IRAN AND THE ARABS: THE SHI‘ITIZATION CONTROVERSY BETWEEN AL-QARADAWI AND IRAN

Number 25 ● 24 October 2008

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Qatar-based Egyptian Sunni legal scholar and influential preacher best known for his popular al-Jazeera television program, recently discussed Iran's campaign to spread Twelver Shi‘ism Islam in Sunni society, and the doctrinal divergences between Shi‘is and Sunnis. His remarks triggered a heated regional debate that prompted Iranian participation. This dispute regarding theological and legal matters is also a political controversy, which reflects the changing balance of power in the region. The weakening Arab-Sunni order is challenged by Iran's rising ambitions and efforts to penetrate and influence Sunni societies, as well as by the emergence of the Shi`a as a major political force in various Arab countries, and the ensuing controversy reflects the new state of affairs. Iran has reacted with vengeance, contrary to previous times when the Sheikh made similar statements; and Arab-Sunni reactions have been divided, ranging from support for al-Qaradawi's demarche to opposition and condemnation.

In an interview with the Egyptian daily al-Masri al-Youm (September 9, 2008) al-Qaradawi accused the Shi‘is of invading Sunni societies, and criticized some aspects of the Shi‘i doctrine. In their attempts to invade Sunni societies, al-Qaradawi said, the Shi‘is deploy huge financial resources and cadres of missionaries trained to proselytize (a word historically associated with Christian missionary work) in Sunni lands. As the controversy heated up, al-Qaradawi explicitly accused Iran of using its own school of thought to implement the Iranian expansionist objectives. Al-Qaradawi pointed out that the Shi‘is practice dissimulation (taqiyya) and warned that Sunni societies should be defended from the Shi‘i invasion (ghazu). Al-Qaradawi urged the Sunni ‘ulama (religious scholars)to join forces in confronting that invasion which he said has afflicted not only all Arab countries, primarily Egypt, Sudan, Morocco and Algeria, but also Malaysia, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Al-Qaradawi added that while the Shi‘is are Muslims, Shi‘ism contains innovations (bida‘) which have no reference to the Prophet's way of life or sayings, and which therefore deviate from proper Islam. He pointed out differences in doctrine between Sunnis and Shi‘is: The belief attributed to Shi‘is that the Koran as it is commonly known is deficient (the concept of tahrif al-Quran); the concept of sunna- the Sunnis believe only the way of life and sayings (sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad should be followed and emulated, while the Shi‘is consider the sunna of their Imams (religious leaders) as having the same status; and the Shi‘i belief that the Prophet's companions (sahaba) betrayed the Prophet by denying ‘Ali the Prophet's succession, and therefore the Shi ‘is insult the Prophet’s companions.

The general context for al-Qaradawi's remarks is a Sunni-Arab suspicion and resentment of Iranian efforts to ideologically penetrate Arab communities in recent years. Even if the real dimensions of the Shi‘itization of Sunnis are not as considerable as some sources report, the phenomenon itself is new and unfamiliar, hence its unsettling impact on Sunnis. Al-Qaradawi's remarks are also connected to the decline in the regional influence of Egypt, which for decades led the Sunni Arab states, as well as the concomitant rise in Iran's regional influence.

Not long after the concept of the emerging "Shi‘i Crescent" was introduced by Jordan's King ‘Abdullah in December 2004, Egypt's President Husni Mubarak questioned whether Shi‘is in Arab states were more loyal to Iran than to their own states. Al-Qaradawi also made remarks that were very similar to his latest statements. Speaking in Cairo in August 31, 2006, he accused the Shi‘is of trying to penetrate Egypt and convert Egyptians to Shi‘ism, and criticized the Shi’i doctrine that the Koran is deficient, and the practice of smearing and cursing the Prophet’s Companions. The immediate context for those statements from Al-Qaradawi was the aftermath of the 2006 Lebanon war, which turned Hizbullah's Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, into the hero of the Arab street, Sunni and Shi‘i alike. The war was seen as a demonstration of how Shi‘is, backed by Iran, could succeed where Sunnis have repeatedly failed.Al-Qaradawi later repeated his charges and accused Iran of spreading Shi‘ism in Sunni countries.

