Khamenei Contra Fanaticism: Religious Propaganda Used For Attacking Political Dissidents
31 August 2013
By Mshari Al-Zaydi
"Anything that is conceived by mind must happen in
reality," say the Germans. For numerous Muslims and
Arabs, however, anything unexpected can happen.
According to the Iranian Mehr news agency, a few days
ago the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, spoke of the region's
sufferings during a meeting with Sultan Qaboos of
Oman. Among the points highlighted by the Iranian
leader was that the chief cause of tension in the
region was that "religious, ideological and sectarian
issues have intruded into political disputes between
countries." The words are wonderful and the advice is
kind. We wish this were coupled with action.
Without a doubt, in this region we are suffering from
heightened tensions in which religion and other tools
are used as a weapon with the aim of prolonging such
tension. Faith remains the most prominent of all of
these weapons.
Religious propaganda, which is used for attacking
political dissidents, is considered to be the most
dangerous of all weapons, for it ends cordiality and
ruins social structures. In the Sunni part of society,
being the majority of the Muslim nation, we have
dozens of examples of the abuse of religious
propaganda against political dissidents. Every now and
then, a new propaganda campaign emerges, the most
recent of which are Al-Qaeda and the propaganda
campaigns launched by the Muslim Brotherhood
organization.
There was much rhetoric about this in the past—and
this will continue to happen in the future—but what
about the impact of religious propaganda of the
Shi'ite "Khomeinist" variety? Isn't Iran, in its
radial political discourse that is aimed at mobilizing
the masses, considered a huge fountain of religious
tension? Who brought to us Hassan Nasrallah, together
with his political, sectarian, radical and armed
party? Isn't commitment to the velayat-e faqih
(guardianship of the Islamic jurist) a prerequisite
for political promotion in Iran? Didn't Khamenei
himself translate Sayyid Qutb's books into Persian? As
we all know, Sayyid Qutb was the originator of radical
violence, the discourse that produced Zawahiri and
others, as expressed by Zawahiri himself?
Didn't Ahmadinejad say during a speech he gave in the
UN in the autumn of 2005, that he was surrounded by an
aura of light and that he was speaking with the Mahdi?
Didn't Hassan Nasrallah, who is much obliged to
velayat-e faqih and who considers Khamenei his
spiritual leader, say it loudly in his Quds Day
speech: "We are the Shi'ites of Ali bin Abi Taleb in
the world"? It was odd that his speech was intended to
attack sectarianism.
In fact, the guide, and whoever follows in his
footsteps, are complaining bitterly about Takfirist
groups and are disparaging sectarian fanaticism these
days. They did so only when overt clashes erupted
between Iran and these groups, mainly in Syria and
Lebanon. Actually, the evil represented by such
Takfirist groups did not emerge all of a sudden.
We all are aware that Iran ten years ago—and perhaps
it continues to be so—is a place for residence,
transit or coordination of many Al-Qaeda members such
as Saif Al-Adl, Sa'ad bin Laden, Saleh Al-Qara'wi and
several others.
The guide's complaint is not about sectarian
fanaticism in principle. The complaint depends on the
degree of harm such fanaticism may inflict on Iranian
interests. This is Tehran's true complaint.
A
Saudi journalist and expert on Islamic movements and
Islamic fundamentalism as well as Saudi affairs.
Mshari is Asharq Al-Awsat's opinion page Editor, where
he also contributes a weekly column. Has worked for
the local Saudi press occupying several posts at Al -Madina
newspaper amongst others. He has been a guest on
numerous news and current affairs programs as an
expert on Islamic.
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EsinIslam.Com
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