Islamic Sectarian Politics
A Review of Vali Nasr's The Shi'a Revival
Jeremy Grunert
Last Updated: 9/26/07 Section: Books and Arts
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"The Qur'an has told us that the machinations of the hypocrites, the deceit of the fifth column, and the cunning of those of our fellow countrymen whose tongues speak honeyed words but whose hearts are those of devils in the bodies of men!"
These words, the work of one of the most dangerous men in Iraq, the former Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, were written in January 2004 in a communiqué declaring his undying allegiance to Usama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network. For Zarqawi, the struggle in Iraq-a struggle which could manifest itself in other Middle Eastern nations-is not merely a battle against the forces of "occupation." According to Zarqawi and other Sunni extremists, the fight goes much deeper; it is against "a crafty enemy who wears the garb of a friend." Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. bombing raid on June 7, 2006, but the identity of the "enemy within" mentioned in his letter has had, and will continue to have, ominous consequences both for the United States' military venture in Iraq and for the broader Middle East. The "fifth column" of Zarqawi's letter is none other than a community of people who have been the persecuted neighbors of the Arab Sunnis for over a millennium-the Shi'a Muslims.
With increasingly brutal sectarian violence continuing in Iraq, the Shi'a-Sunni divide has become a topic of great importance to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Here in the United States, however, many people do not understand the long standing opposition between these two distinct sects of Islam. Even important government leaders are sometimes unable to differentiate between the Shi'a and the Sunni. Take, for example, this quote from Senator Trent Lott: "Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me." Why, indeed.
In his new book, The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future, Iranian-born scholar Vali Nasr seeks to address this problem by presenting a wealth of information about the Shi'a-their history, beliefs, ideas-as well as the prospect of their recent ascendancy as a regional power in the Persian Gulf secured by the United States' invasion of Iraq. Nasr has coined the titular phrase "the Shia revival" to describe the rise in Shi'ite power which, he claims, is currently transforming the Middle East.
These words, the work of one of the most dangerous men in Iraq, the former Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, were written in January 2004 in a communiqué declaring his undying allegiance to Usama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network. For Zarqawi, the struggle in Iraq-a struggle which could manifest itself in other Middle Eastern nations-is not merely a battle against the forces of "occupation." According to Zarqawi and other Sunni extremists, the fight goes much deeper; it is against "a crafty enemy who wears the garb of a friend." Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. bombing raid on June 7, 2006, but the identity of the "enemy within" mentioned in his letter has had, and will continue to have, ominous consequences both for the United States' military venture in Iraq and for the broader Middle East. The "fifth column" of Zarqawi's letter is none other than a community of people who have been the persecuted neighbors of the Arab Sunnis for over a millennium-the Shi'a Muslims.
With increasingly brutal sectarian violence continuing in Iraq, the Shi'a-Sunni divide has become a topic of great importance to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Here in the United States, however, many people do not understand the long standing opposition between these two distinct sects of Islam. Even important government leaders are sometimes unable to differentiate between the Shi'a and the Sunni. Take, for example, this quote from Senator Trent Lott: "Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me." Why, indeed.
In his new book, The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future, Iranian-born scholar Vali Nasr seeks to address this problem by presenting a wealth of information about the Shi'a-their history, beliefs, ideas-as well as the prospect of their recent ascendancy as a regional power in the Persian Gulf secured by the United States' invasion of Iraq. Nasr has coined the titular phrase "the Shia revival" to describe the rise in Shi'ite power which, he claims, is currently transforming the Middle East.
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