American weakness, Sunni-Shiite conflict
By Stuart Kaufman
CharlestonMercury.com
On January 2, 2016, Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a
Shiite cleric, in the company of 46 others, had his
head suddenly removed in a Saudi public square
pursuant to a sentence by a Saudi court. In the few
days that have elapsed since then, the situation has
begun to spiral completely out of control. In
Tehran, angered by the death of the Shiite cleric at
the hands of Sunni Saudi Arabia, a mob (translation:
Iranian government employees) torched the Saudi
embassy. Saudi Arabia promptly severed all relations
with Iran and was joined shortly thereafter by
Bahrain and Sudan. In addition, the United Arab
Emirates, a major Iranian trading partner, has
withdrawn its ambassador from Tehran. Given the
ramifications of the various confusing alliances
among the parties, the conflicts in Syria and Yemen
cannot help but worsen, bringing the United States
even more headaches.
I heard a radio news
reporter state that the beheading occurred amid the
“worsening” conflict between Sunni and Shiite
Muslims. As if this were a new thing. Sunnis and the
Shias have been at loggerheads since the death of
Muhammad in 632 C.E. — not exactly yesterday.
Following Muhammad’s death, a majority of his
followers wanted his father-in-law, Abu Bakr to be
his successor. But a smaller group refused to
recognize Abu Bakr as the boss, instead believing
Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib, was the
successor. Abu Bakr and the Sunnis won; Ali and the
Shiites lost. Therein lies the basis of the
contretemps. It was political then and it is
political now.
What it boils down to — what it has always boiled
down to — is who will have the greater influence
over the billion-and-a-half Muslims who are spread
over the earth? Sharia law (observed as the supreme
law by both sects) calls for a caliphate, ruled over
by one caliph. Thus it was in 632 C.E. and thus it
is now. (Islam is not famous for accepting change.)
Saudi Arabia, a primarily Sunni nation, controls
Mecca, the seat of Islam, which makes the Saudis
major players within Islam. Iran, the preeminent
Shiite nation, believes they are the true
representatives of Islam and thus they should
dominate the Islamic world. The late Sheikh Nimr was
the proverbial fish out of water — a Shiite
barracuda in a sea of Sunni sharks. The Saudis did
not take kindly to the barracuda. Meanwhile ISIS, a
Sunni entity, is gaining credibility as the nascent
caliphate. It is gaining respect in the Islamic
world, partially because they appear to be setting
records for beheadings. Saudi Arabia does not easily
cede that crown to these upstarts.
How does this affect the U.S.? It has been stated
(correctly, in my view) that the parties in the
Middle East are playing three-dimensional chess,
while our president is playing checkers. Sheikh
Nimr’s execution sparked two “bold” actions by the
Obama White House: First, they issued a statement
expressing concern that the Saudis’ actions were
“exacerbating sectarian tensions”; second, Secretary
of State John Kerry called Iranian Foreign Minister
Javad Zarif (the father of his Iranian son-in-law’s
best friend), urging him to try to de-escalate the
crisis. Most experts believe that neither of these
actions caused either side a great deal of concern.
Remember the Iran/Iraq War of the 1980s? This was
also a Sunni/Shia sectarian conflict. Two million
people lost their lives (not one of whom was an
American, to the best of this writer’s knowledge).
However, the situation is very different now. Ronald
Reagan was president during much of the Iran/Iraq
War and under his leadership, the U.S. led from
strength. Now, President Obama is in the Oval Office
and has a much different perspective.
In the Arab world, respect stems from fear. It
has become a cliché that when an Arab sees a strong
horse and a weak horse, he favors the strong horse.
Our president is the weakest horse imaginable. As a
result, in part, of the botched nuclear deal with
Iran, Saudi Arabia no longer trusts the U.S to have
its back. Iran laughs in Obama’s face, takes the
unfrozen $150 billion dollars and cries “death to
America.” We have little or no influence and we will
not curb either party. As icing on the cake, Russia
has offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and
Iran! When Russia obtains a foothold in the Middle
East, it is never good for America.
We must pray that the world doesn’t completely
erupt in flames before we can get a strong horse
back in the White House. Otherwise, there will be
hell to pay.