After
the death of Prophet Mohammed in 632AD, Islamic world got divided in the
question of Prophet Mohammed’s successor as the caliph of whole Islamic
community. This was the start of long conflict in the Islamic community, which we
now understand as Shia- Sunni conflict. Shia are the minority Muslim population
comprising an approximation of 10 to 20 percent of total Islamic population
with their majority population in Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq and Bahrain, while Sunnis
are the majority Islamic population with majority population in all other
Muslim countries.
Modern
Shia-Sunni conflicts holds much of the importance in politics of Middle East
and also in the politics of many western countries ,which is one way or other
associated to Middle East. The Iranian Islamic revolution changed the calculus
of Shia- Sunni power equation in Muslim countries with overthrowing of the rule
of Shah Mohammad Pahlavi supported by the United States and United Kingdom, by Shia
leader Ayatollah Khomeini; thus arousing the traditionally subservient Shia to
the alarm of traditionally dominant Sunnis. Shia dominated Iran was in favor of
Shia- Sunni harmony, but their contentious relation with Saudi Arabia divided
Arab countries into two different front. Countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and
Pakistan went through a new wave of revolution following this Islamic revival. American
military intervention in Iraq also fueled Shia- Sunni conflict to new height.
Iraq
was dominantly ruled by Sunni people under the leadership of Saddam Hussein until
2003, under which period some 50,000 to 100,000 Shia were mercilessly
persecuted. After an intervention from USA in 2003, Shia majority have handled
the administrative position in Iraq which previously used to be hold by Sunni. The
violent Sunni-Shia conflict took a new turn with Sunni majority killing Shia
population by suicide bombings, and Shia majority through death squad, a
practice of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearance for political
reasons to keep the secrecy of killed and to avoid the accountability.
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Al-Qaeda,
terrorist group against any anti-Sunni Islamic principal, is also responsible
for provoking sectarian violence among Muslims.
Al-Qaeda has carried out many attacks on non-Sunni Muslims and non-Muslims;
9/11 attacks, Yazidi community bombings,
the Sadr City bombings,
the Ashoura Massacre and the April 2007 Baghdad bombings
are some of the examples of attacks. Taliban, another Islamic terrorist group,
has also been instigating the sectarian conflict between Sunni Pashtun and Shia
population in Afghanistan after Soviet Union’s withdrawal in 1989. Similarly,
recent Syrian uprising has reawakened
the sectarian tensions in Syria, which now is turning into a sectarian strife
between the Alawits and Sunni Jihadists.
In
countries like Syria, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, sectarian conflict is
pervaded primarily by an effort to change the political system in the country-
this sectarian conflict has not come by itself. When Iran tried to transform
itself into republic state, it brought about the sectarian conflict all over
the world that has influence up to today’s world. When USA tried to bring democracy
in Iraq by out-casting the Sunni minority led by Saddam Hussain, it brought
about a political havoc not only in Iraq but also in USA, whose aftermaths of involvemnet still has influence in downturn
of American Economic to this date. Similarly, when Soviet Union in one end of
the spectrum and USA and Saudi Arabia on the other tried to solve political fiasco
in Afghanistan, it brought about the sectarian problem with Taliban and
Al-Qaeda, the greatest threat of Western world. Contemporary Syrian crisis is
another vivid example where an effort to change political system has backfired the
struggle into a sectarian conflict. It is safe to assume that whenever Middle
East nations have tried to transform their fundamental political system, it have
always created a problem with Sectarian issue.
If world wants stable, non-extremist and
democratic Middle East, it needs to settle sectarian conflict before it wants
middle east countries to walk along the road of democracy-
the political change these countries are trying to embrace. Trying to change
the political system without ousting the probability of sectarian conflict will
always create troubles in world.
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