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.
