Hardly a day goes by without front page news about demonstrations and killings somewhere in Middle Eastern nations. The holy month of Ramadan has begun, but nothing has changed. Sectarian violence has been going on continuously in Pakistan
- Author says: “If the U.S. and other western nations continue to be politically engaged in the Middle East, the Islamic religion and the history of Islam, have to become a topic seriously addressed in education systems, especially at the university level”.
Author also says: "Beside the divisions and hostilities, however, there are groups within Islam that are advocates of peace and better relations with other Abrahamic religions."
In Iraq, June was the deadliest month in years with religious groups armed by Iran killing members of other religious groups. Whether the news is about Syria or Libya, Lebanon or Iraq, Yemen or Bahrain the news is always about killings and, inevitably, there is a religious divide between the killers and the killed………………
All revolutions going on throughout the Middle East today have some religious dimension. Besides the Sunni and Shi’a hostilities, many other divisions and hostilities operate either underground or out in the open. Beside the divisions and hostilities, however, there are groups within Islam that are advocates of peace and better relations with other Abrahamic religions.
Categories: Americas, Middle East
The remark ‘armed by Iran’ is misleading. Iran is not the only party arming militants. And the author omits another large element: criminal gangs taking advantage of the lack of law and order. (One of my colleague was kidnapped in Iraq. The kidnappers demanded 25000$ from ‘you … Shia’. When the colleague pointed out that he was Sunni the kidnappers stated: “If you want to be free you have to ask your family to donate 25000$ to our cause”. Very noble cause indeed… no doubt.
The writer James F. Drane is the Russell B. Roth Professor of Bioethics at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. His remarks “Beside the divisions and hostilities, however, there are groups within Islam that are advocates of peace and better relations with other Abrahamic religions” are very pertinent.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat is one such community working hard to promote peace. For more information please go to the official website of the Jamaat:
http://www.alislam.org/