Understanding “Sectarianism”: Sunni-Shiʿa Relations in the Modern Arab World

Abstract

The question of “sectarianism” in the Middle East began to preoccupy Western policymakers in the aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Scholars were perplexed by what was perceived as a contemporary re-emergence of the early Muslim clash over succession to the Prophet, since the historicalenmity between Sunnis and Shiʿis had been dormant to a large extent during the transition to the modern era. The struggle against foreign control, modern ideologies, and the state-building effort had weakened the sectarian conflict and created avenues toward Shiʿi inclusion in the Arab-Sunni world, andparticularly in the new nation-states of Iraq and Lebanon. There were even calls for a historical reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiʿis, promoted byseveral leading mujtahids in both localities, in the first half of the twentiethcentury during the mandate period. Reformist mujtahids from Iraq and Lebanon began advancing a pan-Islamic ideology. They promoted a new reading of Shiʿi historiography, focusing on the shared principles of Islam, reflecting their communities' effort toward integration into these new nation-states and the growing contacts between Sunnis and Shiʿis.Nevertheless, as the Arab states gained independence, Shiʿis began to be disillusioned by the new national framework, with its negative ramifications for Shiʿi participation and integration. The return to Islam in the Sunni-Arab world since the 1970s and the politicization of Shiʿi Islam in the following decades further revived the historical antagonism between Sunnis and Shiʿis. The Islamic revolution in Iran (1979), the Iran-Iraq war (1980–88), and the emergence of Sunni jihadist forces with their anti-Shiʿi agenda (1988–89) added fuel to the deteriorating sectarian relations in the region. The US-led invasion of Iraq (2003) was the final blow in the return of sectarian enmity to the center-stage of Middle East politics. Fanar Haddad's book Understanding “Sectarianism” provides an important and innovative approach to the growing scholarship on sectarian relations during the transition into thetwenty-first century.Yet Haddad seeks to go beyond “sectarianism” to formulate a clear conceptual framework for discussing Sunni-Shiʿi relations in their historical and contemporary understanding. Arguing that the term is overused, unclear, and “mired in negativity” (18), Haddad emphasizes the multidimensional nature of Sunni-Shiʿi dynamics that encompasses both intellectual and practical dimensions. Demonstrating an in-depth understanding of the scholarly debate on sectarianism, his argument is based on a vast literature on sectarianism in its multiple facets, including both Western publications and Arabic sources. Exploring over 200 studies on “sectarianism” or “ta'ifiyya,” Haddad found that most of these studies did not attempt to define the term, which remained ambiguous, contested, and politicized. Replacing the buzzword of “sectarianism,” Haddad calls to resort to “sectarian relations” and “sectarian identities,” which should be further broken down to avoid binaries and reflect a more flexible and layered phenomenon.Haddad is well placed to deal with this important issue of sectarian relations given his extensive research on the topic. His publications focused particularly on issues relating to historic and contemporary Iraq, looking into questions of identity, historical memory, nationalism, and inter-communal relations. He is the author of Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity (2011). In this publication, Haddad establishes the ambiguity of group identity in Iraq, which is continuously reshaped within the broader political and socio-economic conditions, focusing particularly on the post-2003 era.In Understanding “Sectarianism,” Haddad argues that sectarian identitiesshould be viewed within an interaction with other identities, including national, tribal, and ethnic affiliations, given the fluid nature of group memberships. Furthermore, sectarian identities should be evaluated along four overlapping categories: doctrinal, subnational, national, and transnational. Within these classifications, Haddad emphasizes that Sunni-Shiʿi relations are not only driven by religion but also by secular or non-doctrinal considerations, and are affected by power relations, material interests, and class divides. In its political dimension, sectarian relations reflect the intersection between the domestic and transnational arenas. Expanding on the place of sectarian identities in the era of the nation-state, Haddad argues that both notions are not mutually exclusive. Moreover, in contemporary sectarian conflicts—in places like Iraq, Lebanon, and Bahrain—the question is generally not about the survival of the nation-state, but about the nature of its governing system.The book is divided into seven chapters: “What Is ‘Sectarianism’”; “The Study of Sectarian Relations: Key Debates”; “The Many Dimensions of Modern Sectarian Identity”; “Sectarian Identity in the Era of the Nation-State”; “Sunni–Shiʿa Relations: An Imbalanced Divide”; “2003 and the ‘Sectarian Wave’”; and “Iraq, 2003–2018: Sectarian Identity and the Contestation of the State.” The first chapter provides a basis for Haddad's theoretical argument, outlining the problematic usage of “sectarianism.” In the next chapter Haddad outlines the multiple dimensions of sectarian identity, assessing the complex role of religion within the notion of group membership, removing the concept of “sectarianism” and its negative context. The third chapter discusses the multiplicity of sectarian identities, in their social, cultural, and doctrinal dimensions. Haddad argues that these are broad-ranging identities that represent diverse and shifting loyalties, in the subnational, national, regional, and transnational arenas. Sectarian identity in the era of the nation-state is the focus of the next chapter, which