Shia-Sunni conflict rejected at Doha Debates

Published: Wednesday, 30 April, 2008, 01:42 AM Doha Time

By Peter Townson

The motion, “This House believes the Sunni-Shia conflict is damaging Islam’s reputation as a religion of peace,” was rejected by 69% of the vote to 31% last night, at the penultimate Doha Debate of the current series.
First to speak for the motion was Professor Juan Cole, the author of ‘Informed Comment’ and Richard P. Mitchell distinguished professor of history at the University of Michigan, who began by highlighting his respect for Islam, and his pain at the current situation in Iraq which is tarnishing the reputation of the religion.
He mentioned a speech recently made by senator Trent Lott, who asked “Why are they killing each other? How do they tell the difference, they all look the same to me,” whilst making a speech in the US Senate.
“The kind of violence being carried out in Iraq, by Muslims against Muslims has created a sense of bewilderment amongst the West, and can lead to humiliation, such as in this instance,” he said.
Cole was followed by Imam Sayid Hassan al-Qazwini, the leader of North America’s largest mosque, Detroit’s Islamic Centre of America, who spoke against the motion, referring to the larger population of Muslims who “completely reject the violence taking place between Sunnis and Shias.”
Al-Qazwini also talked about his role in the US, and said that the acceptance he has received and the constant interaction he has with non-Muslims and their institutions is an indication that the reputation of Islam is a positive one in the US.
Ali Shukri, a retired Jordanian general who was a military and intelligence adviser to the late King Hussein for more than 20 years, then spoke for the motion. He said that as long as the Western media is given the chance to highlight violence between the Shia and Sunnis, they will continue to do so and both sects should stop the violence and remove this opportunity for exploitation.
He argued that “all the violence going on in Iraq and the threat of spillover to the rest of the region is definitely projecting a bad image of of Islam to the rest of the world.”
Last to speak was Hisham Hellyer, associate fellow at the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations at the University of Warwick, and policy analyst who has worked with the UK government, who opposed the motion on the basis that the Western opinion of Islam has historically been one of a violent religion.
“The West has always viewed Islam as a non-peaceful religion, and other acts of extremism such as 9/11, 7/7, the Madrid and Bali bombings, among many others, have contributed much more significantly to the negative view of Islam in modern times,” he argued.
He said that “most people in the West are not sophisticated enough to know the difference between Sunni and Shia, and so the current division between the two has not contributed to the international reputation of Islam at all.”
He also referred to the historical relationship between Sunni and Shia Muslims, which he said was a peaceful one, until the invasion of Iraq.
Much of the focus of the debate was upon the Western media, who were systematically accused of “exploiting and sensationalising” the conflict currently affecting Iraq, a view that the whole panel seemed to agree with.
However, suggestions as to how to change the media’s portrayal of Islam were few and far between, and Imam al-Qazwini insisted that “Muslims must find other ways of educating and interacting with the non-Muslim population, as the though of the entire population of the US having such negative ideas about Islam is very worrying.”
Education was also a key feature of the debate, with both sides agreeing that measures must be taken to teach both Muslims and non-Muslims more effectively, and Shukri pointed out that many Arab countries are currently reviewing their educational systems.
The announcement of the result of the vote at the end of the debate was met with cheers and applause, but was slightly surprising given that the consensus seemed to suggest that the reputation of Islam is currently being tarnished by the violence associated with it.
However, the pivotal point for the victorious side may have been that “there are 1.5bn Muslims in the world, and only a tiny percentage are involved in extremism,” or perhaps it was the fact that other acts of violence have played a more important role in the forming of international opinion.
But the role of the US is one of the major features of any Doha Debate, and the superpower was consistently referred to as exacerbating the division between Sunnis and Shias, which might have resulted in the vote reflecting an element of anti-American sentiment, as well as pro-Islamic feeling.