Qaradawi's Fear of Shiism

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

His Eminence Sheikh al-Qaradawi is apprehensive about the Shia tide advancing into Sunni societies, and he has pointed to Iranian activities in Arab countries aimed at converting people to Shiism, calling for the necessity of working to choke off these activities and to raise people’s awareness of Shiism and its dangers. According to what is being reported, there are those inclining toward Shiism in Egypt and Morocco, and there are those who have actually converted. Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah had previously addressed the accusation that Hezbollah has adopted a project of converting people to Shiism, and denied the matter entirely, in full detail.

As someone who follows affairs at the level of the Arab homeland, I have not, to this day, learned of any association or non-governmental organization established by Iran or Hezbollah to promote the idea of Shiism and win over Sunnis, nor have I heard of media centers directing their messaging toward converting Sunnis into Shia. Of course, His Eminence Sheikh al-Qaradawi knows more than I do in this field, and if he says there are Shia missionary centers and associations, then he has told the truth.

The question I would like to raise is this: why are Sunnis apprehensive about the spread of the Shia idea, when they form the overwhelming majority of Muslims? Why do Sunnis take up a defensive posture when they possess the money, the scholars, and the means and methods to influence the Shia, and Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists as well? For my part, as a Muslim, I do not look with respect upon the fighting that has gone on among Muslims for centuries, and I am not pleased with the sects that this fighting produced. But if Muslims insist on their own division and on continuing the battles of the Camel and Siffin, then it is my academic right to raise questions. Sunnis make up around 90 percent of Muslims, and yet it is they who put their hands upon their heads in worry — why?

With apologies to His Eminence Sheikh al-Qaradawi, I offer the following answer:

First: millions of Sunnis — whether this pleases us or displeases us — admire the Iranian experience and the experience of Hezbollah in terms of preparation, readiness, and self-reliance. They see in Iran a pioneering experiment expressing a firm will, and genuine intentions to make Iran formidable and strong-willed. They see Iran as capable of defending itself and feeding itself.

When an Arab or a Muslim compares Iran with Egypt, considered the largest Sunni Arab state, he finds that Egypt cannot send a single soldier into Sinai without Israel’s permission, while Iran stands its ground, defies pressure, and continues to develop its own arms industry. Egypt cannot feed its people bread, while Iran has refused to submit itself to begging and dependence on others. And so on, by the same measure.

Second: the Shia Hezbollah has defeated Israel twice so far, in 2000 and 2006 — a party funded by Iran and armed by Iran and Syria — while the Sunni Palestine Liberation Organization recognized Israel, and Sunni Palestinian forces are now engaged in defending Israeli security.

Third: Iran stands with some factions of the Palestinian resistance, and it supports the Lebanese who oppose Israel, while Sunni leaderships such as the Egyptian and Saudi regimes stand against the resistance. Official Sunni leaderships generally stand against Sunni resistance movements: they stand against Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and every Palestinian resistance fighter; they stand against the Iraqi, Somali, and Lebanese resistance, against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and also against the Islamic resistance in the Philippines. Perhaps these Arab regimes and leaderships would stand with a Sunni resistance if doing so served the interests of America and Israel, just as they did in the days of the Soviet presence in Afghanistan.

Fourth: Iran tries to be a rival to America in the region, or at least to have a voice that is heard, while the Sunni leaderships are little more than a toy in America’s hand. There are those who cast doubt on this and say that Iran is conspiring with America. This view has not yet gained wide acceptance among the Sunni masses. And even if Iran were such a thing, that would not elevate the standing of the Sunni leaderships. The Sunni leaderships ally themselves with America and deal with it against the Arabs and the Muslims, openly, in broad daylight.

Fifth: the Sunni leaderships recognize Israel or normalize relations with it. Egypt, Jordan, and Mauritania have diplomatic relations with Israel, and most of the Sunni Arab and Islamic states, such as Turkey, Pakistan, and Morocco, maintain normalized relations with Israel.

Sixth: looking at Lebanon, the resistance enjoys its lowest level of support among the Sunni community. Christians in Lebanon support the Lebanese resistance more than Sunnis do, and the reason is that the Sunni leadership in Lebanon is among the friends of America and Israel.

Seventh: the Iranian leadership safeguards its people’s money, or at the very least does not practice the waste and extravagance that the Sunni Arab leaderships do. Iran has invested its money, while Arab leaderships have squandered their peoples’ wealth in the bars and brothels of Europe and the casinos of America.

