Shiite Excoriating Shiite
It's confusing enough to realize the vitriolic hatred that exists between Islamic sects where Sunni Muslim are completely, traditionally and lethally opposed to Shi'ites. And the compliment returned. Apart from these two main groups of Islam, there are so many other off-shoots of historical vintage which are held not to be representative of "true" Islam, but rather apostates, to be ridiculed and persecuted.Islam, the world has learned, is anything but monolithic. But then, any religion can only express the confusing multiplicities and complexities of ethnicity, culture, tradition, ethos and engrained values that constitute the parts of its totality. The world outside Islam feels this is a religion of violence, based on the last decades of Islamist terror. Yet there are Islamic sects who eschew violence.
Somehow, it seems reasonable to imagine that in a situation such as Iraq's, where a new government has been formed to represent all of the people of Iraq, that the sects would find themselves agreeable to forming a true unity government dedicated to the well-being of the entire country's population. True, they started out that way, then the Sunni faction left in a huff of discontent with the power allocated them.
And then violent disagreements within the government led to the departure of one of the two major Shia factions. Which didn't stop the Shia-majority government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki taking his newly-trained and fortified troops into action against the quiescent Mahdi militia, and other Shiites loyal to their spiritual leader, Muqtada al-Sadr. His absence in Iran has made Nouri al-Maliki's heart beat faster in hopes of upending his authority.
Is it any wonder that post-liberation roaming groups of Sunni began raiding majority Shia neighbourhoods to brutally murder their cowering victims, and ensure the remaining Shia would flee in fear of further violence? Is it any wonder that vengeance-determined Shia militias entered night-time neighbourhoods of majority Sunni residents to firebomb the homes and butcher the residents?
There was, after all, the brutality of the dictatorship under which they had long lived in fear of one another and the Sunni-minority Baathist tyrant whose iron grip on the country kept the Shia in constant fear of retribution should they become sufficiently restive to rebel. The fate of the Kurds and the Marsh Arabs under Sadam Hussein's rule tamped down the fervour of rebellion.
And later, the "liberated" country, under an occupation force whose numbers were insufficient to ensure public safety, under whose very noses the liberated Shia felt free to prey on the previously-dominant Sunnis, resulted in a fire-storm of violence. That their own new, democratically-elected government has proven incapable of rising above sectarianism merely paved the way for ongoing instability.
The reality in Iraq appears to be that the majority Shia population is no better off under this new government than they were under the tyrannical rule of Saddam Hussein. It is Muqtada al-Sadr who has organized, through his legion of followers, a welfare system to benefit the poor of the country. Then his name too was sullied by followers with criminal intent foremost in mind.
The vast mass of Shia poor in Iraq are loyal to the faction that has assisted them, in contrast to the government that steadily ignores their plight. Little to no electrical power, raw sewage in the streets, mass unemployment, absent health care. The country has advanced very little in realizing its social and civic requirements. What does all of this auger for the future?
Adding to the confusion is the fact that opposition-Shia leader, Muqtada al-Sadr has refuge in Iran, which supports his aspirations in challenging those of Mr. al-Maliki. On the other hand, the prime minister has sought out closer ties with the theocratic government of Iran. Much to the chagrin of the United States whom support of this government has cost the U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars.
The truth seems to be that neither side appears to mind very much how many innocent civilians are sacrificed to their personal ideologies of entitlement under the guise of Islamic piety. And there sits Iran complacently waiting, like a large black spider patiently waiting for the fly to settle, so it can pounce.
Labels: Middle East, Social-Cultural Deviations, Traditions
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, March 30, 2008
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