Karbala continues to bleed

Image via WikipediaSunni militants have killed 62 Shiite pilgrims in Karbala, Iraq. The Shia-Sunni rivalry in Islam continues to claim lives 1300-years after the dispute first emerged the very day Prophet Muhammad (SAW) died.

I often wonder why Muslim societies have such poor dispute resolution mechanisms. More Muslims today are killed by other fellow Muslims. The intra-Muslim violence has continued over centuries. The Arab-non-Arab violence and the Shiite-Sunni violence are only two examples of the gory disputes that have made Muslim societies weak and vulnerable.

The relatively prosperous Muslim societies, the ones who do not rely on petro-dollars, are of mostly of non-Arab origins and are located further away from the spiritual heart of Islam in Mecca. Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and even Bangladesh are examples of places where Islamic beliefs and indigenous cultures have meshed together to create non-violent versions of Islam.

However, as one moves closer towards Mecca, the clash between faith and indigenous cultures becomes more pronounced. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran serve as examples of the clash within Muslim societies.

But no other schism in Islam has been more devastating then the one between Shiites and Sunnis. It started the day Prophet Muhammad died and his companions met at Saqeefa-bani-Sa'ada to select Prophet's close friend, Abu-Bakar, as his successor. Prophet's family, comprising his daughter and son-in-law (Ali), disagreed with the choice of the successor. Thus started the dispute that has not been resolved since that fateful night the Prophet died.

Several wars were waged between the two groups, which had different tribal origins as well. The Prophet's family belonged to the minority Bani Hashim clan. Others belonged to the more powerful Omayyad tribe. Despite the differences between the clans, their ancestors descended from the same great, great, great grand father, Abd-Munaf.

The clashes between Shiites and Sunnis started early, one of which pitted Ali against an army led by Prophet's wife, who was also the daughter of the first caliph, Abu Bakar. In another war, the Omayad Caliph Yazeed killed all but one living males in the Prophet's family, including Prophet's grandson Hussain.

Hussain and 73 of his companions, including his six-moth old son Ali Asghar, were butchered at the banks of Euphrates near Karbala on October 10, 680. It is the same Karbala where Sunni militants killed 62 Shiites the other day.

Karbala continues to bleed.

Related articles

• 45 Shiite pilgrims killed in twin suicide bombings in Iraq's Karbala - Xinhua (news.google.com)
• Dozens Killed in Karbala Bombings - Voice of America (news.google.com)

Suicide car bomber rams hospital in Hangu, Pakistan

It's that time of the year when the Sunni militants step up their campaign of murderous suicide attacks against the Shiites. Why now, you ask. It is the start of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar when the Shiites commemorate the death of Imam Hussein (the grand-son of Prophet Muhammad) who was brutally murdered along with his family and friends at the banks of Euphrates in Iraq. The Omayyad Caliph, Yazeed, orchestrated the mass murder of the Prophet's family to take over control of the rapidly growing Muslim empire. Any living descendant of the Prophet's family would have questioned Yazeed's legitimacy to the throne, which he inherited from his father, Muawwiya.

So here is the schism that has plagued Islam over the past 1400-plus years. Those who sided with the Prophet's family, the Shiites, have always been in minority and have been attacked by those who sided with, and continue to support, Omayyads and their present-day decedents, the Wahabis based in Saudi Arabia.

The past week has witnessed an increase in suicide bombings in Pakistan where the Saudi-backed Sunni extremists have killed almost a 100 Sunni moderates and Shiites in suicide bombings.

Given that this conflict between the Shiites and the Sunnis continues to generate victims 1400 years hence, I have not much confidence in the Muslim ethos to resolve conflicts effectively. How many more centuries before this killing of Muslims at the hands of other Muslims would cease?

BBC News - Suicide car bomber rams hospital in Hangu, Pakistan

A suicide bomber has rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a hospital, killing 11 people in north-west Pakistan, say police.
Another 16 people were injured by the blast at the Shia Muslim-run facility in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to police.
The explosion follows the start of the Islamic holy month of Muharram, which is especially important for Shias.
Meanwhile, a US drone plane killed four people in the neighbouring tribal belt.
Investigators suspect Friday's suicide bombing on the outskirts of Hangu was a sectarian attack. Sunni militant groups often target Shias during Muharram.
"A car rammed into the hospital while people were praying in a hall and we have reports of at least 11 killed," the news agency Reuters quoted Hangu police chief Abdul Rashid as saying.
A tractor and trailer carrying 250kg (550lb) of explosives were used for the attack, Hangu police spokesman Fazal Naeem told news agency AFP.
It was the fourth major suicide attack this week in Pakistan.
On Monday, two bombers killed more than 40 people as they attacked anti-Taliban militia talks in Mohmand, in the north-western tribal belt.
On Tuesday, a suicide attacker failed in an attempt to assassinate the chief minister of Pakistan's south-western province of Balochistan.
On Wednesday, a bomber blew himself up near a minibus in the town of Kohat, not far from Hangu, killing at least 16 people.
Friday's air strike on a vehicle and house in Khadar Khel, North Waziristan, killed four militants, according to Pakistani officials.
The report is difficult to verify because the region, which lies on the Afghan border, is one of the most dangerous in the world.
It would be the second drone strike in the region this week. The frequency of such attacks has increased under the administration of US President Barack Obama.

Related articles

• Suicide bomber kills 15 on bus (independent.co.uk)