The US & Islam 's Division

The role of US President in Islam’s division

The American presidents usually don’t meddle in religious feuds. Yet as president Obama tries to adjust ties to both Iran and Saudi Arabia, he is stepping into a historic feud between Shiites and Sunnis. If he can at least set the state for these two rival nations of the Muslim world to reconcile at a state level, it could help the two main branches of  Islam to bridge a great division.

The times is ripe for Obama to succeed. Syria’s civil war in which Iran sides with its Shiite proxies and Saudi Arabia with Sunni militants has become a humanitarian disaster on a global scale. The war is spilling over to neighboring countries, threatening a regional meltdown.

If the US eases the Saudi – Iranian contest for regional power it may also create a path for Shiites and Sunnis to come to terms with their religious differences. That process starts with the US rebalancing its special historic relationship with the Saudis and testing Iran on its promise to be responsible player in the region. During his trip to Saudi Arabia, Obama might feel compelled to first smooth some ruffled feathers. The kingdom felt left out during the secret US Iranian talks last year. It also wants a more aggressive US hand in Syria and the royal family still feels threatened by the Arab Spring’s continued potency to spread democracy.

Yet Obama needs to remind the Saudis of their backing of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. That offer spoke of a comprehensive peace that would bring security for all the states of the region. Neither Saudi Arabia or Iran can regard each other as enemies forever. The advances in war technologies, such as nuclear weapons, argues against it. So does the rising aspirations for peace and progress among each country’s young  people. And ruling a country through either theocracy or monarchy is also fast reaching its limits  in today’s globalised world.

If Obama ‘s new engagement with Iran and Saudi Arabia has any traction, it will likely show up during any new round of talks between the Syrian regime and its political opposition in Geneva. Syria’s War is both a tragic outcome of Iran-Saudi /Shiite – Sunni tensions and a bellwether of its gradual resolution.

Such as steps towards peace gather force they can also start Sunnis and Shiites on a new path.