The Shia and the scapegoat

When you’re a member of a persecuted minority, you often need a scapegoat to go with your world view. Ever since Shia Islam developed as a quietist branch of Islam, Shia religious scholars have been directing their community as to who to blame for their wretched misery. The list of scapegoats is long, and many of them have indeed butchered and maimed Shias. It begins with Mu’awiya and the Umayyads, and ends with American imperialism and the international Zionist conspiracy.

As a young boy growing up in a Shia family, I was told of the injustice inflicted on the prophet’s only rightful heir, Ali. I was told of Hussein’s martyrdom, who supposedly redeemed us through his sacrifice, much like Jesus Christ did, though you would never hear a Shia make that comparison. For only a Shia Imam can suffer and redeem, but the Christian prophet was saved by God. Nobody ever explained to me why God chose to save Jesus and spare him the crucifixion, while Hussein and his followers were left to be decapitated by a Muslim sword.

It was very frustrating to grow up as a Shia in Lebanon. Other than being accused of being Persian, or worse, having a tail, you are expected to accept your Sayyed or Alem as go-between with God, and have him decide which of your actions are obligatory, desirable, undesirable or forbidden. It was always a hierarchy: me at the bottom, the man in the turban, the Imams and the Family, and then God. God was very far in my religion, and when he felt near, he scared me to death. Everyone made sure to remind me of his ability to inflict punishment on me at any time. For those reasons and more, people turned to the Sayyed for his wisdom on what is forbidden, and what earns you credit with God. Wherever you were in Shia land, you were taught that your will is that of the Sayyed, which at the end is really God’s destiny. Free will does not really exist in Islam.

For that, it is very difficult for me to accept that the mobs who took to the streets on Thursday night did so out of their own volition. The history of Lebanon’s Shia suggests that their mobilization was always directed by a religious scholar. It begins with Moussa as-Sadr, the Iranian-Lebanese cleric who gave the subjugated masses an alternative they could not refuse: a cause and a Kalashnikov. He may have pretended to being a pacifist, but pacifists do no start militias and let Yasser Arafat call it the Lebanese Resistance Brigades (AMAL). Amal, which ironically also means hope, soon branched out into Islamic Amal, and then that branched out and evolved into Hizbullah, thanks to the man who decided to repackage Shia Islam as a Jihadi religion: Khomeini. With a scapegoat-driven population predisposed to believing whatever their intermediaries with God threw at them, Khomeini’s job was easy. Hizbullah did not take extra effort to be put together (apart from the bloody fighting with Amal, which they crushed easily). You had the blind Israeli occupation squashing an entire population as it tried to “cure” a country from an illness it was partly responsible for. All Ariel Sharon had to was to be his butcher self to drive the Shia into the arms of Khomeini, much to the chagrin of the more “secular Shias” (if that term makes sense). Those rare breeds resented and abhorred the brainwashing of the Ulama (religious scholars), who believed they could issue lifestyle edicts on everything from marriage to the cooking of lentils and rice, as long as they applied what they called “reason”.

Of course, it didn’t help that Hizbullah’s alternative was an Arab nationalist and “secular” pro-Assad militia led by Sadr’s replacement, Nabih Berri, a morally bankrupt individual who sacrificed whatever independence Sadr had given the Shias to sleep in the arms of the Syrian dictator. Here again, one cannot discount the role Israel played in shaping Shia opinion.  When Israeli soldiers occupy you, thinking it would make their fledgling nation safer if they massacred children and tried to help draw boundaries between religious communities, they only reinforce the image of their country as eternal aggressor, and most importantly, scapegoat. And when people like Bill Clinton proclaim the Qana massacre an act of self defense, America becomes the bastion of conspiracy against everything Shia Islam stands for. For as long as there are Ulama preaching injustice and scapegoats, avoiding to hold themselves accountable for their actions, which may or may not have led to bloody consequences, America and Israel will remain eternal enemies alongside Satan and Mu’awiya.

