It would be nice to see the Sunnis and Shia put aside their differences so that they would stop killing each other. It would also have been nice to have seen the author of this article saying that Islam should put aside its differences with the other religions practiced in the world so that many people could live in peace.
Religious intolerance: Al-Ahsa wake-up call!
Last updated: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 12:46 AM
Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi
Sometimes we need a wake-up call to realize the dangers we are facing. For many years now, the extremists among us have been inciting hate and animosity. They used religion, ethnicity and gender to divide us — religious and liberal, Sunni and Shia, men and women, tribal and non-tribal and Arab and non-Arab. This mad division has led to brothers and sisters fighting each other with their homes in flames.
What happened in Al-Ahsa when Al-Qaeda extremists opened fire on peaceful Shias coming out of their gathering, killing and hurting many of them, was the wake-up call we all needed.
When I was in the US, pursuing my higher studies, I published a webpage called: “Understanding Islam and Muslims.” In one of its sections, I wrote: “There are Muslims and there are those who call themselves Muslims, like the Shias.”
Many Shias wrote asking me to correct this line, but I refused citing what I was told and taught about them. Then I met Shia brothers in our Sunni mosque. They came to join us in Ramadan, praying and sharing their Iftar. Even though we did not discuss religious issues, I noted how friendly, sincere, and honest they were. I had to revisit my original judgment.
We have different interpretations of Islam. We believe ours is the right one. They have the same conviction. But we all pray toward the same Kaaba, fast in Ramadan, perform Haj, pay Zakat, and most importantly — believe there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Prophet.
Yes, there was bad blood in the family, but that was a long time ago. Christians have the same history, but look at them today, cooperating in building civilization. It is all behind them, lessons in history to be learned and never repeated.
We need to overcome the bloody past, and we did, for a while. In Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and here in Saudi Arabia, we lived in peaceful coexistence for ages. Families and tribes followed different sects. We intermarried, worked, lived and played in the same neighborhood, and went to the same schools.
Then, came the extremists from both sides, who opened old books, reminded us of old animosity, and put us at war — again. This worked well in Iraq, and to a lesser extent in Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and now in Yemen. Thanks to Allah, we survived their schemes, here. That didn’t sit well with them, so they tried to link issues here with there — blaming all Shias and Sunnis for the crimes of some, now and throughout history. They used satellite TV channels, social media, mosques, school books and literature to open up the old files and discuss the new. Unfortunately, we let them get away with it. No laws were set to outlaw hate speech.
Continue reading at:
Religious intolerance Al-Ahsa wake-up call Opinion Saudi Gazette
Religious intolerance: Al-Ahsa wake-up call!
Last updated: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 12:46 AM
Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi
Sometimes we need a wake-up call to realize the dangers we are facing. For many years now, the extremists among us have been inciting hate and animosity. They used religion, ethnicity and gender to divide us — religious and liberal, Sunni and Shia, men and women, tribal and non-tribal and Arab and non-Arab. This mad division has led to brothers and sisters fighting each other with their homes in flames.
What happened in Al-Ahsa when Al-Qaeda extremists opened fire on peaceful Shias coming out of their gathering, killing and hurting many of them, was the wake-up call we all needed.
When I was in the US, pursuing my higher studies, I published a webpage called: “Understanding Islam and Muslims.” In one of its sections, I wrote: “There are Muslims and there are those who call themselves Muslims, like the Shias.”
Many Shias wrote asking me to correct this line, but I refused citing what I was told and taught about them. Then I met Shia brothers in our Sunni mosque. They came to join us in Ramadan, praying and sharing their Iftar. Even though we did not discuss religious issues, I noted how friendly, sincere, and honest they were. I had to revisit my original judgment.
We have different interpretations of Islam. We believe ours is the right one. They have the same conviction. But we all pray toward the same Kaaba, fast in Ramadan, perform Haj, pay Zakat, and most importantly — believe there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Prophet.
Yes, there was bad blood in the family, but that was a long time ago. Christians have the same history, but look at them today, cooperating in building civilization. It is all behind them, lessons in history to be learned and never repeated.
We need to overcome the bloody past, and we did, for a while. In Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and here in Saudi Arabia, we lived in peaceful coexistence for ages. Families and tribes followed different sects. We intermarried, worked, lived and played in the same neighborhood, and went to the same schools.
Then, came the extremists from both sides, who opened old books, reminded us of old animosity, and put us at war — again. This worked well in Iraq, and to a lesser extent in Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and now in Yemen. Thanks to Allah, we survived their schemes, here. That didn’t sit well with them, so they tried to link issues here with there — blaming all Shias and Sunnis for the crimes of some, now and throughout history. They used satellite TV channels, social media, mosques, school books and literature to open up the old files and discuss the new. Unfortunately, we let them get away with it. No laws were set to outlaw hate speech.
Continue reading at:
Religious intolerance Al-Ahsa wake-up call Opinion Saudi Gazette
