At an ideological level, in recent times Christians don’t kill Christians, Hindus don’t kill Hindus, Sikhs don’t kill Sikhs and Jews don’t kill Jews. They may have many ideological differences amongst themselves but they generally do not launch a kind of war on others from their own faiths. Sadly, this is not the case with Islam wherein scores of Muslims are murdered by other Muslims on a daily basis. At the second level you find the Muslims also to be on a warpath with Christians, Jews and Hindus too. Both these struggles have rendered the religion not only weak but also evolutionary bankrupt. There was a time when Islamic civilizations of the Middle East were far ahead of the Western empires of the time. That was the time when the very best in scientific and philosophical works were produced by Muslim thinkers. More tolerance for different religious beliefs could be found in Muslim lands than just about anywhere else on this planet. Just look around now and you’ll see that exactly the opposite is true. No  creative inventions, works or research can be found forthcoming from Muslim lands. Creativity is being stifled if not being killed. There may have been individual geniuses from the faith in the recent past but that had very little to do with the religion those people followed or the land from which they come from. Suffice to say that Muslims especially those living in predominantly Muslim countries have not really contributed to the growth of mankind in recent times. Instead, they are now dragging themselves and their fellow Muslims back into the Dark Ages when barbarism was the only method used by people to assert their authorities.

The Iraq Imbroglio

They say that Islam is still trapped in it’s own history. The problems in Iraq are a stark reminder of this blatant truth. On the face of it the problems may seem to be between US and/or insurgents and terrorists but if you really see US has very little to do with the current mess they are in, although they were the ones who brought about this mess to begin with. The current problems in Iraq are due to the historical animosities between Shias and Sunni Muslims. To understand this problem it would be prudent to understand the few basics required for this purpose.

Sunni Triangle, that's where Sunnis are concentrated in Iraq

Shia Muslims- Upon the death of Prophet Mohammad due to illness in 632 AD there was a dispute on whom to appoint his successor. One group, called the Shias, appointed the cousin and son-in-law of Mohammad, Ali as his successor. Others did not agree with them. Shias say that Ali and his son Hussein were both betrayed and murdered by Sunnis and therefore they don’t trust them. Today they constitute 15% of the entire Muslim population in the world. The countries where they are in majority are Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Lebanon.

Sunni Muslims- They are the ones who say that Abu Bakr, who besides being the father-in-law of Mohammad was also his closest companion and advisor, was the successor of Prophet. 80% of Muslim population around the world are Sunni Muslims. The regions where they are in majority are South East Asia, China, South Asia, Africa and the rest of the Arab world.

Like I said, Iraq has a majority of Shias but Saddam Hussein was a Sunni Muslim who persecuted Shias within Iraq. When the Americans attacked Iraq they thought that once Saddam was removed and Shias got their due in the government things would be pretty easy for them and they would be able to leave Iraq after the victory. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Sunnis in Iraq have been in power for a pretty long time and they will not let go of their reign so easily, as is obvious from the daily reports of bombings across Iraq. The Shia government as installed by Americans is seen as their puppets by the Sunnis not just in Iraq but also by the Sunni Muslim countries of Middle East as well. And now in this context when you consider the fact that Al-Qaeda is purely Sunni, you can see why terrorism in Iraq refuses to come down. This fact was driven home to the Shias in Iraq when Sunni militants bombed the Samarra Mosque in Feb 06 and killed hundreds of Shias. The battle lines in the country became very clear after this bombing. It’s Shia versus Sunni. Period.

The other extremist organizations in the region are also either Sunni or Shia. Like Hezbollah in Lebanon is Shiite whereas Hamas is Sunni. Fatah too is a Sunni organization but so far there is little proof to show that these two Sunni groups have joined forces with the other major Sunni terrorist group Al Qaeda. Whether they do so in future will depend upon the success of Shiite govt of Iraq to forge ties with the Sunnis in the country and on the future course of the relationship between Israel and Palestinians.

Pertinent to mention that Iran too is a Shiite majority country with a Shiite govt in power and they have now developed a strong relationship with the Shia regime in Iraq. Those who say that Iran is responsible for nurturing terrorists inside Iraq belie this very important fact that both Iran and Iraq symbolize the revival of Shias in an otherwise Sunni dominated Muslim world. In the hearts and minds of Iranians their nuclear ambitions are also a symbol of this very revival because the Sunnis already have a nuclear bomb- in Pakistan.

