In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

And together hold fast to the rope (lifeline) which Allah

(stretches out to you), and do not be divided among
yourselves.
(Qur'an, 3:103)

UGLY SECTARIANISM IS GETTING OUT OF

CONTROL
By Yasin T. al-Jibouri

Everyday, someone somewhere is fired by unholy zeal, someone

whose heart is sickened by senseless grudges and whose mind is
filled with poison is busy writing or publishing, producing or filming,
attacking the faith of someone else. Someone will soon buy his
trash, in any form it is presented, and the fire of sectarianism gets
out of control. An attack takes place, this time it is physical, and
someone gets hurt or a life is lost for good. His effort pays off when
he sees innocent blood spilled. A brother is wounding or killing
another brother as Satan stands out laughing, rejoicing.

It happened to Cain and Abel. It happened in this century, and in

the one before it, and in the ones before. Sadly, Muslims are also
involved in this sectarianism. When followers of other religions look
at Muslims and see how they attack each other’s beliefs, they feel
elated. And when Muslims see how non-Muslims view Islam and
Muslims scornfully, they become angry, and they blame those non-
Muslims instead of blaming their sinful selves. They do not blame
their own selves because they are too proud, the same pride that
prevented Satan from prostrating to Adam. Wrong-doers do not
admit their wrong. They justify it. Thus, more blood is spilled, and
more hatred begets even more hatred, and the cycle goes on and
on. In the end, the Almighty and His Prophet Muhammad turn their
faces away from the Muslim Ummah, and Satan welcomes it with
open arms.

The noticeable increase in sectarian sentiments is worth a serious

study due to its consequences now and in the future. It is much
easier to demolish than to build. The Qur’an describes human
nature as being self-destructive; how true. Most often some writers
or clerics tear chapters from this book and that, including the Book
of the Almighty, the Holy Qur'an, take sentences out of context,
including statements made by the Prophet and Messenger of Allah,
Muhammed (‫)ص‬, misquote from books that are difficult to locate, or
quote from statements of extremists, in order to mislead the
innocent uninformed reader, listener or viewer, or perhaps an
unsuspecting worshipper.

Muslims who engage in such activities are Muslims, but they are not
“mu'mins.” They will never be, for a mu'min respects not only the
beliefs of all other Muslims, from all Islamic sects and schools of
law, but even those of non-Muslims, reserving to themselves the
basic right of not subscribing to such beliefs. You do not have to
accept my beliefs, but if you want me to respect your beliefs, you
have first to respect mine. There is no doubt that people can
unintentionally harm their religion a great deal when they carry
their narrow sectarian beliefs too far, thinking that they are serving
the Islamic cause. This is true about Shi’ahs and Sunnis alike.
Fanaticism (ta'assub ‫ )تعصب‬is a two-edged sword.

If some Shi’ahs speak ill of their Sunni brethren and of their beliefs,
the rest of the Sh’iahs of the world should not on their account be
condemned, and the same is true for Sunnis who speak ill of their
Shi’ah brethren and of their beliefs. There are fanatics in all
religions and sects of the world, barring none, and their fanaticism
must be condemned. There are extremists among the Sunnis and
the Shiites alike, but their views cannot be held as the criterion
whereby the entire doctrine is judged.
As Imam Khomeini said in a speech at Qom several years ago, “The
filthy hands which aggravate the differences between the Shi’ites
and Sunni Muslims belong neither to the Shi’ites nor to the Sunnis.
They are the hands of the colonialists which plan to take the Islamic
countries out of our hands. The colonial powers who want to
plunder our wealth through various schemes and conspiracies are
the ones who hatch plots for creating division under the pretext of
Shi’ism or Sunnism.”

We pray the Almighty Who did not Call us anything but Muslims,
neither Sunnis nor Shiites, to strengthen our faith and our
Brotherhood and to unite us together under the shade of His Deen
so that we may deserve to be Called Muslims, and so that His
Messenger Muhammad will not be ashamed of us on the Day of
Resurrection.

Yasin T. al-Jibouri
Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.A.
Fall of 1992