Muslim Communities Must Draw the Line on Killing of Shia
By Hoda Elshishtawy
Legislative and Policy Analyst
MPAC, Washington DC
The persistent and horrific attacks against Shias in Pakistan and the Middle East are an outrageous violation of Islam. Hundreds have been killed in the most recent string of sectarian violence across the region. MPAC condemns all attacks on minority groups and calls on all the governments in these countries as well as Muslim leaders to act immediately to stop this cancerous fratricide within our faith.
The latest attack took place in Pakistan on Sunday, when a bomb destroyed a Shia neighborhood in Karachi, killing 48 and wounding hundreds. The next day, a shooter opened fire on thousands of mourners who were returning home from the funeral of those killed in the bomb blast.
“We Muslims cannot let events which took place 1,400 years ago and created these labels be the demise of our community today,” said Dr Maher Hathout, MPAC’s Senior Adviser. “These attacks are forbidden and a violation of Islam. The senseless murder of Shia must stop, and it is past time for political and religious leaders to step in to forbid and stop this slaughter, and hold the perpetrators accountable.”
In just the first two months of this year, about 250 Shia have been killed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni group which has been responsible for most attacks against Shia in Pakistan.
Tragically, these attacks are not limited to Pakistan. Shia have being expelled from the United Arab Emirates; major Shia mosques and villages have been destroyed in Syria; suicide bombers have attacked Shia shrines in Iraq; and Shia are being denied basic human rights in Saudi Arabia.
Governments that promote sectarianism, like those in Saudi Arabia and Iran, share responsibility for this misguided and senseless violence. They do not represent the Islamic values they claim to uphold when young impressionable Muslims take their lead to kill other Muslims from their cues. This deviation from Islamic principles based on justice is apparent when the Saudi military suppresses the Bahraini opposition while arming extremists in Syria, and while Iran arms the Syrian dictatorship while promoting their ideology throughout the region. They both fuel their ideological narrow-mindedness with their petrodollars.
The current deadly silence of Muslim organizations and leaders about this disaster is heart-breaking. Islam teaches us that the most sacred thing is human life, which we are seeing discarded and violated in gang-like confrontations. God’s commandments are clear:
“But whoever kills a believer intentionally – his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and God has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.” (Quran 4:93)
This continued violence can no longer be tolerated, and we call upon all Muslim leaders to address these atrocities and put an end to the hate and violence. Condemning the violent acts is the first step in the right direction, but many leaders are ignoring the issue and taking solace in ceremonial interaction. The growing number of attacks is an indicator that these unchecked problems are getting worse.
Five years ago, MPAC brought together American Muslim leaders to sign onto an “Intra-Faith Code of Honor” to address the increasing sectarian violence abroad and, most importantly, ensure that American Muslim communities are not divided or infected by international events. The code, which was adopted by major American Muslim Sunni and Shia leaders, reads in part:
"As Muslim Americans who live and struggle together in harmony and cohesion, and who agree that the challenges of the future should supersede the problems of the past, we are eager to offer any help and join hands with all those who wish well for our Ummah (community) toward stopping this vicious cycle of violence in the Middle-East, which is abhorrent to all Islamic values and principles."
We call on leaders of Muslim communities in America and abroad to adopt the Code of Honor and use it as a point of dialogue and connection with their fellow Muslims of all schools of thought. This is a time for critical leadership to prevent atrocities against the Shia communities and to demonstrate the true values of Islam that abhor sectarian violence.
Last year, MPAC brought together a panel of scholars and human rights advocates, including Imam Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County, for a forum on “Minority Rights in Muslim Countries.” The powerful event focused on reconciling Islamic ethics with the rights of minorities and arguing against the un-Islamic actions of governments that persecute religious minorities.
“Persecuting and oppressing religious minorities does not make us better Muslims,” Dr. Hathout said at the event. “Muslims do not need to believe in what religious minorities believe, and Muslims of different schools of thought need to accommodate one another, not produce animosity from their historical and jurisprudential differences. As human beings and fellow citizens, minorities deserve the same rights as majorities in Muslim countries.”
We call on leaders of Muslim communities in America and abroad to read the Code of Honor and use it as a point of conversation with their fellow Muslims. This is a time for critical leadership to prevent atrocities against the Shia communities and to demonstrate the true values of Islam that abhor sectarian violence.
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