The Guise of the Sunni-Shiite Use of Excommunication (Takfir) in the Middle East

Abstract

1 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XXXVIII, No.4, Summer 2015 The Guise of the Sunni-Shiite Use of Excommunication (Takfir) in the Middle East Sayed Hassan Akhlaq* The militarization of Islam is rapidly spreading through the Muslim world from the East in Pakistan to western North Africa. This violent interpretation of Islam can be examined in multiple contexts. Despite the fact that these Islamic countries do not have democratic political systems for the most part and function through traditional diplomacy, they attempt to justify their foreign policy to their people. The need to have broad national support leads these countries to utilize Islam as a means of political justification. In particular, one of the greatest weapons in the Islamic arsenal is tafkir, or excommunication which aids and abets the governments in their domestic and foreign policy. Extremists on both sides, Sunni and Shiite, call the opposing side nominal Muslims—in other words, those who wish to destroy the true nature of Islam through politics. I will focus on two countries in the Middle East in particular, one, Saudi Arabia, guardian of Islam’s most holy places, Mecca and Medina, which functions as the central authority for the Sunni faithful, the majority in Islam; the other, Iran, more or less plays the same role for Shiite Muslims. This essay begins with an exploration of the present relationship between faith and politics for Sunnis and Shiites. It then briefly examines excommunication in an Islamic context. In doing so it offers several examples of how *Sayed Hassan “Akhlaq” Hussaini is a research fellow for both the Catholic University of America and George Washington University, and an advisor for the Center for the Study of Islam and the Middle East in Washington DC. He earned his PhD in philosophy in 2009 from Allameh Tabatabaii University in Tehran, Iran, and completed his Islamic theological studies (Hawzeh Elmieh) in Mashhad. He has published four books, numerous articles, chapters, editorials, and encyclopedia and dictionary entries. Acting as an academic advisor to the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences in 2010, he taught at many universities in Iran during 2007-2010. Akhlaq is currently working on a book project titled The Intellectual foundations of Islamic Culture.” 2 this concept serves the governments’—both Sunni and Shiite political interests. Ironically, as will be demonstrated in the essay, Sunni and Shiite Muslims were originally not known for such use of excommunication. In fact, a Muslim sect known as the Kharijites was most strongly associated with the practice of excommunication. In a fascinating and unprecedented 1300 year reversal of roles, today’s Kharijites, centered in present-day Oman, seek to ameliorate the relationships between Sunnis and Shiites and, similarly, Iran and the West. Thus, what follows is a story of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Oman that details how religious concepts, such as excommunication, can be used under the guise of religion to achieve political ends in regional conflicts. This article ends with a suggestion of some of the ways the West can frame the issue and constructively deal with this problem. Historical Background The current relationship between faith and politics in Saudi Arabia and Iran should not be separated from its historical context; this refers to Sunni and Shiite interpretations of it. Three particular areas establish a strong connection between the nature of Islam and politics. First, the Quranic Verses clearly recognize the following authority for the prophet within community: the spiritual;1 the legal and judiciary;2 and the political aspect.3 Second, the prophet preached Islam for 23 years and during the final 10 years, established within his community a new large state that Arabs had never before experienced; charismatic leadership of the state which directed all areas of the legal, cultural, economic, political, and, of course, spiritual matters in the state; and righteous and absolute rule. This communal relationship, together with the Quran, constitutes Sharia Law: the acts of worship and of interactions with others in the community. It inspires in Muslims the notion of “Ummah,” a faithful community committed to social values that guarantee worldly and otherworldly happiness. This background laid a foundation for the Islamic idea of theocracy. Historically, the first division in...