Whatever we do, Zakzaky must not die a martyr and we must not make another monster out of the Shiites.
Clem Aguiyi
From some of the reactions I received on my last week episode titled ‘killing the Shiites; in whose interest?’c I thank God I am not being accused of being a full blooded Shiite but only a Shiite sympathizer. If indeed, I harbor sympathy for any individual or group in this conflict it is for the military that I believe is being over used and their services to the nation abused by political leaders. The mandate of the military to protect Nigeria from external aggression, maintain its territorial integrity, secure its borders from violation on land, sea, or air; suppressing rebellions and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order is an enormous job that comes with plenty sacrifices hence I find no justification in deploying them to quell mere civil demonstrations.
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That we have nail in our hand does not mean the solution to every problem requires a hammer. With 2000 Shiites civilian deaths recorded between 2015 and 2018, I will hate the sight of any of our military commanders who dutifully served this country being made to face trials for crime against humanity.
My heart will be broken to find the politicians who instigate and fuel these tensions walk free while the military generals rot in jail instead of peaceful retirements. Need I remind the strong men of today that the military commanders who served under Gen Pinochet in Chile are still in prison with some of them celebrating in their 90th birthdays as prisoners for crimes against humanity. The army commanders are not in jail for killing hundreds and thousands of Chileans but for figures not more than fifty deaths.
Tables do turn and I do not want to see the table turn against General Buratai and his commanders. I think it’s time for our military high command to review their relationship with the civil population and may be formulate a civilized and less controversial rules of engagements.
It is impossible for any person with conscience to be silent over the plight of Nigerian Shiites no matter how much we disagree with them. I would have maintained this same stance if for instance the army and our political leadership are dominated by the Shiites and somehow they turn the state instruments of coercion against the Sunnis. I will still call such killings unjustified and demand for investigation.
It is not sufficient for anyone to tell us in general terms that we don’t know these people. I never claimed to know the Shiites sufficiently well and that is why in my last week write-up I asked, ‘what have they done wrong and why are they being killed and in whose interest? Killing 2000 citizens who never took up arms against the state is horrifying and can neither be justifiable today nor tomorrow, and we must stop the human wastage. The wasted bloods of the innocents are crying up to heaven and enough to make God very angry with us.
It is also not sufficient for the APC propaganda machine to lie to us that the Federal government is spending N3.5m every month to feed Zakzaky with Calvin Klein beverages, Gucci foods and Armani deserts. Zakzaky didn’t ask for such luxuries at the expense of the state neither did he ask for special privileges. All that he asks is the simplest of thing that civility and humanity demand of us, obedience to the order of the court which ruled that he should be freed on bail. Whatever we do, Zakzaky must not die a martyr and we must not make another monster out of the Shiites.
In truth, we cannot resolve the problem between the Sunnis and the Shiites on this page. Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are known rivals for political supremacy. In this rivalry, both sides seek to tie political goals to religious interpretations. Within such a context, the indiscriminate killings of Shiites in Nigeria and the continued detention of Zakzaky appears to be just other additions in the long history of an inner Islamic power struggle.
The division of Islam into the branches of Sunni and Shia arose from a battle over the rightful successor to the prophet Mohammed. When the Islamic prophet died in the year AD 632, his followers had to choose his religious and political successor. Shiites believed that Mohammed had chosen his son-in-law Ali to be that successor. The group now referred to as Sunnis rejected the claim and prevailed.
Shiites represent only 10 to 15 percent of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims, yet they constitute a majority in the Gulf States of Iran, Iraq and Bahrain. The two million or so Shiites that live in the oil-rich provinces of Saudi Arabia, however, are a much-bullied minority.
There are, nonetheless, many religious similarities among all groups on both sides of the divide. The Five Pillars of Islam – Testimony, Prayer, Fasting, Pilgrimage to Mecca and Almsgiving, are practically identical among all denominations, although they vary greatly in their details.