…-vided in support of developing it say they are nothing but pipes made of tin.

Ninth: the Sunni leaderships have lined up against Iran regarding its nuclear program, and refused to cooperate with Iran to obtain nuclear know-how for the sake of building Arab nuclear reactors, preferring instead to remain within the American chorus. It is clear that the Arab leaderships do not want Iran to become strong, even though the shame lies not with one who seeks the means of strength, but with one who insists on remaining weak.

Tenth: the overwhelming majority of the Arab political leaderships that stand against Iran have no relation to the Islamic religion beyond outward appearances. The Arab peoples are not convinced that these Sunni leaderships are defending the Sunnis or the Islamic religion; rather, they are seeking to stoke a sedition that serves America and Israel. Indeed, these are leaderships working diligently toward a Sunni-Shia war that would bring relief to Israel and America.

Eleventh: regarding Iraq, I am among those who have reservations about Iran’s conduct in Iraq at present, but the Sunni public knows that it was Sunni armies that joined America in the war to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, and they also know that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, and Kuwait opened their airspace and their territory to American forces for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Shia Iran took no part in an American war and did not open its airspace to American aircraft. So how, Your Eminence, can people be expected to esteem and respect the Sunni leaderships? This while there were Sunni clerics who sanctioned the American invasion of Iraq, and some who justified the presence of American forces on the soil of the Arabian Peninsula.

The Issue Is Not Conversion to Shiism

Peoples follow those who achieve, and work to imitate them. How many Sunnis admire Western civilization and work to imitate it? And how many American centers exist in Arab countries to promote American culture and thought? Why do the Arab regimes not stand against these centers, which pose a far greater danger to Sunnis than any other idea? Are Iran and Hezbollah really more dangerous to Sunnis than America and Israel? Why was Iran not considered dangerous in the days of the Shah, who was described as America’s dog in the Gulf, while Iran became an enemy the very instant the Shah was expelled?

People in the Arab countries yearn for some measure of dignity and honor. They have grown weary of humiliation, oppression, and repression, and they look to whoever might be able to lift them out of a life of abasement into a life with some fresh air in it. Many see in Iran a source of hope, whether this pleases us or displeases us. The achievement Iran has made in its pursuit of power is no small thing, and the achievement Hezbollah made against Israel is a very great one, and many see in it a hope of accomplishing what the Sunnis have not accomplished.

People in general are not concerned with the idea of Sunni versus Shia; if an achievement is realized at the hands of a communist, they are with him; if at the hands of a fire-worshipper, they are with him; and whether he is Sunni or Shia, they are with him.

And so, my Lord, Your Eminence, it would be better for the Sunnis to accomplish something and achieve real results, if they want people to follow them. Are Sunnis upset with Iran’s policy in Iraq? The matter is simple: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco could rise tomorrow to support the Sunni Iraqi resistance and help it achieve a victory over the Americans, and they could support the resistance of the Afghans and the Somalis. But that is far from happening.

If Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah were to run in an election at the level of the whole Islamic nation against President Hosni Mubarak or King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who would win? His Eminence Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah would certainly win, because people consider him a mujahid, honest, and trustworthy. And if Sheikh Osama bin Laden ran in an election against the King of Jordan, in Jordan, who would win? Sheikh Osama would win, because people consider him a mujahid and truthful, despite the reservations people hold about al-Qaeda as an organization. And if an electoral contest at the level of the nation were held between the Sunni Sheikh Harith al-Dari and the Shia al-Maliki, the current prime minister of Iraq, who would win? Sheikh Harith al-Dari would certainly win by a very wide margin, because he is a mujahid who stands with the fighters and supports them, and who rejects the American occupation.

In closing, I say that if things remain as they are, Iran will win the support of most Sunnis, and the Shia will come to lead all Muslims with the approval of the Sunni masses. So instead of pouring the full force of our anger upon the Shia, we ought to spend long nights awake working for a nation that presses forward. Criticizing others will not put us in the lead; only our own two arms can carry us forward. And it is very important that Sunnis not flee from the incapacity of their own leaders and their conspiring against every economic, political, geographic, cultural, and security cause of the nation, and cast the blame instead upon the Shia.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “تخوف القرضاوي من التشيع” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.