major Muslim groups and they also wonder how those differences turned to a fierce fight, or as one of them once simply put it: "Aren't they all Muslims?"

Actually, it is not easy to give a straight answer to such questions. As a matter of fact, Shiiti and Sunni are all Muslims and it may be easy to talk about the aspects and characteristics of the two doctrines.  However, it won't be that easy to elucidate the nature of the conflict between the Sunni and Shia Muslims which can be traced back from the present day to the seventh century. Yet, the issues between these two sects can be briefly described as a political disagreement in a religious disguise. In other words, it is a matter of 'who has the right to rule and to lead Muslims', so it is obvious that we are talking politics not religion.

If I am going to describe the ongoing clashes among Muslims in different places of the Arabian area, I would say that it is a struggle over certain interests by some international and regional powers, and religion is being employed as a trigger to keep the ball rolling. Obviously, religion is the most effective way that can incite and urge Muslims in the Arab World to fight against each other. The greatest motivation that would encourage Sunni Muslims to fight and sacrifice their lives is telling them that Islam is in 'danger' and they have to defend it against Shiites.

 This ‘prescription’ has been used several times and proved to be operative and successful. By using this formula, international and regional powers spread chaos and sedition in the Middle East region (Yemen, Syria, Iraq) and they rip off the fortunes of some countries (arms deals and oil).

If we look at this Sunni-Shiite issue from another perspective, a moderate and unbiased one, we will find that Shi'a Muslims carry little difference to Sunnis one, at least not in the sense that has been propagated. In fact, Shia and Sunni Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs, for example, they both believe in the same One God and they believe that Prophet Mohammed, is the messenger of God, and both sects have the same version of 'Quran'; the holy book of Muslims.

On the other hand, there are differences and disagreements between Shiites and Sunnis. Ironically, there are disagreements even among Sunni Muslims and no one can argue that Sunnis are one unified group that embraces the same ideas and approaches; needless to say that it is the same case when it comes to Shiites who have also their own disagreements. Therefore, disagreements shouldn't be taken as a reason to spark a fight between Shia and Sunni Muslims since each sect has its own disagreements within itself. So, how could some parties turn those disagreements to an aggressive war that destroyed countries such as Yemen or Syria?

Due to the absence of the concept of real 'citizenship' in all Arab countries, people in these countries deal with each other mainly according to the religious affiliation. At the same time, Muslims in Arab societies pay great attention to the religious rituals at the expense of everyday dealings and communications which should be practiced away from any religious considerations or prejudices. Therefore, it is easy to spread mistrust, hatred and animosity as well as to enrich intolerance among people who live in societies where religion is practiced in a very superficial way.

Let's take Yemen as an example; Yemen’s Muslim population can be broken down into two main religious groups: the Sunnis to the middle and southern parts of Yemen and the Zaidis to the north. Despite the fact that Yemen has suffered from many woes over its recent history, sectarianism was never part of the equation. Even though Yemenis live in a stratified society where people are categorized into different social groups, religion didn't play a role in this stratified system which is mainly based on a number of factors such as the origin, the tribe, the area …etc.

From a religious point of view, throughout its history, Yemen was at heart a tolerant and religiously inclusive country. In contrary to what is propagated, Yemeni Zaidi doctrine is so close to the Sunni and for hundreds of years Sunnis and Zaidis have been coexisting very well in Yemen. I was born and raised in Yemen, and throughout my entire life there I have never looked at Zaidis as an alien community.

Sunnis and Zaidis in Yemen used to pray in the same mosques, though some of these mosques are heavily attended by Zaidis or Sunnis. Yemeni Sunnis and Zaidis used to marry from each other without the need to ask about the religious background before giving the consent to the marriage.

Sadly, by introducing and imposing the formula of Shiites-Sunnis conflict in Yemen, sectarianism has spread all over the country and Yemen was turned to a non-inclusive country where Zaidi sect, a community that has been around since the eighth century, suddenly became a potent-Shiite threat to the Yemenis and to the region!

As a result, similar to what happened in Lebanon in the seventies, killing in the name of religious identity has been launched in the country and this scenario is being replicated in other countries of the region.      

    

Despite the fact that the chaos and unrests in the region have been fueled by certain international powers, Muslims should be held responsible for all the bloody conflicts that take place in their area. World powers wouldn't be able to spark a war among Muslims without the help of Muslims themselves who failed to understand the real message of Islam which calls for love, unity and coexistence.

In summary,  although it is stated clearly in the holy book of Muslims 'And hold firmly, all of you together, by the covenant of God, and do not be disunited', Muslims do the exact opposite of what they are told by their own book. They are being manipulated by the regimes and regional and international powers to be divided and to hate each other. Consequently, this Shia-Sunni curse will continue and will have no end, at least in the coming decades and as long as Arabs still have oil and can offer billions of dollars on western arms!