So when Syria and Iran later merged their interests, the Shia community became a vessel for foreign interests. For that it was difficult for many to take their struggle against Israeli occupation as a pure pursuit for freedom. For at the end of the day, that freedom was foregone for a stay in Syrian and Iran’s prison. Had Hizbullah after the 2000 withdrawal chosen to suspend its militant activities, and directed their followers to a better and more prosperous path that intersected with Lebanon’s national interests, we would not be doubting the loyalties of an entire community, as is happening today. But Hizbullah, and Amal, invested the sacrifices of their followers, who lost sons and daughters to fight the occupation, in the wrong place, thinking that would safeguard them against disempowerment. And here lies the tragedy of a community that thinks that its leaders gave it freedom, where in fact they substituted one form of occupation and persecution with another.

Hassan Nasrallah has managed to become shepherd of a deterministic community that desperately needs a different kind of liberation: the liberation of the self from the dominion of religious preachers.

Comments

[Doha]

Abu Kais,

Thanks for the heart-felt post. I'm a bit speechless after reading this.

[T]

Me too. Wow.

[Amir from Tel Aviv]

A Very interesting indeed view
from an insider.

Shias as I understand feel
victimize by the Sunni majority.
Just like Jews felt victimize
by the 'bigger sister'- Christianity.

It's a pity that Shias canalize
their anger toward Israel and
the Jews, coz the bigger threat
for both is the fanatical
Sunna.
.

[Ted]

You frequently write good posts (this one is excellent), but you always blow it by going overboard. You are too emotional. In this post, you make several sensitive and smart remarks, but somewhere in the middle, you blow it all when you write "Free will does not really exist in Islam." This is an uncalled for generalization, a useless cliché. This is not specific to Islam. All religions when taken literally and all clerics try to suppress free will. And many muslims succeed in accomodating their beliefs with free will.
So feel free to criticize the clerics who engage in politics, but don't blame it on "islam".

[Vox P.]

"As a young boy growing up in a Shia family, I was told of the injustice inflicted on the prophet’s only rightful heir, Ali."

As a young boy growing up in a secular family, I always thought that fighting over people who died more than 1000 years ago is puzzling.

[Abu Kais]

Ted--

Thanks for reading my blog. On the subject of free will in Islam, I am afraid it was no generalization, as much as I would like it be one!
The prevailing view among most Muslim religious scholars is that our destinies were decreed for us while we were still in the womb. In the early days of Islam, there was a debate between those who believed that men had free will and were thus responsible for their actions, and those who believed in predestination. Both camps used the Qur’an to argue the validity of their beliefs. The Free Will camp, known as the Qadarites, whose beliefs were partially picked up by al-Mu’tazila before these were persecuted by the Abbasids, eventually lost the debate to the traditionalists, who favored tradition over rational thought. My personal belief is that the predestinarian views were more popular among the rulers, who liked for people to believe that their rule was determined by God. In fact, the Umayyads fought those with free will views primarily because of that.

I’m also not sure how deterministic Christianity is. Actually, some of the early Christian apologetics such as John of Damascus claimed that the main difference between Islam and Christianity was the belief in “one’s own power” or free will. The belief in free will actually is a scriptural belief that the Church Fathers and before them the Jewish Philosopher Philo defended using scriptural teachings and philosophic reasoning. The argument that if man were not free, he could not be held responsible or be punished for his deeds takes us back to Aristotle who said that “without choice we are neither praised nor blamed.” It is thus believed by some Western scholars that the belief of free will in early Islam was a product of interaction between Christian and Muslim groups. In fact, some of the early adherers of the free will doctrine were converts from Christianity.

Whatever reason and rational thought that existed in Islam ended with the triumph of the traditionalists, who replaced scholarship with a set of traditions based on the prophet’s reported sayings and behavior.

[Ted]

Thanks for your thoughtful answer.
What you say is partly true of course, but this struggle between the 'traditionalists' and the 'rationalists" is not over yet, and rationalists like you should not lay down their arms. Today's most prominent islamic thinkers are doing a great job at submitting the dogmas of islam to rational discourse. People like Abdel Krim Soroush and Mohammad Arkoun are continuing the struggle and insisting on 'ijtihad' and interpretation. The problem with statements like 'islam is impervious to reason' or 'islam and secularism are incompatible' is that these statements are not only generalization but that they undermine the efforts of those who fight for rational interpretation and contextualization of religious texts. The logic behind statements like these is similar to the Islamists'logic. Both Islamists and anti-Muslim pundits assume that 'islam' is some static homogeneous entity, which it is not.

[Aounonymous]

Excellent post ya Abu Kais!

[Omega80]

So Abu Kais, are you saying that Hezbollah's control over the Shia community is due to historical forces? Because if so, then there is nothing much that can be done about it...

Abu Kais,
You're obviously writing from your own personal experiences and are relating them to current events. But couldn't similar posts be written by a maronite, druze, sunni etc in regards their own historical complex?

[Dr Victorino de la Vega]

“Much like Jesus Christ did, though you would never hear a Shia make that comparison”

Actually, that’s not true.

The comparison has always been made…if only because a sizeable proportion of the first “partisans of ‘Ali’s Imamship” were themselves “Nazarene” converts of Arabian origin (the Bedouin tribes of Bassorah, Karbalah and Kufa were mostly Monophysite Orthodox Christians) and/or of Persian extraction (in the West and South of Iran, tens of thousands of Nestorian, Jacobite and Manichean Christians converted to Shiism early on).

To that day, you still find many Ismaelis and ‘Alawites who firmly believe in the ancient Shiite concept of AL ‘AMS (3ayn – mîm – sîn) based on the Christian holy trinity.

The letter ‘Ayn comes first in this ancient Shiite trinity because it’s the first letter of the two divine names: ‘Issa (Jesus Christ in Arabic) and ‘Ali. These immortal characters only “die” in the superficial world of appearances (“Al Zâher”) for one cannot kill (a) God…

The letter Mîm is only number two in this mystical hierarchy: it’s the first letter of Mussa (Moses) and Muhammad- viewed as “simple prophets” who do not posses a magical/mysterious (“Al Bâten”) divine dimension… etc.

[Vox P.]

Concerning free will in Islam, read about the early Mu'tazili school

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu%27tazili

[Kamal]

Abu Kais,

That's one of the best posts I've read on this blog. I didn't know you were Shi'i; I'm happy you and others are out there defying stereotypes about the Shi'a community, and serving as a model for how the rest of us should be resisting our own communities' domination by our respective sectarian elites.

Peace.

...

Dr. de la Vega

... And what does the *sin* stand for? Don't leave us in suspense!

[Hassan]

This will sound redundant but, great post. Seriously.
Would you consider translating it and publishing it in Annahar, for example?

[raja]

Abu Qais,

I've read your entry several times over. Each time I read it, I am taken by it. Thanks for a wonderful piece.

[Dr Victorino de la Vega]

« ... And what does the *sin* stand for? »

The letter S (“Sîn” in Arabic or “Sheen” in Aramaic and Hebrew) constitutes the third leg of the ancient Shiite trinity.

It’s the first letter of the name of two very important characters symbolizing intelligence and reason:

1) King Salomon of Israel: echoing the Old Testament, the Koran speaks of his legendary “Hikmat Al-Suleymâniyyah”

2) And, more importantly, Salmân Al-Farisi, a Christian priest of Iranian descent who migrated from Syria to Mecca and became Prophet Muhammad’s most trusted confidant (and speechwriter? Allah only knows!)

[Jamal]

There is a lot of whining the last few years about the Hezbollah hegemony over the Shia community, yet no one can present this community with an alternative they would go for.
Kais, while you make a good point about the "Religious" factor, it is not all about brainwashing. If any other group were to show interest in serving this community more than Hezbollah does, then they would certainly take away from its popularity. That is the only way to weaken Hezbollah, outwork them within the Shia Community. Instead we get people trying to marginalize them and intimidate them which is only making HA stronger.

