By Dr. Abdullah Al- Ahsan
The latest Iran-Saudi brawl has just added more fuel to the fire that is burning the whole of West Asia and North Africa. This time it began with the Saudi execution of Shi’a activist Shaikh Nimr al-Nimr. The execution immediately followed ransacking of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and in response Saudi Arabia immediately severed diplomatic relations with Tehran. A number of other Sunni majority Arab countries followed the suit. This came at a time when both Iran and Saudi Arabia are supposed to be engaged in mediating internal conflicts in a number of other countries in the region. According to many observers this eruption might become an absolute disaster in an already volatile region. Is there a way out of this crisis?
“Saudi Arabia’s growing international isolation and Iran’s rising regional influence have led the kingdom to ‘double down’ on protecting its interests,” says one observer. Yes, Saudi Arabia seems to have become desperate in protecting its national interest. But many others see this development just an outgrowth of sectarianism in the region. Securing national interest or promoting religious sectarianism – whatever it is – one needs to dig little bit into history and explore the origin of this conflict.
Origin of the Dispute
1978-79 Islamic revolution in Iran came as a shock to many, not only in the West, but in the region too. The nationalist Bathist regime in neighboring Iraq perhaps wanted to crush Iran’s revolutionary spirit at its very start. But Iran survived almost a decade long war. During this period while Iraq clearly followed a nationalist agenda, Saudi Arabia seemed to have chased a sectarian scheme: the Saudis began to produce literature on historical Shi’a-Sunni divide and sponsor preachers to lecture about the potential Shi’a threat to the Muslim world. Its immediate impact was felt in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan. Parties took advantage of the anti-Soviet Afghan war and on occasions sectarianism began to be manifested in both countries.
During the early years of the revolution Iran appeared to have enjoyed popular support of the entire Muslim community – the Ummah. However, within years the Iranians also began to spread Shi’ism by providing scholarship and study tours to Sunni students and scholars around the world. By the late 1980s in places such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and many other far away Muslim countries where there was no trace of Shi’ism, now the new sect began to take root. The Iranians also began to use their presence felt during the annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to disseminate their political ideas. This created sectarian tension in many Muslim countries. Recently in Nigeria the armed forces have arrested a Shi’a cleric while conducting operations against the terrorist group Boko Haram. This has created diplomatic row between the two countries.
Recent Eruption of the Conflict
The latest row between Iran and Saudi Arabia began with the execution of Saudi Shi’a cleric Nimr al-Nimr. However a noteworthy fact is that along with the cleric 46 other Saudis who were also executed the same day, only three of them were reported to have been Shi’a. Weren’t the other lives also valuable and sacred? Didn’t they too deserve a transparent judicial treatment? According to the Saudis, they were all terrorists. Apparently therefore there was no need for open trials. The so-called war on terror doctrine these days seems to have justified all actions by nation-states authorities. As if those who are accused of terrorism charges do not deserve any transparent judicial treatment. They can be killed by unmanned drone strikes and all civilian collateral casualties are also justified.
But is it only Saudi Arabia which has been engaged in such killings? Hasn’t Iran done the same for the past few decades? Iran executed Abdolmalek Rigi in 2010 on terrorism charges. Rigi was reported to have been fighting for the rights of Baluchi Sunnis in Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. Another activist, Ahmad Moftizadeh who was a Kurdish nationalist and had emerged during the revolutionary struggle against Shah’s rule just before the revolution, died shortly after his release from prison in 1993. It is widely held that he died because of severe torture and mistreatment he received in the prison. There are reports about many more dissidents in Iran being imprisoned, executed and murdered. Perhaps supporters of Iran would object to any comparison between Nimr al-Nimr with Rigi or Moftizadeh. But international observers would be able to understand the differences between these cases, if there is any, only when international observers are allowed to monitor these trials. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia claim to follow Qur’anic guidance in governing their societies. But are they really following Qur’anic guidance? Let us raise some questions: In the current context, the question is: Is the Qur’an opposed to the presence of international observers in such trials? Definitely not. In fact, in our understanding, the Qur’an not only encourages, it demands complete transparency in all trials. The Qur’anic principles would also encourage non-Muslims as observers in these cases.
Is the Brawl an Internal Affair of Iran and Saudi Arabia?
Iran-Saudi rivalry is more serious outside of their borders. In fact both countries have been clearly engaged in proxy wars in Syria and Yemen for the past few years. Perhaps they are also involved in internal conflicts in a number of other countries including Bahrain, Libya, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Therefore it will be a huge mistake to brush off the Iran-Saudi brawl as an internal affair. No wonder within days after Turkish President Erdugan’s statement describing Saudi executions as “internal legal matter,” Turkey seems to have become a party in the dispute. Only weeks earlier Turkey had joined the Saudi led 34 nation “Islamic military alliance” to fight terrorism. Then the President went to a state visit to Saudi Arabia. These could not have gone well with the Iranians.
How Deep is the Shi’a Sunni Difference?
Shi’a Sunni differences are deep rooted in history. But it is history, not in theology. According to Columbia University professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative literature Hamid Dabashi, “The escalating rivalries and animosities between Iran and Saudi Arabia have nothing to do with the Sunni-Shia divide in the Islamic theology.” Imam Abu Hanifa, whom majority Sunni Muslims follow as the founder of their school of jurisprudence, studied under Imam Ja’afar Ibn Sadiq, whom Shi’a Muslims consider their Sixth Imam. Did Abu Hanifa become a Shi’a because he studied under a Shi’a Imam and respected him throughout his life? No. Intellectual disagreements are human phenomenon and that existed not only among founders of various schools of jurisprudence, also existed among followers of the same school of thought.
Shi’a-Sunni dispute originated in a political row about electing/ selecting leader during the very early days of the community, and like any other political dispute, this dispute also found followers of one or the other candidate. Theological support this disagreement were “discovered” and incorporated centuries later in history. Is it possible today to go beyond those disputes? Attempts were made at the end of the 19th century, before the rise of nation-states, to overcome differences within the community in their struggle against European colonialism. But that attempt succeeded only partially. Will such an attempt succeed now?
What is the Way Out?
Hamid Dabashi was incidentally visiting Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar at the time of the eruption of the current brawl and in an article he claimed that the dispute has “nothing to do with the Sunni-Shia divide in the Islamic theology.” He then described the philosophy, beauty and function of the museum. In our view philosophy and function of this museum has the potential to rescue the Muslim community out of this brawl.
Abdullah al-Ahsan is professor at International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), International Islamic University Malaysia. He is also a Just member.
9 January 2016