While the US supports the Shia govt in Iraq it is finding it rather difficult to confront Shias of Iran for the fear of losing support within Iraq. This is a very important reason because of which we see US tolerating and even trying to reach out to Iran even as Iran remains defiant.

Religion and Politics

Conquests of Mohammad

Since times immemorial religion has always tried to influence politics of the regions wherever they had a following. Many political leaders of various religions were also their religious leaders and in some cases their Gods too, like in Hinduism where Shri Ram was a ruler too (The difference is that he was not a religious leader in the strictest sense. He propounded his virtues by his actions in his life as a son, husband and king because of which he is revered today and not because of any religion he founded). Even in Christianity, though Jesus was not a military ruler the church still had a very big sway over the politics in middle ages. But both these religions progressed over time and slowly and slowly the influence of religion over politics diminished. Unfortunately, this did not happen in Islam. Prophet Mohammad, who propagated the religion was a military ruler. Even his successors, both Sunni as well as Shia were military rulers. As you can imagine if the propounder of the religion was a military ruler it would be rather difficult for the successors and followers of that faith to be able to draw a line between the two. It is for such reasons you have religious leaders like Ali Khomeini who have the final say in politics of Iran. Even in Sunni countries where they do not really have a supreme religious leader the politics and the military are deeply linked to the religious beliefs of Islam.

The Oil Effect

The current mess in the entire region may seem to rise from the differences in ideology and that was indeed the case when it all began. But things have changed drastically since then. There is nothing ideological about it anymore. It is all about the oil in the region. Oil which in turn means power and money is the driving force behind most of these extremist organizations. If the region did not have oil these countries and the various sects of Islam would possibly have learnt to live with each other peacefully by now. The US too is in the region because of the very same reason. They wouldn’t have bothered much with Iraq or even Palestine for that matter had it not been for the oil in this area. As you guys would appreciate this oil is the backbone of many economies in the Middle East. The same oil is also intricately linked to the economies of countries the world over, most prominently that of US. Within the OPEC too there are groups based on Shia or Sunni affiliations of the respective countries. It is for this reason that you see the OPEC countries talking in different languages and saying different things on the prices and volumes of oil to be produced by them. OPEC which could have been the meeting grounds for all the countries of the region is fast becoming exactly the opposite.

>Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia

The next most important question which Islam and in turn the world has to face is the influence of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism, as they say, is one of the most fundamentalist forms of Islam wherein any kind of idolatory is prohibited, among other things. In their opinion even Shias are non Muslims. In 1801 and 1802 Wahhabis carried out systematic massacres of Shias and captured their holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in Iraq. In 1803 and 1804 they also captured Mecca and Medina and destroyed historical monuments and various holy Muslim sites and shrines, such as the shrine built over the tomb of Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, and even intended to destroy the grave of Muhammad himself as they considered it idolatrous. It is therefore rather ironical that the form of Islam which completely prohibits idolatory is responsible for the holiest idolatory symbols of Islam, the shrines of Mecca and Medina.

RIDICULOUS!!!!

The Wahhabis have ruled Saudi Arabia for the last nearly three hundred years. Pertinent to mention that both the Saudi King as well as Osama bin Laden are Wahhabis. According to Western observers like Gilles Kepel, Wahhabism gained considerable influence in the Islamic world following a tripling in the price of oil in the mid 1970s. Having the world’s largest reserves of oil but a relatively small population, Saudi Arabia began to spend tens of billions of dollars throughout the Islamic world promoting Wahhabism, which was referred to as “petro-Islam”. According to the documentary called The Quran aired in the UK, presenter Antony Thomas suggests the figure may be “upward of $100 billion”. Its largess funded an estimated “90% of the expenses of the entire faith”, throughout the Muslim world, according to some reports. And guess what? US is the most important ally of Saudi Arabia even as Wahhabis from the country send billions of dollars to spread their form of Islam. That a large part of this money is used by terrorists is a foregone conclusion. It was therefore really quite frustrating to see Barrack Obama not just reaching out to Saudi Arabia but actually bowing in front of the Wahhabi King recently. It is also quite frustrating to see US do nothing to stop the Saudi money from reaching fundamentalist madrasas around the world which breed terrorism.