[Bilal]

The Shia are mainly directed by scholars because they are clearly the most qualified in most situations. You tell me a Shia in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and/or other Shia dominated areas where the most qualified person is not a scholar. Scholars study from a very young age and work hard throughout there lives to reach that status. You may be right that many scholars do abuse their positions of influence. But it seems to me that you are propagating a complete removal of marjaeya (concept of following a learned scholar in matters of jurisprudence).

[raja]

Bilal,

"the learned scholar"... I like that characterization of the sheikh/mullah - Reminds me of George Orwell: 1984. You should read that book if you haven't.

"clearly the most qualified in most situations." ... scholars study from a very young age..." etc, etc...

My question to you is: why do people need such intense regulation of their lives? Why does a sheikh need to tell you how to wipe your ass based on "jurisprudence"? Why aren't "the most qualified people in the Shia Lebanon, Iraq and Iran" contributing to humanity through science and innovation, for example?

Maybe you should consider those questions before you praise your "scholars" so unwaveringly.

Engaging and thoughtful post.

[Omega80]

Jamal,
There are other voices in the Shia community besides Hezbollah/Amal, but when Ghazi Kanaan's Electoral Law is in effect, these people won't be able to get seats in Parliament. Hopefully the new electoral law will rectify this.

[Fadi]

I agree with you that the religious people in the Shia sect play a big role, but isn't that the same pandemic of all the Lebanese sects? I don’t know how you were raised, but for sure I have noting in common with you. I come form a Shia family and my grandfather was a Sayed, but I have never been taught that my relation with God has to pass thru the Sheikhs. Your personal experience in life doesn’t apply to everybody in the Shia sect. You seem so angry, and many of your friends seem to love that specially the ones from the south of our south. Don’t you think that Hariri, Jumbalt and others control their sects as the Shia leaders do?

Moreover, your comparison between Imam Hussein and Jesus is totally wrong. The Shia don’t consider that Hussein died for their sins, but rather he gave an example of fighting for justice, even if it is going to cost you your life. The belief that Jesus was saved is not a Shia idea, but it is a Muslim understanding of Christianity.

You have the right to be angry and I agree with you with some thoughts and ideas, but please don’t generalize. The Shia are being attacked in Lebanon now, and I am not surprised at all about what people from other sects are saying and talking about these days. I think other sects are talking more loudly now. The hatred for the Shia moved from the closed living rooms to the open spaces of the Lebanese squares. I am sure you heard about that rock climber who while climbing a cliff he fell down and his hand got stuck under a rock. He had two choices either keep his hand and die or cut it and live. He choose the later option. That is the situation of the Shia now in Lebanon.

[Cheers]

Interesting article :

http://www.almustaqbal.com/stories.aspx?StoryID=182319

Cheers

[JoseyWales]

Now Fadi you are generalizing, and falling into the sectarian trap: i.e. back HA/Amal even if you don't agree with them cuz the community is threatened.

Who is attacking the Shia? Who hates the Shia?

[And even if the community is threatened, the answer is a militia confronting Israel for the sake of Syria/Iran? Ask for the presidency, ask for a new constitution, propose a new formula for the state etc]

[Craig]

He had two choices either keep his hand and die or cut it and live. He choose the later option. That is the situation of the Shia now in Lebanon.

So, are the Shia going to cut off the hand and live?

[Tarek]

Dude, this is the first time i read your blog and i came accross it from yalibnan... I loved your post and you bet that i subscribed to your feeds... I also forwarded the link to a couple of friends, most of whom are Shiites...
Thanks for the good read...

[JoseyWales]

So, are the Shia going to cut off the hand and live?

Love it, Craig. Wish it was my line.

[Nouri]

This is a wonderful post. It is great to read this material from a fellow Shia.

Cheers,
Nouri

[Nasir]

Aslam O Alaikum,
I want to sit with a Shia Scholar in Pakistan to have a great time with him and to ask him a few questions.
Please help me.
i will be waiting for your reply.
many thanks.
Nasir

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