Coming from al-Qaradawi, such accusations were perceived as highly credible because he has been a leading advocate of rapprochement (taqrib) between Sunna and Shi‘a, for which he has been criticized by the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia in the past. Al-Qaradawi has even supported Iran's right to acquire nuclear technology. He has also defended Hizbullah during the 2006 war by refuting the fatwa of the Saudi Sheikh ‘Abdullah Bin ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Jabrin which proscribed joining, supporting or praying for Hizbullah -- whom, for al-Jabrin, were Shi’i apostates helping Iran spread its influence in the region.

However, al-Qaradawi's remarks in the aftermath of the 2006 Lebanon war did not trigger the same level of acrimony as his latest statements, which have also led to a kind of cyber war between Sunni and Shi‘i computer hackers. The Iranian reaction to Al-Qaradawi was particularly intense. Iran has traditionally sought to minimize Sunni-Shi‘i differences and mobilize Sunni support by promoting the argument that the real struggle is the one which pits the Shi‘i and Sunni forces alike, which resist the American and Israeli attempts to dominate the region against forces serving American and Israeli interests. This time, however, the Iranian Mehr News Agency (MNA) launched a fierce attack on the Sheikh. It accused him of speaking on behalf of the leaders of the Freemasons and Jewish Rabbis. MNA also argued that Arab youth and other oppressed Muslims were now turning toward revolutionary Shi‘ism, because the Shi‘i school of thought offers the right model of Islamic government - that is one of the miracles performed by "Ahl al-Bayt" (namely the Caliph ‘Ali, his wife and the Prophet's daughter Fatima, their sons Hassan and Hussein and the 12 Imams) which only Shi‘a can comprehend. The MNA further characterized al-Qaradawi's statements as hypocritical, deceptive, and serving Zionist interests, and contrasted Hizbullah's 2006 alleged victory against Israel to the Arab defeat in 1967. It accused "that old Shaikh" of fomenting sectarian tension and abusing the Shi‘is while his own children have turned away from Islamic culture.

Al-Qaradawi was also attacked by Shi‘i ‘ulama, among them Ayatullah Muhammad ‘Ali Taskhiri, the Secretary General of the Iranian “International Institute for Rapprochement among the Islamic Legal Schools” and al-Qaradawi's deputy as head of "the International Union for Muslim Scholars". Taskhiri criticized al-Qaradawi for creating sedition and surrendering to takfiri (namely Wahhabi) pressures.

Al-Qaradawi was also criticized by Sunni groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, for whom pan-Islamic unity in the face of the West and Israel far outweighs any reservations it might have regarding Iran's Shi‘itization efforts. He was also criticized by Sunni intellectuals who deny that Iran actively pursues Shi‘itization and claim that smearing the sahaba, or the belief that the Koran is deficient, are not part of Twelver Shi‘i doctrine.

During the sixth "al-Quds" Conference, held in Doha (12-13 October 2008), the Iranian delegation - which included among others 'Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to the Supreme Leader, and 'Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur, former Interior Minister - reportedly apologized to al-Qaradawi for the personal attack by MNA and said that the news agency did not speak for Iran. It should be noted that it took Iran one full month to offer that apology. This may reflect the Iranian leadership’s assessment that continuing the controversy would be counterproductive for Iran.

Why did al-Qaradawi make his remarks at this timing? Addressing this question al-Qaradawi argued that he was moved by indications of growing Shi‘itization in Egypt and by the lack of awareness on the part of Sunnis and their ‘ulama of that danger. But he also mentioned that he felt frustrated that no state has made it its mission to defend and promote Sunni Islam like Iran has done for Shi‘ism. While the Shi‘is are active and Iran builds an atomic bomb and spreads its Shi‘i school of thought everywhere, al-Qaradawi said, a project of Sunni revival is needed, and that project should be undertaken by a big state like Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan or Indonesia. The absence of a Sunni project, lamented by al-Qaradawi, is part of the wider condition criticized by Arab observers - the Sunni Arab states and societies are regressing while Iran achieves breakthroughs in its regional influence.

Iran's "gloves are off" reaction reflects its new sense of power. The Sunni mobilization al-Qaradhawi calls for is obviously not in the cards, as the strong Sunni criticism of the Sheikh indicates. And his battle cry will probably have little influence on the state of affairs he decries■

*Israel Elad Altman writes on Islamic and Middle Eastern affairs.

The Alliance Center for Iranian Studies (ACIS)

Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv 61390, Tel Aviv P.O.B. 39040, Israel

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Iran Pulse 25 ● October 24, 2008 © All rights reserved.