places the two notions as they interact with one another. Haddad stresses that modern sectarian identity is often linked to national identity, as both loyalties are not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, the creation of the nation-state and its political dynamics played a part in sectarian competition, cooperation, unity, or division, since sectarian and national identities can be intertwined with one another.Sunni-Shiʿi dynamics reflected minority-majority disparities (as discussed in chapter 5) that focused on the demographic imbalance of the sectarian divide in the modern Arab world up to 2003. Consequently, sectarian demographics are inherently contradictory as majorities at the doctrinal or transnational level can simultaneously be minorities at the national or subnational level and vice versa. Haddad adds that a public debate on sectarian identities and sectarian demographics was often muted by authoritarian regimes, due to their potential for destabilizing national unity. The sectarian wave that spread through the region in the aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq is examined in chapter 6, which further discusses the civil war in Iraq, the Arab uprisings of 2010–11, and the Syrian civil war.Regime change and the empowerment of Shiʿis in Iraq inflamed popular passions in the Sunni world, raising significant fears in the region, as reflected in Haddad's depiction of the questionable notion of a “Shi'a crescent.” Nevertheless, Haddad rejects what he deems as the position of “Orientalists and sectarian jihadists alike” (221), who view post-2003 Iraq as a reflection of a continuous history of sectarian clashes.Instead, Haddad argues that this period should be regarded as a “historical disruption” (250), which created a new heightened awareness of sectarian exclusivity. In addition, the Arab Spring should be defined as another “historical disruption,” and not as synonymous with “sectarianism.” He further contends that the media contributed to the “sect-coding” of many of the regional and national developments during this period. Haddad ends this chapter with an analysis of events in Iraq (2003–18), demonstrating the complexity of sectarian relations—as discussed throughout the book.Haddad's argument is presented in a clear and coherent fashion and is strengthened by important examples, both contemporary and historical. Questioning existing scholarship on the topic, Haddad concentrates predominantly on examples from Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Syria, with some historical references. The book restricts its focus to Sunni and Shiʿa Muslims in the modern Arab world, although there are some examples from beyond the Arab world. For comparative purposes, Haddad also demonstrates his points by relying on examples from other conflicts around the world, beyond the Sunni–Shiʿa divide. The novelty of his book is in his innovative theoretical framing of Sunni-Shiʿi relations, also providing some examples from the premodern period. In this context Haddad presents a fresh understanding of Sunni-Shiʿi dynamics under the Ottoman Empire, arguing that Ottoman policy was not inherently anti-Shiʿi but should be viewed as a form of pragmatic ambiguity. He argues that under the Ottomans, Shiʿi communities were dealt with on a case-by-case basis, shifting at times from suppression to accommodation.While many of his cases are not novel in themselves, Haddad introduces some unique and lesser-known examples based on primary sources. This includes a poem from Saudi Arabia performed in 2016 by a children's operetta during the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Exemplifying the Saudi regime's official anti-Shiʿi position, the poem linked a historical Sunni-centered exclusivity with the current struggle against Shiʿi enemies. Reflecting an exceptional belligerent approach, in comparison with the more pragmatic direction of the broader Sunni world, the poem seeks to generate popular support in the kingdom for the war in Yemen. It calls on “sons of Abu Bakr and Omar [Sunnis]” to “unite against the enemy” in order to defend “our Yemen” against the rafidha (a pejorative name for Shiʿis), who “revived all manner of filth” and are its “agents in the middle of Yemen.” It concludes by stating that “they” (the Shiʿis) are “the prey for our choosing” (185).Through his wide-ranging discussion of sectarian conflicts in the region, Haddad provides a new analytical approach to the extensive scholarship on this phenomenon. While the arguments could have been shortened, the book provides an important theoretical contribution to the growing interest in “sectarianism” in the Middle East. Haddad's Understanding “Sectarianism” presents a broad, yet in-depth analysis of Sunni-Shiʿi relations in the subnational, national, regional, and transnational arenas by focusing on the complex and fluid notion of identity. The book is clear and readable and is suitable for both scholarly and lay audiences. Yet, as Haddad himself states, none of this is unique to sectarian relations or to the Middle East; rather, the discrepancy between social ideals and messier social realities, and the paradoxical relationship between coexistence and competition or conflict, are common features of intergroup relations generally. In times of tension or crisis, the gap between the ideal of intergroup relations and the reality widens. (75) Haddad's book provides not only a fresh and unique perspective on “sectarianism” but offers further insights to the study of ideologies and identities in the Muslim arena and beyond, through the prism of ethnicity, interreligious relations, and minority-majority dynamics. It also presents a critical depiction of the evolving place of nationalism in the region, as this modern phenomenon is being continuously challenged particularly since the Arab Spring, by the growing role of subnational and transnational forces in their new reading of Islam, and of intercommunal relations.