This post on Abu Aardvark yesterday is definitely worth reading. It’s his live-blogged account of a discussion on Al-Jazeera yesterday between program host Ahmed Mansour and Lebanon’s highest Shiite religious authority Sayed Mohamed Husayn Fadlallah. As Marc writes there,
- It never used to be seen as unusual for someone like Fadlallah to be featured on al-Jazeera, but in the current state of Sunni-Shia hysteria I guess it’s worth noting.
It’s also an absolutely fascinating encounter, one of the most interesting I’ve seen since this whole Shia-Sunni business got going (note: all that follows is liveblogging, not from transcript, so apologies if some of the wording isn’t exactly right). Mansour sympathizes with the Sunni insurgency – he was the reporter whose reporting from Falluja in 2004 caused such problems for the American campaign there. He pushed Fadlallah hard, in his polite but dogged way, on the position of the Shia in Arab politics. A lot of major tropes in current Sunni-Shia tensions were raised openly, with no screaming. This chance for a major Shia personality to directly address a vast Sunni audience, and to air sensitive issues openly in a calm setting, was a good example of what a platform like al-Jazeera can offer – sure, some people will complain about some of the points which were made being inflammatory or offensive, but the point is that all of those points are already very much out there anyway, and at least here they could be rebutted or debated.
… Fadlallah firmly denounced Sunni-Shia bloodshed of any kind, and called on all intra-Muslim killing to stop. But he also aired complaints about the “takfiris” (his word [ML]; means something like “hardline Sunni repudiators of Shiites” ~HC) who openly called for the killing of Shia Muslims. Fadlallah’s bottom line: the Muslim umma needs to understand that the problems are not between Sunni and Shia but between Islam and the American administration.
Overall, a simply fascinating exchange. No time to analyze it any further, but well worth everyone’s attention.
It does sound like an interesting program. We don’t have t.v. here. If anyone can point me to a downloadable version or a trancsript of it, that would be great.
Update, Fri a.m. Cairo time:
Thanks to the kind soul who sent me the fairly lengthy BBC-monitoring account of the program, which you can now read here.
How many positions have to be distinguished here? Let’s see:
A. Both individuals are for [0] Islam simply as such, and against [1] the militant GOP (loosely described as “America” or “Bush”), and against [2] Zionism and the Tel Aviv régime.
B. The interviewer is also for [3] the Sunni street, against [4] all the (Sunni) Arab Palaces, and against [5] “Safavids.”
C. The Rev. Fadlalláh wants to be for [6] Twelverdom as such, but he runs into obvious difficulties because of [7] the God Party of Lebanon, and [8] his own more immediate political friends in LB, and [9] the Najaf-Crawford Axis (which probably needs to be broken down into [9a] SCIRI/Badr and [9b] poor M. al-Málikí’s Da‘wa), and [10] Najafi enemies of Crawford, most notably [10a] tha Sadr Tendency.
That’s fourteen players in what superficially looks like a two-player game. I don’t think one needs to go further to understand the summary of the interview, although it is easy enough to do so, and would be mandatory in other Middle Eastern discussions.
“Purity of heart is to will one thing”
— Søren Kirkegaard
Helena,
Fadlallah firmly denounced Sunni-Shia bloodshed of any kind,
He knows very well its not “Sunni-Shiat bloodshed” he fears that a “proxy Iranians -Arabs bloodshed” who living and hiding amongst Arabs in different countries but their harts and loyal to Iran and they are now under microscope and their works very obvious to all Muslims, now they surfaced and they need to proofs themselves to all Muslims they working for the best of all Muslims and Islam as religion not Iran.
Its never happened before due to new area of communications from Satellites and internets and all the things are just very clear and obvious for each single Muslim/Arab he can understand what’s going one, they don’t need to listen to the warning came from some of those doctors and kings who fears their position rather they fear from unity of Islam and its values.
The Irony Iran/Proxy Iranians keep putting that they representing all Shiites in around the world, which not right this should be very basics thing to understand.
What Iran try to play here is “Fadlallah” is keep spreading Shiites as if he/Iran is all responsible for all Shiites around the world.
The proof is there in recent Najaf mascara and killing of Shiites in Basra and other Iraqi southern cites and towns, all those Shiites where “Fadlallah” form these mascara and killing for Shiites then?
Najaf mascara is it’s same as Dujail killing may be worse because there is no justification for killing of incant Iraqi came to visit Najaf.
Assalamallikum All,
I think the US Administration has been making a mistake trying to play Sunni verses Shia’ for the last few decades. In an effort to influence foreign countries’ oil policies/dictates the US has been playing Israel and Iran off against the cheap-oil producers. Example, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was formed by US arm-twisting after the Iranian Revolution.
Because of US sponsored sanctions against Saddam Insane in the 1990s (leading to the deaths of 1.5 to 2.5 million Iraqi children) and the “immitation of Israel” policy to treat Iraqis with the same treatment as Israel has been giving the Palestinians, the US now finds itself in a vulnerable position. Fragmented as it is, Iraqi resistance/civil war has destroyed any chance of a US “policy” success there. This should have been recognized from the book “Resisting Rebellion” –a study of the consequences of foreign occupation. Now the US will face “al-Iraq” in the future instead of al-Qaida because that is what that culture milieu will demand. Think of how many Iraqis identified themselves as “Sushi” –Sunni-Shia marriages, parents, dual religious observances.
That’s enough for now.
Salam, All, Hasan
P.S. Found this blog today and kinda like it.
By the way, I’m an al-Bukharist Muslim.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah demands back seized munitions
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08432545.htm
Ok, can ‘Fadlallah” tell us where is State position here?
Is it right that some parties get their own weapons?
Should be the central government in control of the country or we leave these religious parties on their owned with each one have his weapons and militia on claims they are “Mukawama”.
This is the major issue here, these group (in Iraq, Lebanon) their movement bring a lot of problems.
BTW, Why Nasrallah not be quested and hold accountable and bring him to the court for his personal discussion causing a war that damaged Lebanon?
Should he hold accountable for what his actions did to the country as one of Lebanon parliament member and one of political party in the government?
We saw Israeli fired Military officers so no, why then Lebanon who have parliament can not do it?
Is Fadlallah and Nasrallah believe in democratic political system in Lebanon or it’s their right each time to defrag the political structure to meet their desire and interests?
imo the reporting here of the intriguing interview of Fadlallah on al-Jazeera speaks eloquently of the value of keeping up with JWN on its 4th blogiversary…and it underscores Salah’s point on how the internet has fundamentally changed the ruler -> subject matrix of disseminating information in the Middle East and elsewhere.
World Press Photo of the year 2006
World Press Photo of the year 2006 by American photographer Spencer Platt for Getty images showing young Lebanese driving through a devastated neighborhood of South Beirut, August 15 2006. This material is for single publications in print or for a temporary online publication, and may be used exclusively to publicize the 2007 World Press Photo contest and exhibition. It may not be published as part of an article or any other item that contains no direct link to World Press Photo and its activities without prior permission from the photographer or agency.
The photo was taken Spencer Platt on Aug. 15, the first day of a cease-fire between Isreal and Hezbollah, as thousands of Lebanese began returning to their homes.
Spencer Platt