Shiites Rising: Sect leaders craft message for masses

The leaders of a new 'axis of resistance' mix populism and Shiite theology to win broad support in a fight against America and its allies. Part 2 of two.

from the June 7, 2007 edition

Page 3 of 4

Page 1 | Page 2 | 3 | Page 4

'Axis' stretches beyond Middle East

At the highest levels, Iran has also sought to ease Shiite-Sunni friction – to better project itself as the leader of all Muslims. Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution "does not take into account whether the Palestinians are Sunnis or Shiites. It defends them," supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a mixed group of clerics in January.

"Today, we have to be watchful to make sure the enemy is not able to use this sensitive point, this weak point ... in the world of Islam," he said. Muslims "should not listen to the enemy's enticements. They should not attack each other."

Ahmadinejad took that message to Saudi Arabia in March, where he and King Abdullah agreed that the "greatest danger" to Islam is any attempt to "fuel the fire of [sectarian] strife."

But, like no other leader of the anti-US axis, Ahmadinejad is spreading the Shiite gospel through the region and beyond.

On a visit to Venezuela in January, he and President Hugo Chávez – calling each other "brother" – said a $2 billion "anti-US fund" would help third countries escape "imperialism." And in May, Ahmadinejad visited Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko is often described in the West as "Europe's last dictator." Iran and Belarus created a "strategic partnership," while Ahmadinejad praised yet another "brother" as a "brave and powerful" leader for opposing the US.

"Countries pursuing a policy of hegemonism must yield to the iron will of our peoples," Ahmadinejad said. "We will be victorious!"

The Sunni-Shiite war

Still, these three demagogues are seeking to lead in a region beset by sectarian violence that threatens to spill beyond Iraqi borders.

Extremist Sunni Al Qaeda denigrates Hizbullah's name, calling it the "Party of Satan" instead of the "Party of God." (Salafists and Wahhabis, whose ideology forms the backbone of Al Qaeda, consider Shiites non-Muslim and resent their ambition to lead the resistance for all Islam).

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the late leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, wrote in 2004: "If we succeed in dragging [the Shiites] into the arena of sectarian war, it will become possible to awaken the inattentive Sunnis as they feel imminent danger."

"You have a competition over who speaks for the resistance," says Vali Nasr, author of "The Shia Revival."

"Iran and Hizbullah would like to be recognized as leaders ... and see it as a way of rising above sectarianism. Al Qaeda says, 'We are the champions of resistance,' and don't want to rise above sectarianism."

Sunni jihadis have, in fact, been murdering Shiites by the hundreds in suicide bombings. And they, too, celebrate themselves as martyrs.

The intra-Muslim clashes resonate far."The Islam we speak of is completely 180 degrees different from the Islam that Al Qaeda wants – it's for coexistence," says Mehdi Karroubi, a former parliament speaker in Iran. When delegations used to visit him from Hizbullah, which receives extensive support from Iran, they included Sunnis and Christians.

"Now our ideology is to have Shiites and Sunnis living together, and to have an honest peace in the Mideast," says Mr. Karroubi.

But there is skepticism about all talk of unity. Sadr has been meeting Sunni tribal leaders from Anbar Province, where some have joined to take on Al Qaeda there. But Sadr has long sent mixed messages.

During the fall of Saddam Hussein, Sadr ordered the killing of a Shiite rival, but months later the Monitor heard him preach about unity to form an "Islamic nation."

1 | 2 | Page 3 | 4 | Next Page