Caitie Harrigan

Sunni and Shi’ite Differences: Who is “the Enemy”

By Caitie Harrigan

            On October 17^th of 2006, The New York Times ran an op-ed article titled “Can You Tell a Sunni from a Shi’ite?” by Jeff Stein. (See http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html?scp=8&sq=shiite+muslims&st=nyt)  In this article, Stein argues that many government officials, several of whom he interviews, do not know the difference between the branches of the Muslim faith.  Stein questions how these government officials can do their jobs in the “war on terrorism” without knowing even the basic differences between a Sunni and a Shi’ite, or which group they are attacking in the different Middle Eastern countries.

            Although we have not covered the differences between Sunni and Shii in class, Esposito gives a detailed account of the split of the Shia from the Sunni (see Chapter 2).  Shi’ite Muslims believe that the first three caliphates were usurpers of the power that truly belonged to Ali, and that the Prophet’s family should be the rightful rulers of the Muslim community.  Instead of a caliph, the Shii invest leadership in the Imam, a divinely inspired leader who is infallible and sinless; who is not a prophet, though he must be a direct descendant from Muhammad’s family.  For the Shii, the Imam is the final interpreter of God’s will, as he is both a political and religious leader.

            The first interviews Stein presents are two with leading F.B.I. members, one of whom was F.B.I.’s spokesman and did not see the need to “memorize the collected statements of Osama bin Laden, or be able to read Urdu to be effective”—which Stein points out is not what he asked at all, as he only asked if he knew the difference between Sunni and Shi’ite.  The chief of F.B.I.’s national security branch, Willie Hulon, claimed that it is important to know the difference between Sunni and Shi’ite, but he was unable to correctly identify which group was in power in Iran at the time.  A Republican Representative, Terry Everett, also was unable to identify the difference, but Stein gives him credit that he did ask for him to explain what set them apart.  Finally, the last interview that Stein writes about in this article is with another Republican Representative, Jo Ann Davis, who headed the subcommittee in charge of C.I.A.’s performance in recruiting Islamic spies, and who did not know the difference between Sunni and Shi’ite.

            Although I think Stein has underlined a very important issue by exposing the ignorance of the government officials who are supposed to be knowledgeable about Islam as they have power in the war, I think it is critical to look at why Stein argues this information is significant to know.  Stein does not at all mention a need to know the difference between a Sunni and a Shi’ite to better understand their culture, their society, or their beliefs, which quite frankly might help to lead to a resolution of the war.  He outright says in the beginning of the article: “I’m not looking for theological explanations, just the basics: Who’s on what side today, and what does each side want?”  In fact, he states that knowing your “enemy” is the basic rule of war.  To me this translates as the need to know which group to kill—I guess at least he wants to make a distinction between the group rather than to kill all Muslims.

            Throughout this article, Muslims, Sunni and Shi’ite alike, are treated as objects and labeled as the enemy, not just by Stein but also by who he is interviewing: Willie Hulon says “‘It’s important to know who your targets are’” and Jo Ann Davis says “ ‘You’ve got to understand, and to know your enemy.’”  Stein also frames the tension between the Sunni and Shi’ite in what I would argue is a fallacious metaphor, calling them “Islam’s Abel and Cain.”  Although he may have just been going for a Christian parallel of brothers with conflict; by using Abel and Cain he is suggesting that one of them is to be punished by God and shall be cursed as a “fugitive and vagabond in the earth” (Gen. 4:12) and forever be marked as such.  

The image that was published with the article depicts two almost identical stern-looking male faces with beards that are connected by a turban.  Not only do the men look particularly mean or angry, but also by coloring one beard white and one black suggests a connotation of good and evil.  One could even argue that the only difference between the faces are the color of the beards, which is superficial and basically meaningless—suggesting the Sunni and Shi’ite divide is irrelevant.  In placing them in a vertical composition, it as if one is upside-down or has a backwards way of thinking, as they are connected by the head/brain.  The other point that is almost too obvious to mention is that there is no representation of women.

            I find that the ignorance of government officials who are more directly linked and with more power to the war in the Middle East to be extremely unsettling.  But the purpose that Stein has in this knowledge is not exactly my ideal, either—as he states he is not interested in religious differences, just who is where and in power of what.  Maybe if every citizen did “know our enemy,” as Stein states, deeper than the superficiality of political control, it would change the outlook on war.  Even though this article was written a little less than six years ago, I still believe it to be applicable in today’s time.  Perhaps we all need to get to know each other’s religion a little more deeply, especially since our current president has continued this “war on terrorism.”