THREE FACES EAST - Part 7 - By HJS

Modi (Moderate):
Did you guys see the news about Al Qaeda threatening Iran?

Mani (Mainstream):
Yes, I did. I thought the Iranians were hand and glove with Shi'ites and Sunnis in Iraq.

Radi (Radical):
I never trusted the Shi’ites. They are not true believers!

Modi:
How can you say that? They are true believers. Their history goes back as far as we Sunnis. The only difference is the right of succession. We are all children of Allah anyway. There is no good reason why we should not worship together. We should be one people.

Mani:
No, our history is longer. They were captured by our victorious armies much later.

Modi:Oh, you mean the country of Iran. Yes, that’s true. The people of Iran (or Persia) were mainly Zoroastrians before converting. I was talking about the Shi’a. Remember, the Shi’a were “The Party of Ali.” He was the first man who converted to Islam and also our Most Beloved’s nephew and son-in-law.

Radi:
They were the ones who started all of the trouble after our beloved prophet died. They should lose their heads.

Modi:Radi, our Most Beloved was so many things to his community, from simple imam to virtual king[1], that it was almost impossible to step into his shoes. We were fortunate in having Abu Bakr, the prophet’s best friend, and others—and of course Ali, holy men all.

Mani:
I remember there was a problem caused by the Shi’ites and now they flog themselves every year with those chains. I believe it was the Feast of Ashura.

Radi:Yeah; I remember hearing about that, and I saw it on TV once. Bloody.

Modi:
Well, you cannot say that the Shi’a started the trouble. There was a very simple difference of opinion between two groups that were trying to do what they thought was right. They formed two parties. The party of Ali thought that succession should be kept in the family of our Most Beloved and so, the husband of Fatima, the daughter of our Most Beloved, was Ali. Also, he was a close relative as well as a holy man intimately connected to our Holy Documents. To the Shi’a he was the most logical to succeed and to first wear the mantle of Caliph.

Mani:
I thought the first Caliph was Abu Bakr.

Modi:
You are right. The party of the Sunnah, the Sunnis, did not like the idea of a dynasty, so they decided that the Caliph had to be the best person, relative or not. Since Abu Bakr was our Most Beloved’s best friend and he relied on him extensively, the Sunnis felt that he would be the best person to succeed and be the first Caliph.

Radi:
Ha! Did he kill Ali?

Modi:
No, Radi. Ali and Abu Bakr were two holy people and would not do things like that. Ali just stepped back and let Abu Bakr assume the mantle.

Mani:
How did the trouble start if Ali just stepped back? We know there was a lot of trouble back then and neither side forgets!

Modi:
Well, Abu Bakr ruled well, but upon his natural death, he named Umar as his successor—which is allowed.

Radi:
I am still waiting to see how the trouble started.

Modi:
Since Abu Bakr named Umar, Ali again stepped away. But Umar was assassinated and Uthman was selected according to a new process. Uthman was assassinated in turn and finally Ali was asked to assume the mantle. He refused at first, but finally agreed. But Ali was assassinated by members of what became the Umayyad dynasty.

Mani:
I remembered that the Umayyads strayed from the straight path and it came to Hussein, Ali’s son, to try to overturn things.

Modi:Not quite, Mani. But there was grave concern that the religion was being corrupted and not rightly guided. With 72 people, including women and children, Hussein was not attacking, but leading a procession of the prophet’s family to reason with the believers to return to the true religion of his grandfather. But he was attacked by an army of the Caliph and all the men murdered.

Radi:Were they beheaded?

Modi:Yes, Radi, they were. And that is when the Shi’a were so shocked they withdrew mostly to Iran. But they never forgot the massacre and every year continue Hussein’s procession, flagellating themselves with whips in commemoration of the terrible event. And even today they reject the first three Caliphs and insist only Ali should have assumed the mantle.

Mani:
But that was hundreds of years ago.

Modi:Not to your friends and the Shi’a; it could have been last week or last month. Time does not dampen things here in the Middle East. You know as well as I that some families will wait several generations for an opportunity to take revenge on someone. Some poor great-great grandson will be attacked and killed by a neighboring family and never know why until his last breath.

Radi:
How well I know. Heh-heh. He never saw me coming. Heh-heh.

Modi:
I don’t know about your friend here, Mani.

Mani:
I thought he was yours. Anyway, I guess I had missed some of that history.

Modi:
Many have. There is a lot more to it. Today the Sunnis are vexed because Iran wants to be the big power in the Middle East and the Sunnis do not want that. Now that the Democrats are talking surrender in the U.S., Iran is making its move in Lebanon and Syria. Al Qaeda is the only force in the Middle East, outside of Egypt, that thinks it can hold them back.

Radi:
So we may be looking at another big war. Oh, goody! Heads will roll!

Mani:
Shut up, Radi. Anyway, the shadows are lengthening. We need a little peace and solace. Let’s go wash up. Modi, I need to be a better friend to you; I know I am very hard on you.

Modi:
Perhaps Allah will help. He knows what’s in your heart. I hear Balil. Let’s go, Radi!

HJS
[1] "Muhammad and the Unbelievers", Center for the Study of Political Islam, page 1