Today what is going on in the Middle East is rooted in political opportunism, the spread of different ideologies, radicalism, and the distortion of religious tenets in order to instill their own ideology. The Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 led to fears in Sunni countries that the Shia revolution could spread to other Muslim countries. Iran wants to be the center of Islam and hopes to unite the Islamic world in being independent from the West, allowing for the freedom of Islam. Turkey also wants to be the center of Islam and to unite former Ottoman colonies under one tent. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia and Egypt want to play a role in shaping the future of Islam. The western-backed new rise of an Islamic movement in Turkey is attempting to limit Iran’s influence in the region. Saudis, Egyptians, and Lebanese Salafist clerics said that fighting against the Assad regime and Hezbollah was a jihadist duty. Recently, the bombing of the Sunni mosque in Lebanon killed more than 42 people, and not long ago another bomb rocked the Hezbollah headquarters in southern Lebanon, killing another dozen people, so the recent violent clashes between Sunni and Shiite in the region has been on the rise.
With external and internal powers divided over the involvement in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt, I do not see an end to these ideological conflicts. There is no way Sunnis and Shiites will agree on each other’s interpretation of Islam and the history of Islam. Sunnis do not see Shiites as real Muslims or followers of the Prophet Mohammed. The problem is that religious leaders from both Sunni and Shia sects do not appeal to their followers to respect and agree upon each other’s interpretation of the Quran and Islam. For example, the reason Turkey is publically supporting the Syrian rebels is because Turkey is trying to isolate Syria from Iran and to cut Iran’s support to Hezbollah in Lebanon. In short, Turkey is fighting to be the leader of the Muslim world, and Turkey’s religious leaders, like Fethullah Gülen, preach about the Persians never being a friend to Turkey and proclaim that the main division is between the two Islamic sects; that is why Gülen’s movement only country without his Islamic missionary school is Iran because of its majority Shia population. The Sunni and Shiite conflict exacerbates instability, civil war, and sectarian fighting in the region.
Today there is internal crisis in the Muslim world, and if it is not being addressed properly, it will continue to escalate. None of countries in the Middle East are safe from sectarian violence. Regional players like Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia should come to some kind of resolution to examine the divide between Sunni and Shia in a peaceful resolution with the help of the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which represents all Muslims and punishes those Muslim leaders who preach hate of other religions. Without addressing the internal problems of the Muslim world, its leaders and its societies, the intolerance and polarization will continue, and they will persist in blaming the West for it and never attributing the problems to their internal flaws. Yet, Muslims never question themselves and their corrupt leaders about where they did wrong. Muslim humiliation and backwardness continues to multiply. No matter what the West or America does for Muslims, in the end those enemies are the ones always blamed. Muslims continue to ignore the very grim picture of the Muslim world, but the facts should give enormous pain and displeasure to Muslims. Instead Muslims find the easy way to justify their misery by accusing the West all the time. I strongly believe Muslims should stop blaming the West and take the first step of reforming themselves intellectually by pointing the finger of blame toward themselves for their miserable predicament. For example, Prime Minister of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan told provincial leaders of his AK Party last week that his government had evidence that Israel had a hand in the events that led to the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, from Egypt’s presidency. Instead Morsi did not manage to include all political poles constituting political power in Egypt. The majority of Egyptians saw him as a sectarian president who favored the interests of the Brotherhood over the overall Egyptian interests. The same thing is occurring in Turkey. Now Turkey is polarized by the secular versus the Islamists. The Islamic ruled government polarized Turkey, with the result that most of the secular and Kurdish political leaders are in jail.
But the conduct and the rhetoric of Muslims leaders as well as their failure to address the stagnation of their societies have also fueled the tensions between Muslims and non-Muslim countries. Turkey openly supports Jihadists to fight against the Kurds in Syria, Turkey openly supports and escalates sectarianism between the Iraqi central government and Kurdish government in the North. Turkish government has become one of the police states violently targeting dissenters; thousands of Kurds are in jail on the charge of terrorism and other false accusations. Turkey is the only country that imprisons more journalists and thousands of Kurds wrongfully accused of not only terrorism but also other anti government charges. There is no room for independent thought, so Turkey is more of a police state than a democracy.
How can Muslims solve the problems that they are facing if they always charge others but not correct themselves and do not see their own wrongdoing? How can Muslims assert their beliefs and positions while being tolerant of others? Democracy converts the undemocratic state into a democratic state.
Muslims should stop attributing all the blame to America, the Western world, colonial powers, and Jewish people, ignoring their guilt. The biggest challenge facing Islam is not America, the West, or colonial powers but its followers. Muslims themselves are obviously major factors that contribute to their current misery. Muslims do not have courage to discuss fundamental issue of their religion. Muslims should take responsibility by not allowing themselves to be the platform of injustice, ruthlessness, corruption and an unjust system. When Muslims start to recognize their faults and their wrongdoings and are able to confront their religious or political leaders and stop blaming others for their problems, only then will the process of change take place in the Muslim world. As it is said, leaders are the product of their societies. The problem when you give blind authority to leaders is that they become cruel, corrupt, and dictatorial. That is what we see now in the Muslim world in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, etc. Actually the religion may tolerate anything, but it is not tolerant toward injustice, oppression, and violation of the rights of other human beings. Muslims should share responsibility, moving towards progress and advancement. It is the only solution, and it is the only way to solve many of the social, political and economical problems that they are facing.
Dr. Aland Mizell is with the University of Mindanao School of Social Science, President of the MCI and a regular contributor to The Kurdistan Tribune, Kurdishaspect.com, Mindanao Times and Kurdish Media.You may email the author at:aland_mizell2@hotmail.com