Clash between Muslim powers best watched from a distance

Just about every facet of politics in the Middle East has been affected by the sectarian struggle between the Sunnis and the Shi’ites and the major powers in the international community are quickly finding themselves on one side or the other of this divide.
The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 helped tip the balance as victory over Saddam Hussein’s secular regime paved the way for Shi’ites to come to power in this Arab country. Needless to say, a Shi’ite victory in Iraq came with big baggage, which was also a victory for Iran.
There were ample warnings but the US and Western allies could not make the connection that Iran would expand its sphere of influence if Iraq was controlled by Shi’ites. Modern nation-state construct, it seems, has its limits.
If we look back 50 years ago, the only Shi’ite power in the Middle East was Iran. The Shah ruled the country. He was a pro-Western dictator toppled in a revolution in 1979, which paved the way for the rise of the clerics who are determined to promote their brand of Islam to the rest of the Muslim world.
Not only that, Iran reached out to Shi’ite communities in the region and helped them with just about everything, from arms to money.
Lebanon, Syria and Shi’ite communities throughout the Muslim world benefited from this outreach, including Shi’ite communities in Thailand.
Saudi Arabia, the self-appointedguardian of Islam’s two holiest mosques, responded with a charm offensive of its own. The Saudis were always anti-Shi’ite, understandably so as Saudi Arabia and Iran see themselves as two competing powers who embrace two different version of Islam.
When Saudi Arabia became a sovereign country, authorities there were quick to demolish Shi’ite holy places and dismissed Shi’ites as heretics.
Muslims in Thailand – both Shi’ites and Sunnis – benefitted from the support of these powers. Both actually believe they are doing God’s work with their missions abroad.
But the benefits often come with strings attached, too, as these generous donors expect recipients to toe their political, ideological and religious line. This explains why whenever Thai Muslims protest in front of the Israeli Embassy, the Sunnis and Shi’ites do it on different days.
Both dress similarly, but one quick indication on who’s who is that when the Shi’ites protest, they usually carry posters of the Hasan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah armed movement in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the two powers are fighting a proxy war in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia is facing a great deal of internal problems, as radical Islamists in the country are becoming even more radical, while the sharp drop in oil revenue is making it difficult to continue with the generous subsidies to thousands of royal family members and citizens.
And with the execution of a prominent Shi’ite cleric in Saudi Arabia last week, the country’s Shi’ite citizens are becoming even more alienated.
Iran responded by permitting protesters to storm the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and burn it down. Saudi Arabia reciprocated by cutting off diplomatic relations, while its allies downgraded their diplomatic ties with Iran.
Historically, the two Muslim groups coexisted somewhat peacefully. Today, Shi’ites in neighbouring Bahrain and Yemen, not to mention 15 per cent of the Saudi citizens who are Shi’ites, see the Saudi elite as bullies.
Knowing Iran and the track record in Syria and Lebanon, one can be sure Tehran will sooner or later cash in on this resentment and clobber the Saudis with it.
Thailand is in a unique place when it comes to this battle between the two Islamic powers. The Kingdom has a long and fruitful history with Iran and its people dating back over a century.
Diplomatic relations with the Saudis may not be sound at this point in time, largely because of our handling of the diamond scandal two decades ago that also involved in the slaying of their officials in Bangkok. But the diplomatic fall-out because of the diamond scandal has not affected Thai Muslims, at least not their access to the country’s holy sites and educational institutions.
But while the government carries out its balancing act with Saudi Arabia and Iran, Thai Shi’ites and Sunnis should not be swept away by politics in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Iran are at each other’s throats for political reasons but Thai Muslims must be “Zen” enough to distinguish rhetoric from theology.
Individual Thai Muslims may be rooting for one country over another, depending on whether one is a Sunni or a Shi’ite. But it’s best that Thai Muslims keep their politics civil and bear in mind that all politics “is local”. Mostly importantly, they must not let the fight between these two Middle East giants get the better of them.