Sectarian violence among Muslims

Last updated September 27, 2023

Sectarian violence among Muslims is the ongoing conflict between Muslims of different sects, most commonly Shias and Sunnis, although the fighting extends to smaller, more specific branches within these sects, as well as Sufism. It has been documented as having gone on from Islam's beginnings up until contemporary times.^{[ citation needed ]}

Modern

In Bahrain

Bahrain is ruled by the Al Khalifa family, who are part of the Sunni minority since 1783. Bahrain's Shia majority has often complained of receiving poor treatment in employment, housing, and infrastructure, while Sunnis have preferential status.^[1] The Bahraini government has reportedly imported Sunnis from Pakistan and Syria in an attempt to increase the Sunni percentage.^[1]^[2]

Shiite Muslims are blocked from serving in important political and military posts.^[2] Sunnis and Shia often stress that, no matter what their denomination, they are all Bahrainis first and foremost. However, sectarianism seethes below the surface of society.^[3]

Minor sectarian clashes have occurred during the Bahraini uprising. On 4 March 2011, about six people^[4] were injured in Hamad Town and police intervened to disperse young Shi'ites and largely recently naturalized Sunni Arabs who clashed with knives, sticks, and swords, witnesses said.^[5] It is unclear what caused the incident,^[6] with both sides blaming the other for the outbreak of violence.^[5] This incident marks the first sectarian violence since protests erupted on 14 February. A spokesman for Al Wefaq opposition party said the clashes were due to a dispute between families in the area and weren't sectarian. Others said that Shiite youth had targeted naturalized Sunnis living in the area.^[4]

In Bangladesh

On 24 October 2015, one person was killed and 80 injured in a bomb attack on an Ashura procession of the Shia Muslims community, in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, for which The Sunni terror group the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility.^[7]

On 26 November 2015, 1 person was killed and 3 injured in an attack by gunmen on a Shi'ite mosque in northern Bangladesh, for which The Sunni terror group the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility.^[8]

On 14 March 2016, Abdur Razzak, a top Shia preacher was hacked to death, for which The Sunni terror group the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility.^[9]

In Indonesia

In February 2011 three members of the Ahmadiyya movement were killed after a mob surrounded them accusing them of heresy.^[10]

In Iraq

Following the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and subsequent fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, the minority Sunni sect, which had previously enjoyed increased benefits under Saddam's rule, now found itself out of power as the Shia majority, suppressed under Saddam, sought to establish power. Such sectarian tensions resulted in a violent insurgency waged by different Sunni and Shia militant groups, such as al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Mahdi Army. Following the U.S. withdrawal in 2011, violence has increased to 2008 levels.^[11] Following February 2006 tens of thousands of people were killed across Iraq, when a civil war between the two Muslim rival sects erupted, lasting until 2008.^[12]

In Lebanon

In Pakistan

In Saudi Arabia

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al Shaykh, issued a fatwa on 12 September 2013 that suicide bombings are "great crimes" and bombers are "criminals who rush themselves to hell by their actions". Sheikh described suicide bombers as "robbed of their minds... who have been used (as tools) to destroy themselves and societies."^[13]

On 16 September 2013, he condemned violence against non-Muslims living in Islamic countries or Muslims labeled as infidels. The Grand Mufti condemned acts that cause the "shedding of blood of Muslims and of those living in their counties in peace." Sheikh Al Shaykh stated, "Given the dangerous developments in the Muslim world, I would like to warn against the danger of attacking Muslims and those (non-Muslims) under Muslim protection."

"In view of the fast-moving dangerous developments in the Islamic world, it is very distressing to see the tendencies of permitting or underestimating the shedding of blood of Muslims and those under protection in their countries. The sectarian or ignorant utterances made by some of these people would benefit none other than the greedy, vindictive and envious people. Hence, we would like to draw attention to the seriousness of the attacks on Muslims or those who live under their protection or under a pact with them," Sheikh Al-AsShaikh said, quoting a number of verses from the Qur'an and Hadith.^[14]

However, the Government of Saudi Arabia does discriminate against and/or persecute Shia Muslims,^[15] Ahmadiyya ^[16] and even non–Salafist Sunni Islam.^[17]

In Somalia

Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a is a Somali paramilitary group consisting of Sufis and moderates opposed to the radical islamist group Al-Shabaab. They are fighting to prevent Wahhabism from being imposed on Somalia and protecting the country's Sunni-Sufi traditions and generally moderate religious views.^[18]

In Syria

Some analysts described segments of the Syrian Civil War (2011–present) to be sectarian, particularly between the ruling Alawi Shias and Sunnis.^[19]

In Yemen

Related Research Articles

Sectarianism is a political, cultural, or religious conflict between two groups. Prejudice, discrimination, exclusion, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo and if one group holds more power within the government. Often, not all members of these groups are engaged in the conflict. But as tensions rise, political solutions require the participation of more people from either side within the country or polity where the conflict is happening. Common examples of these divisions are denominations of a religion, ethnic identity, class, or region for citizens of a state and factions of a political movement.

Islam is the state religion in Bahrain. Due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from non-Muslim countries, such as India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the overall percentage of Muslims in the country has declined since the late 20th century. Bahrain's 2010 census indicated that 70.2% of the population is Muslim. The last official census (1941) to include sectarian identification reported 52% as Shia and 48 per cent as Sunni of the Muslim population.

The 2006 al-Askari Shrine bombing occurred on 22 February 2006 at approximately 6:44 a.m. local Iraqi time, and targeted the al-Askari Shrine in the city of Samarra, Iraq. The attack on the mosque, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, has not been claimed by any group; the then President of the United States, George W. Bush, claimed that the bombing was an al-Qaeda plot. Although the mosque was severely damaged from the blast, there were no casualties.

Islam is historically divided into two major sects, Sunni and Shia Islam, each with its own sub-sects. Large numbers of Shia Arab Muslims live in some Arab countries including Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Qatar. Shia Muslims are a numerical majority in Iraq and Bahrain. Approximately 35% of the population in Yemen and half of the Muslims in Lebanon are Shia Muslims. There is also a very large population of Shia Muslims living in the Persian Gulf countries especially in Saudi Arabia. An estimated 5–10% of citizens in Saudi Arabia are Shia Muslims, most of whom are adherents to Twelver Shia Islam. Twelvers are predominantly represented by the Baharna community living in the Eastern Province, with the largest concentrations in Qatif, and half the population in al-Hasa. In addition there is a small Twelver Shia minority in Medina. Sizable and Isma'ili communities also live in Najran along the border with Yemen. Saudi Arabia officially follows Wahhabism, a strict, recently established sect of Sunni Islam. There is little freedom of religion between the different sects even whilst all of the population are Muslims. Smaller Shia groups are present in Egypt and Jordan. Despite the heavy presence of Shia Muslims in some Arab countries, particularly among the population of the Persian Gulf Arab countries, they have been treated poorly throughout history. For both historical and political reasons, Shi'a Arabs have fared relative poorly in much of the Arab world, and the topic of Shi‘ism and Shia groups is one of the most sensitive issues for the Sunni elite.

Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to violence directed against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's religious sect. As many as 4,000 Shia are estimated to have been killed in sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987 and 2007, and thousands more Shia have been killed by Sunni extremists from 2008 to 2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Sunni Deobandis and Barelvis have also suffered from some sectarian violence, with attacks on religious shrines killing hundreds of worshippers, and some Deobandi leaders assassinated. Pakistan minority religious groups, including Hindus, Ahmadis, and Christians, have "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution" in at least two recent years, according to Human Rights Watch. One significant aspect of the attacks in Pakistan is that militants often target their victims places of worship during prayers or religious services in order to maximize fatalities and to "emphasize the religious dimensions of their attack".

The Soldiers of Heaven or Jund As-Samāʾ, were an armed Iraqi Shi'a messianic sect who suffered major losses, and their leader Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim killed, in the late January 2007 Battle of Najaf, as they allegedly attempted to start a "messianic insurrection" against the holy city of Najaf and the grand ayatollahs living there during the holy day of Ashura.

After the death of Muhammad in 632, a group of Muslims, who would come to be known as the Sunnis, believed that Muhammad's successor as caliph of the Islamic community should be Abu Bakr, whereas a second group of Muslims, who would come to be known as the Shias, believed that his successor should have been Ali. This dispute spread across various parts of the Muslim world, which eventually led to the Battle of Jamal and Battle of Siffin. Sectarianism based on this historic dispute intensified greatly after the Battle of Karbala, in which Husayn ibn Ali and some of his close partisans, including members and children of the household of prophet, were killed by the ruling Umayyad Caliph Yazid I, and the outcry for revenge divided the early Islamic community, albeit disproportionately, into two groups, the Sunni and the Shia. This is known today as the Islamic schism.

The Saudi government does not conduct a census on religion or ethnicity, but some sources estimate the Shiite population in Saudi Arabia to make up around 10–15% of the approximately 23 million natives of Saudi Arabia.

The Iraqi National Foundation Congress (INFC) is a civil society movement in Iraq. It was set up following the 2003 invasion of Iraq to offer a peaceful protest to the ongoing occupation of the country and press for a united Iraq, and explicitly eschews violence in its methodology.

Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim is Bahrain's leading Shia cleric and a politician. He is the spiritual leader of Al Wefaq, Bahrain's biggest opposition society. He is the founder and leader of the Islamic Enlightenment Institution.

On 28 February 2012, approximately 12 militants who were dressed in military uniforms stopped multiple buses on their routes through the Kohistan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. 18 passengers were subsequently taken out of the buses and executed by the militants; 17 of the 18 victims were identified as Shia Muslim residents of Gilgit–Baltistan who were travelling to the city of Gilgit from Rawalpindi, Punjab, while the remaining non-Shia victim was a Sunni Muslim who failed to convince the militants that he was not Shia. The victims were killed on the basis of their religious affiliation with the Shia sect of Islam after identification. Among the dead in the massacre were three children.

The following is a timeline of the Bahraini uprising from February to March 2011, beginning with the start of protests in February 2011 and including the Saudi and Emirati-backed crackdown from 15 March.

Anti-Shi'ism is hatred of, prejudice against, discrimination against, persecution of, and violence against Shia Muslims because of their religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural heritage. The term was first used by Shia Rights Watch in 2011, but it has been used in informal research and written in scholarly articles for decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Sunnism</span> Prejudice towards Sunni Muslims

Anti-Sunnism is hatred of, prejudice against, discrimination against, persecution of, and violence against Sunni Muslims.

The Qatif and Dammam mosque bombings occurred on 22 and 29 May 2015. On Friday May 22, a suicide bomber attacked the Shia "Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque" situated in Qudeih village of Qatif city in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria claimed responsibility for the blast, which killed at least 21 people. The event is the second deadly attack against Shia in six months.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in an ongoing struggle for influence in the Middle East and other regions of the Muslim world. The two countries have provided varying degrees of support to opposing sides in nearby conflicts, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen; and disputes in Bahrain, Lebanon, Qatar, and Iraq. It also extends to disputes or broader competition in other countries globally including in West, North and East Africa, South, Central, Southeast Asia, the Balkans, and the Caucasus.

Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was a Shia cleric and critic of the government in Saudi Arabia, who was beheaded on 2 January 2016, one of 47 people executed that day for terrorism offenses. Others executed included Sunnis who had been convicted of involvement in terror attacks linked to al-Qaeda which took place in 2003. News of the killings triggered international demonstrations, and condemnation by nations, supranational organizations, and human rights groups.

The Saudi–led intervention in Bahrain began on 14 March 2011 to assist the Bahraini government in suppressing an anti-government uprising in the country. The intervention came three weeks after the U.S. pressured Bahrain to withdraw its military forces from the streets. As a decision by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the intervention included sending 1,000 (1,200) troops with vehicles from Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Al-Khalifa ruling family, marking the first time the GCC used such a collective military option for suppressing a revolt.

Bilateral relations exist between the countries of Bahrain and Iran. Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, relations between the two countries have been strained over various geopolitical issues such as the interpretations of Islam, aspirations for leadership of the Islamic world, and relations with the United States, Europe, and other Western countries. In addition, Iran has been severely critical of Bahrain for hosting the United States Fifth Fleet within the Persian Gulf at the Naval Support Activity Bahrain base.

The 2016 conference on Sunni Islam in Grozny was convened to define the term "Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah", i.e. who are "the people of Sunnah and majority Muslim community", and oppose Takfiri groups. The conference was held in the Chechen Republic capital of Grozny from 25 to 27 August 2016, sponsored by the president of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and attended by approximately 200 Muslim scholars from 30 countries, especially from Russia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Sudan, Jordan, etc. at the invitation of Yemeni Sufi preacher, Ali al-Jifri.

References

1 2 (registration required) "Bahrain Gets Tough". Financial Times. 17 February 2011.
1 2 "Issues Behind Protests in Bahrain". 660 News. Associated Press. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
↑ "Bahrain riven with fears of sectarian conflict". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 September 2021.(subscription required)
1 2 "Id=278678 Bahrain sees first sectarian violence". Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
1 2 "Sectarian violence flares in Bahrain". The Financial Times .
↑ "New Sectarian Violence Erupts in Bahrain Protests". Voice of America. 4 March 2011.
↑ Barry, Ellen (24 October 2015). "ISIS Claims Responsibility for Attack in Bangladesh". NY Times.
↑ "Report: IS Claims Bangladesh Mosque Attack". VOA News. 27 November 2015.
↑ Uttom, Stephan (7 March 2016). "Islamic State says it killed Shia cleric in Bangladesh". UCA News.
↑ Indonesia Ahmadiyah Muslim sect killings condemned retrieved 6 February 2012
↑ Field, Scott. "Will Iraq fall apart?" . Retrieved 24 April 2017.
↑ Finer, Jonathan; Sebti, Bassam (24 February 2006). "Sectarian Violence Kills Over 100 in Iraq". The Washington Post.
↑ "Saudi grand mufti says suicide bombers will go to hell" . Retrieved 24 April 2017.
↑ "Saudi Grand Mufti condemns attacks on Non-Muslims". Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
↑ "Dispatches: Killing of Saudi Shia a wakeup call". 6 November 2014.
↑ "Saudi Arabia: 2 Years Behind Bars on Apostasy Accusation". Human Rights Watch. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
↑ Robert Murray Thomas Religion in Schools: Controversies Around the World Greenwood Publishing Group 2006 ISBN 978-0-275-99061-9 page 180
↑ "Somali rage at grave desecration". BBC News. 8 June 2009.
↑ Syria sectarian battle retrieved 6 February 2012