Look at the Middle East today. A region mired in proxy battles, unending bloodshed, rising extremism, sectarian conflicts, collective attempts to distort the values of a great religion and mounting resentment between the countries among themselves. The region usually captures the headings of the global media industry for these reasons. Think a little deep; go back to the days of the pre-Islamic era and compare the region’s past with its present.Why does the Muslim world bleed today?
The political power struggle to achieve regional supremacy between Saudi Arabia and Iran may lead
to serious complications in future
Shahriar Feroze
Look at the Middle East today. A region mired in proxy battles, unending bloodshed, rising extremism, sectarian conflicts, collective attempts to distort the values of a great religion and mounting resentment between the countries among themselves. The region usually captures the headings of the global media industry for these reasons. Think a little deep; go back to the days of the pre-Islamic era and compare the regions past with its present.
It may sound sarcastic to some, but it will become clear why the God Almighty found it so exceedingly indispensable to send the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) along with his divine revelations to the Middle East and not anywhere else.
In the pre-Islamic times, except Yemen, no part of the Arabian Peninsula had any government at any point of time, and the Arabs never acknowledged any authority other than the authority of the chiefs of their tribes. The only law of the land was lawlessness. In the event a crime was committed, the injured party took law in its own hands, and tried to administer justice to the offender. This system led very frequently to acts of horrendous cruelty. Observe carefully, that old tribalism and the Bedouin-like attitude to take law in own hands to tackle dissent and execute whoever has come back. Eternal peace didnt appeal the nomads and tribes so war seemingly had become a pastime or rather a dangerous sport. The incidence of inter-tribal war dominated the Arabian landscape just like the proxy wars of today. The bigger and powerful tribes exercised a certain amount of authority in their respective areas. Till this day this feature is starkly noticeable but practised differently with the help of political and clerical patronage. They acknowledged the authority of the one person who led them into a foray but he could command their obedience only if they had an assurance of receiving a fair share of the booty, and his authority lapsed as soon as the expedition was over. This too is observed during the reigns of successive monarchic and dictatorial regimes. In todays Middle East, the modality has only changed but the inherent old tribal characteristics are still very much active and alive.
For establishing peace and setting up an egalitarian society the Prophet Muhammad (SM) had embarked upon a relentless struggle on the basis of the revelations and teachings of the holy Quran. He had successfully accomplished his great mission. As a religion Islam was firmly established in the desert oasis of Middle East, but its teachings and values were hijacked and usurped by none other than its very followers. Rifts had begun to appear as soon as he died.
The bad news for the Muslims is that: there neither would be another prophet and nor another divine revelation of a holy scripture to end their 1500-year-old self-made schism. They will have to resolve the centuries old Shia-Sunni dispute by themselves and they are not realising it. Perhaps they want to deliberately ignore that fact.
This writer is particularly sceptic about the role of todays Middle Eastern Islamic scholars, clerics and leaders of the many schools of thought, in terms of ending a schism of stupidity. Cant they realise that this one deep-rooted conspiracy surrounding the succession of the Prophet has greatly divided the Muslim Ummah for the worse?
Browse through the innumerable Islamic websites, view the Islamic TV channels, and watch the Youtube videos and youll find an army of scholars relentlessly delivering speeches, interpreting Quranic verses and Hadith, holding theology group discussions, explaining the Islamic way of living and the 10 ways on how to go to paradise but not even a single show has had held dialogues and discussions about the internal crisis and traumas thats been tearing our religion apart, branding us as global villains.
The message is: it apparently may look like being rooted in the deep divisions among the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam, but has as much to do with political and economic clout as anything. Its here where the clerics and scholars should have played a crucial role to separate religion from Middle Easts ongoing intensified sectarian conflicts.
They failed to do so because they seemingly have failed to take lessons from the Quran itself.
Ironically, their ignorance and failure to guide the Muslim world according to Quranic teachings reminds me of our Prophets authentic tradition - Youre living during a time when few have memorized while many have understood, and a time will come when many will have memorized while few have understood.
In todays Arab world few actually understands while many have memorised the Quran from top to bottom. If the Arabs could have only stick to the teachings in the holy book and not get engaged in the brawl over succession the situation would have been different today, but the devil sneaked in to divide and destroy the Ummah.
From a personal standpoint, the more this writer learns, the more he sees the bizarre nature of Shai-Sunni discourse. The more he realises how Muslims have reached to this all time low point. Every time the sectarian rift reminds me of Gods own words in the Quran. He says in Chapter 23, Verses 52 53: And surely this religion is one religion and I am your Lord, therefore be careful (of your duty) to me. But they cut off their religion among themselves into sects, each part rejoicing in that which is with them...
The point however is that, it was the followers who have divided the followers of one religion under the tutelage of none other than the devil. And in todays Muslim world the devils are pre-dominantly reigning supreme under the guise of Muslim intellectuals and the cleric class. Communal violence between Islams deadly sectarian attacks is actually directed by clerics or political leaders. Extremist groups, many of which are fostered by states, are the chief actors in sectarian killings today. Sadly this is unlikely to change any time soon.
Incited over the execution of the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, events in the Middle East are spiralling fast. The political power struggle to achieve regional supremacy between Saudi Arabia and Iran is fast tarnishing Islams global image at a time when a form of militancy otherwise known as ISIS has been terrorising the globe. Cant the Saudis or Iranians realise it? Yes, but they dont care.
This writer, like many, is aware of this fact but he is powerless while seeing the devil triumphing jubilantly at his success. At the time of writing this piece, at least 10 people had been reported to have been killed and some nine Sunni mosques firebombed in suspected reprisal attacks following a series of ISIL attacks on Shias in Iraq.
Finally, the breakdown in diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran signifies a dead-end for regional efforts to end the wars in Yemen and Syria but the loggerheads concern also our home.
Its about the devil and his agents surrounding us. The legacy of years of sectarian violence that has so bitterly divided the Middle East along Sunni-Shia lines fuelling the animosity of deep distrust should not any how manipulate us. Bangladesh may not be home to a large Shia minority but it actually has recorded sectarian conflict at a smaller scale just last year remember the bomb attacks on Hussaini Dalan in central Dhaka. It was actually intended to exploit carnage and division.
Needles to say, our scholars and Imams have their respective roles to play in countering potential sectarian threats. The Friday sermons in mosques too, should bring about the subject for preventing any upcoming unrest.
The devil has markedly landed in our soil; therefore, locate his agents within and fight them.
The writer is a freelancer