Chaos in Pakistan

The last and the most explosive of the entire Islamist conundrum is in Pakistan. This is the region where sectarian and ethnic violence is threatening to engulf not just the region itself but the entire world as such. The problems in Pakistan have an entirely different dimension than what is prevailing in the rest of the Islamic world. Yes, there has been sectarian violence between Shias who are only 20% of the total population and Sunnis who form the majority with nearly 70%. But this divide is not where battle lines are drawn. The battle lines have been drawn on the basis of ethnicity of it’s residents. Take a look at the picture below and you’ll see what I mean.

In Pakistan, along with the question of who you are what matters more is where you are from. Here is the breakdown of population on the basis of ethnicity.

1. Punjabis (44.15%)

2. Pashtuns (15.42%)

3. Sindhis (14.1%)

4. Seraikis (10.53%)

5. Muhajirs (7.57%)

6. Balochis (3.57%)

7. Others (4.66%)

Punjabis being the largest group occupy the most important position in the scheme of things in Pakistan. They control more than 55% of the economy and the region is developing at a much faster rate than the rest of the country. Their representation in governance is anywhere in the region of 55 to 58% and in the defence forces this ratio goes upto 70%. It is therefore not surprising to understand why the other groups are not so happy with this state of affairs. To be fair to Pakistan this disparity has not really led to the violent situation prevailing as of today. The violence is a result of an unholy alliance between Punjabis in Pak army and Pashtuns in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan who make up the Taliban as we know them today. The alliance was unholy because the aim was not to build bridges between the two communities but to fight the communists and that too at the instance of non Muslims, Americans!!!! Do you see how ridiculous that sounds? Pashtuns were stupid enough to get way led into forming this alliance and they are paying for it even today, with their own blood. Though the Taliban do have a Wahhabi influence within their ranks but it is more out of the their relationship with Al Qaeda and the money that comes along with it than anything else. The other major factor which has contributed to the current mess is the fierce independent attributes of the Pashtun tribals. The Punjabis tried to reign in this independence when they recruited them to fight the communists and now again when they want to reign them again by asking them to lay down their arms. It is no wonder therefore that they are resisting this with their whole might with the help of Al Qaeda and Saudi money.

The second important facet of the violence is the Balochis desire to break away from the fold of Pakistan. Their economic status is among the worst in in the country with unemployment at an all time high. They perceive the Punjabis being the root cause of their political, cultural and economic decline. The very fact that Pak govt entered into a peace deal with militants in SWAT and granted them a kind of autonomy while at the same time they killed Baloch leaders and continued with their crackdown against Balochis further aggravated this sense of discrimination.

Unfortunately, things are not getting any better. The Pak govt is hell bent on crushing the backbone of Baloch struggle. They even say that India is to be blamed for their support to Balochis but there is little to prove this allegation. There are other sectarian ethnic groups in Pakistan like the Mohajirs who are viewed with suspicion within the country but there opposition to the govt has more or less fizzled out. Whether they are in any way regrouping because of the preoccupation of Pak security apparatus with Taliban is not exactly very clear as of now but should it happen, it would not really surprise many people. After all this may be an ideal time for them to rear their head again against the Pak govt.

Conclusion

If you see the over all picture it becomes amply clear that sectarian divides within Islam have led to it’s rapid decline. It is this divide between the various groups within Islam which has been exploited by US to further it’s own interests. Their policies have all along been to keep the flames within Islam burning while they themselves are not directly and physically embroiled in the struggle. But they did undermine Islam and Islamists. 9/11 happened and everything changed. Americans could no longer use Islam and Islamists as mere pawns in the great game of power. They had to get physically, mentally and financially involved. Having done so if they now think that they can get away from this situation in a matter of a year or so from now they better think again. If wishes had wings monkeys would fly. If they really want to leave Iraq and Afghanistan they need to work towards building bridges between these divides.

As for Islam, it is high time they resolved their internal conflicts and shunned violence. They really need to unshackle themselves from the trappings of their own history. But I guess that’s easier said than done. Be that as it may we can be rest assured that the world will not see enduring peace if the conflicts within Islam are not sorted out. And time is fast running out for this purpose.

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Posted on December 29th, 2009 Best Articles, Track the world • Tags: Al Qaeda, conflict, Islam, Osama bin Laden, Shia, Sunni, Taliban, Terror, Wahhabi. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback