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The myth of the 1,400 year Sunni-Shia war

The 'Sunni-Shia conflict' narrative is misguided at best and disingenuous at worst, suggestsauthor.

Last Modified: 09 Jul 2013 11:14

Murtaza Hussain

Murtaza Hussain is a Toronto-based writer and analyst focused on issues related to Middle Eastern

politics.

In Bahrain (circa March 2011), both Shia and Sunni opposition leaders come together, holding a sign reading

"No Sunni, No Shia: One unified nation." [AP]

During the period of European rule over Rwanda, the Belgian colonial administrators of the territory

accomplished an extraordinary feat in their subjugation of the local population -the deliberate

manufacture of new ethnic divisions.

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By formulating ethnic categorisations based on subjective judgments of Rwandans' height and skin

colour, the Belgians sought to keep the Rwandan people at odds with one another and subservient to

them. Entirely fabricated histories and genealogies were concocted for the "Hutu" and "Tutsi" peoples,

although these terms themselves had been taken from the dustbin of Rwandan history and had had little

effective meaning for hundreds of years.

This strategy of divide-and-conquer eventually resulted in the1994 Rwandan Genocide,a bloodbath

which shocked the conscience of the world and claimed the lives of roughly 800,000 people. Hutus and

Tutsis, themselves only recently fabricated identities, had come to believe in a false narrative in which

they had been in opposition to one another since the dawn of time.

Today it is increasingly common to hear talk of the existence of a "1,400 Year War"between Sunni and

Shia Muslims. In this narrative, the sectarian violence of today is simply the continuation of an ancient

religious conflict rooted in events which transpired in the 7th century. Whilesome Muslimsthemselves

have recently bought into this worldview, it would suffice to say that such beliefs represent not only a

misreading of history but a complete and utter fabrication of it. While there are distinct theological

differences between Sunnis and Shias, the claim that these two groups have been in a perpetual state of

war and animosity throughout their existence is an absurd falsehood.

The conflict now brewing between certain Sunni and Shia political factions in the Middle East today has

little or nothing to do with religious differences and everything to do withmodern identity politics.Just

as in Rwanda, Western powers and their local allies have sought to exacerbate these false divisionsin

order to perpetuate conflict and maintain a Middle East which is at once thoroughly divided and incapable

of asserting itself.

False continuities

Analyses of the roots of sectarian conflict in the Middle East tend to look at the historical schism between

Sunnis and Shias as the original driving factor behind present-day tensions. In this reading of events, the

680ADBattle of Karbalain which the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (who are particularly

revered by Shia Muslims) were killed was merely the first battle ina long and continuous sectarian

conflictwhich today is being played out in Syria, Lebanon and other countries throughout the Middle East.

Head to Head - What is wrong with Islam

today?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocidehttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html?pagewanted=all%E2%80%8Ehttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html?pagewanted=all%E2%80%8Ehttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html?pagewanted=all%E2%80%8Ehttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/27/shia-and-sunni_n_3510862.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/27/shia-and-sunni_n_3510862.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/27/shia-and-sunni_n_3510862.htmlhttps://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDMQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmercury.ethz.ch%2Fserviceengine%2FFiles%2FISN%2F48033%2Fipublicationdocument_singledocument%2Fe695b499-3da2-46bc-85d5-5c69a8873670%2Fen%2F08_Sectarian_Identities_or_Geopolitics.pdf&ei=ZhjPUY--BKi4yAGk6oGoDw&usg=AFQjCNETcRnxedK2NoW_cZUUHYeo403TbA&sig2=QfVosYBSiJKSdNJvEz5XVwhttps://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDMQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmercury.ethz.ch%2Fserviceengine%2FFiles%2FISN%2F48033%2Fipublicationdocument_singledocument%2Fe695b499-3da2-46bc-85d5-5c69a8873670%2Fen%2F08_Sectarian_Identities_or_Geopolitics.pdf&ei=ZhjPUY--BKi4yAGk6oGoDw&usg=AFQjCNETcRnxedK2NoW_cZUUHYeo403TbA&sig2=QfVosYBSiJKSdNJvEz5XVwhttps://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDMQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmercury.ethz.ch%2Fserviceengine%2FFiles%2FISN%2F48033%2Fipublicationdocument_singledocument%2Fe695b499-3da2-46bc-85d5-5c69a8873670%2Fen%2F08_Sectarian_Identities_or_Geopolitics.pdf&ei=ZhjPUY--BKi4yAGk6oGoDw&usg=AFQjCNETcRnxedK2NoW_cZUUHYeo403TbA&sig2=QfVosYBSiJKSdNJvEz5XVwhttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/international/middleeast/08CND-SHIA.hthttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/international/middleeast/08CND-SHIA.hthttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/international/middleeast/08CND-SHIA.hthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karbalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karbalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karbalahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1544633/Analysis-The-Shia-Sunni-schism.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1544633/Analysis-The-Shia-Sunni-schism.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1544633/Analysis-The-Shia-Sunni-schism.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1544633/Analysis-The-Shia-Sunni-schism.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1544633/Analysis-The-Shia-Sunni-schism.htmlhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1544633/Analysis-The-Shia-Sunni-schism.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karbalahttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/international/middleeast/08CND-SHIA.hthttps://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDMQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmercury.ethz.ch%2Fserviceengine%2FFiles%2FISN%2F48033%2Fipublicationdocument_singledocument%2Fe695b499-3da2-46bc-85d5-5c69a8873670%2Fen%2F08_Sectarian_Identities_or_Geopolitics.pdf&ei=ZhjPUY--BKi4yAGk6oGoDw&usg=AFQjCNETcRnxedK2NoW_cZUUHYeo403TbA&sig2=QfVosYBSiJKSdNJvEz5XVwhttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/27/shia-and-sunni_n_3510862.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html?pagewanted=all%E2%80%8Ehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide

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As described by theSaudi writer Abdullah Hamiddadin,this explanation of contemporary events is as

absurd as explaining modern tensions between Turkey and the EU as being rooted in the ancient conflict

between King Charles and the Empress of Byzantium. Positing that present-day political rivalries can be

explained by examining ninth-century conflicts between European powers is transparent

nonsense. However, the same logic is readily applied to conflicts within the Muslim world.

Indeed, while modern political factions often make reference to theological differences, the usage of

symbolism and rhetoric which draws upon the distant past (a tactic employed bypolitical

opportunistsaround the world) is very different than the existence of an actual continuity between ancient

history and the present. However, thanks to the efforts ofwell-funded religious demagogues- themselves

either ignorant of history or cynical manipulators of it - this patently ridiculous explanation of world events

is gaining some purchase even among Muslims themselves.

Remembering history in the Middle East

For those who would seek to shamelessly fabricate a historical narrative in order to serve their venal

political interests, it is worth restating some basic realities about the nature of sectarian relationships in

the Middle East. While over a millennium of cohabitation the various religious communities of the region

have experienced identifiable ups-and-downs in their relations, the overall narrative between them is

vastly more ofpluralism, tolerance and accommodationthan of hard-wired conflict and animosity.

For centuries, Sunnis and Shias (as well as Christians, Jews and other religious groups) have lived

closely intertwined with one anotherto a degree without parallel elsewhere in the world.Even where they

have exerted power through distinct political structures, the argument that this has equated to conflict

does not stand up to even a cursory analysis. While the Sunni Ottoman Empire and Shia Safavid Empire

experienced their share of conflict, they alsolived peaceably alongside one another for hundreds of

years,even considering it shameful to engage in conflict with one another as Muslim powers.

Furthermore, despite seething protestations to the contrary from zealots of all types, "sects" have hardly

been separately self-contained entities over history. Shia and Sunni Muslim scholars havelong engaged

in dialogueand influenced the religious thought of one another for centuries, blurring the already largely

superficial distinctions between the two communities. As a legacy of this,today the greatest seat of

learning in Sunni Islamalso teaches Shia theology as an integrated school of thought.

Modern Dark Ages

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The contrast between this history and the unconscionablybrutal wars of religionwhich for centuries

ravaged Europe could not be starker. When describing tensions between factions in the Middle East

today, Western analysts (and increasingly, many Muslims) tend to view events through a historical lens

which is derived from a distinctly Western experience of intractable religious conflict. Indeed, far from

being ancient history, Europe's dark obsession with religious hatred reached its nadir mere decades ago

in the form of the Holocaust - perhaps the ultimate religious "pogrom"against the long-oppressed Jewish

population of the continent.

For every sectarianterrorist group or militia,there are countlessordinary Shia and Sunni

Muslims around the world

who have risked their livesto protect their co-religionists.

In recent decades however this dynamic has been largely reversed. Europe has taken great strides in

enshrining tolerance, while the Middle East's once unrivalled religious pluralism has degraded to the point

where even co-religionists of marginally-different sects are now often violently at odds with one another.

European leaders now regularlylecture their counterparts in the Middle Easton the need to protect the

rights of minorities; something which may be tolerable today but which would have been thought

unconscionable throughout most of history.

While contemporary Muslim societies have regressed to the point where Europeans can now claim moral

authority to lecture them on religious diversity, looking at history it should be noted that the periods of

greatest religious tolerance within Islam have historically corresponded withthe peaks of political

poweramong Muslim empires. The lesson contained herein is something which modern leaders and

religious figures - many of whom are disdainful at best towards minorities - ignore at their great peril.

A dangerous myth

Those who ignorantly claim that progress can be attained through the enforcement of strict ideological

purity should take heed of the past and resist the temptation towards religious chauvinism. The conflict

which some claim exists today between Sunni and Shia Muslims is a product of very recent global events;

blowback from the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the petro-dollar fuelledglobal rise of Wahhabi

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reactionaries.It is decidedly not the continuation of any "1,400 year war" between Sunnis and Shias but is

driven instead by the very modern phenomena of identity politics. Factions on both sides have created

false histories for their own political benefit andhave manufactured symbols and ritualswhich draw upon

ancient history but are in fact entirely modern creations. Furthermore, Western military powers have

sought to amplify these divisionsto generate internecine conflicts within Muslim societies and engineer a

bloodbath which will be to their own benefit.

Whileneoconservatives practically salivatein anticipation of Muslims committing mass-fratricide against

one another, away from the political sphere ordinary people continue to live with the deeply engrained

sense of tolerance that has traditionally characterised the once-global civilisation of Islam. For every

sectarian terrorist group or militia, there are countless ordinary Shia and Sunni Muslims around the world

who haverisked their lives to protect their co-religionistsas well as thereligious minorities within their

societies.For every story which discards the nuances of todays' conflicts and casts them as part of a

narrative of spiralling sectarian violence, there are others which point resolutely in the opposite

direction.In the words of an 80-year old Pakistani farmer,a man older than his own country: "I've

witnessed this Shia-Sunni brotherhood from my childhood, you can say from the day I was born."

In Rwanda a people who came to believe a false history about themselves ended up being driven

towards madness and self-destruction. Today, the Rwandan government has done away with the artificial

colonial categorisations of "Hutu" and "Tutsi" and has formally recognised all Rwandan citizens as being

of one ethnicity. Similarly, it is incumbent upon Muslims to reject crude myths about a 1,400 year

sectarian war between themselves and to recognise the dangerous folly of such beliefs.

Indeed, the simple truth is that if such a war existed Sunnis and Shias would not have been

intermarryingand living in the same neighbourhoods up to the 21st century. Furthermore, were they truly

enemies, millions of people of both sects would have stopped peacefully converging on the annual Hajj

pilgrimage many centuries ago. If Islam is to continue as a constructive social phenomenon it is important

that these traditional relationships and ways of life are not destroyed by modern ideologies masquerading

as historical truths.

Murtaza Hussain is a Toro nto-based wri ter and analyst focu sed on issues related to Middle

Eastern pol i t ics.

Fol low him on Twitter:@MazMHussain

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