I know that it is almost sacrilegious in the Arab and Muslim world to raise the issue of separation of mosque and state, church and state, tribes and state, clans and state - which is the current dominant formula of governance in Arab and Muslim nations, but also clearly a main source for a frightening rise of sectarian wars: Sunnis against Shias, Muslims against Christians, Kurds against Arabs and so on.
In an Arab and Muslim world, which has so many ethnic and religious sub groups, is it not time to adopt the old saying: "Nation is for all, and religion is for God." In the least, is it not time to open that debate?
It would seem reasonable as blood covers the streets of so many Arab countries in sectarian wars that maybe we should at least tackle the issue of separating religion, clans and tribes from the state and rule of law.
After the bloody 15-year-long civil war of Lebanon we thought that we had left sectarianism and religious fanaticism behind us. Yet in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Algeria every day, Arabs are killing other Arabs in the name of religion, clannish narrow concerns or tribal discords.
And we just witnessed an ugly discourse where the Iraqi interior minister Gabr Solage used exceedingly vile language in an attack against the Saudi foreign minister Saud Al Faisal. At bottom the issue was over the role of Shia Iran versus Sunni Syria in fomenting the trouble inside Iraq. In other words it was about religious groupings again - Sunnis against Shias.
Meanwhile rivers of blood are drenching the streets, neighborhoods and cities and towns of Iraq as the sectarian war intensifies into a near civil one. And the new constitution of Iraq transforms what used to be a secular country - perhaps the most secular of all Middle Eastern countries - into a collection of clans of ethnic and religious armed groups bound for a clash.
There is little question, as the terrorist Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi said, that his band of assassins aims at provoking a religious war between Sunnis and Shias not only in Iraq, but also throughout the region. Before that his murderers attacked Iraqi Christians pushing as many as 200,000 to leave the country. In Lebanon bombs are exploding with regularity in Christian neighborhoods. In Algeria President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika is trying to end a civil war between radical Islamist jihadists and Algeria's vast secular Muslims that has taken 100,000 lives since 1992. In Gaza Islamic fundamentalists are fighting the Palestinian Authority itself - a fight that can be called jihadist against secularist.
Inside Iraq the Shias are further strengthening their formidable militias that already exist. There is little question, the Shias and their wiser leaders such as Ayatollah Ali Sistani, have so far tried to exercise restraint in terms of armed response. Wilder leaders such as Moqtada Al Sadr have not, so the match is too close to the gasoline.
For its part, it must be said that Iran, in all fairness, has made sure that the Shia militias, while well supplied with arms and intelligence, are restrained from taking revenge. This is wise because the Iranians know fully well that chaos in Iraq is not going to stop at the borders.
But that is not enough. Iran should not take sides with the Shias. And Arab Sunni regimes should refrain from encouraging Sunni unhappiness inside Iraq - let alone supply arms or fighters.
Above all, Kurdish Iraqis must stop and think how far they wish to push their chauvinistic anti-Arab campaign for splitting the country that will wreck all their achievements over the past few years. Turkey and Syria will react against the notion of Kurdish independence or an independent Kurdish nation. That is a given.
So far, neither the Shias nor the Kurdish Iraqis have showed wisdom in writing a constitution that deliberately excludes Sunnis from power sharing. That is a formula for disaster. It gives the Sunni insurgents, be they Iraqis or outsiders, a reason to continue their chaotic war.
It is almost sacrilegious in the Arab and Muslim world to speak of secularism. In fact until now secularist writers are facing death threats as if we are living in the Middle Ages.
Jihadists speak of the Islamic umma (nation), as if it were possible to equate all Muslims living in five continents with different value systems. This is a myth. A European Muslim, Yugoslav Muslim, African American Muslim, Nigerian or Saudi Muslim is primarily European, Yugoslav, Black American, African or Saudi. They share very little in cultural values beyond Islam as their religion. Similarly, Arab nationalists who speak of the Arab nation are also out of it. The Arabs of North Africa have very little to do with the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula beyond the language. And even there, I challenge any Saudi, or Egyptian, to understand Algerian popular dialect, which is wildly different.
The truth is we need to just teach people to live in peace with their next-door neighbor before imposing their views, religious or otherwise, on everyone.
And by the way, this is not America's fault. Just look into the mirror and you will see the responsible party.
Youssef M. Ibrahim, a former Middle East correspondent for The New York Times and energy editor of the Wall Street Journal
Viewpoint: Secularism vs. religion
TOOLBAR
To add a comment,
Please log in:
Don't have an account?
Register now to comment on stories and stay up to date on important events and issues in the Middle East with our newsletter.