A significant difference between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam are their individual relationships to power. Throughout history, the Shiites have mostly been a discriminated minority. That has shaped their theology.
In AD 680, Ali’s son Hussein died during a revolt against the Caliph. Each year Shiites recall his death by re-enacting passion plays during the feast of Ashura. This commemoration is also kept alive in today’s conflicts. It is therefore no coincidence that here in Nigeria the killings of the Shiites and their initial conflict with the military occurred during the feast and procession of Ashura, an equivalent of the Christian procession on Palm Sundays and the passion week heralding Easter. Somehow, the dominant Sunnis still see the Ashura procession as an affront and symbol of Shiites propensity to revolt against their domination.
Sunnis and Shiites also squared up against one another in the wars fought between the Sunni Ottoman Empire and the Shiite Shah of Persia, today’s Iran. Just how important these denominational differences and the historical references connected to them are in mobilizing large sections of the population can be seen in the proxy wars being carried out by Iran and Saudi Arabia today. Iran supports, above all, non-Sunni groups in the civil wars taking place in Syria and Yemen, whereas the Saudis have forged alliances with predominantly Sunni states.
But beyond the religious propaganda, there are in fact many examples of peaceful coexistence which I believe can be reignited in Nigeria. Representatives from both branches have often attempted to bridge their religious divides. In 1959, Mahmud Shaltut, then rector of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, declared that Shia religious practices were equal to those of Sunni Islam. Al-Azhar University is considered to be the most prestigious of all places of Sunni scholarship.
Well written Mr Aguiyi and this is a piece worthy of commendation. As the name suggests, it is Christian and from the South East – Surprisingly so too that every other article on the subject matter is always from authors from that lineage – says a lot, doesn’t it? Let us leave this for another day.
But let me say that martyrdom is symptomatic to the religion practised by the Shiite and their brotherhood. It is part of their religion which they have exhibited on numerous occasions across the country and world over even in a our today’s world. It is a belief and you cannot make a people forsake what they believe no matter how hard you try. The attitude will be that of ‘if they believe it, then let them live and be justified by it’ – period. That Zazzaky is still in custody, for all I know is that the Shiite have declared that they are not, and will not be submissive to the government of the day. They have put this to action very many times in Nigeria and have sent innocent law abiding citizens to their early graves. They too have suffered severe casualties as a result. This is not in any way to say they should pay and continue to pay the price – No!! But the question is simple, do they now believe in the superior authority of the government of the day? Do they now agree that they would leave peacefully with and amongst their fellow Muslims, Christians and adherents of other faiths irrespective of the provocations? Are they prepared to tell their sponsors in Iran that Nigerians are not Arabs and that the conflict Iran is faced with does not affect Nigeria in any way, shape or form? If anything, they(the Shiites) should all go to Iran, hold processions and help Iranians fight their(Iranian)enemies and not do so in Nigeria. Never in the history of this country has any other religious group taken up arms against Nigerian citizens nor the Federal Government but the Shiites. It is this daring and unchecked situation that gave rise to the now dreadful Boko Haram group.
The solution to this continued incarceration of El Zazzaky is that of mutual negotiations and understanding between the Shiite and the Government. Protests will not help stem the tide as it is exactly what led to the current situation in the first place. El zazzaky’s fate in custody is not necessarily determined by what the government or the shiite does. Neither will articles on pages of newspapers help. True that violence in the country has continued but every effort made, no matter how small in addressing the ugly trend is worth the while. As much as I sympathise with El-zazzaky and the Shiite, (particularly with the flagrant disrespect of the judiciary and court orders by Federal Government) I really do think Shiites have a lot of work to do in restoring hope and confidence in peaceful co-existence and mutual co-habitation with the rest of Nigerians. The fact that other Muslim faithfuls have not shown too keen interest on the Shiite matter speaks volumes and a testimony to this observation. May Allah (SAW) continue to be with El -zazzaky throughout this period of trial.