The martyrdom of Husain was indeed a great tragedy, but Islam is not a religion of perpetual mourning. Having said that, judging from the figures below, there are obviously those who are intent on maintaining that myth.
Stats:
Baghdad and Karbala (Iraq) 217
Quetta and Parachinar (Pakistan) 56 dead (and sadly counting)
These are not the best of times to discuss Sunni-Shi’ite differences (some argue there never is) but what can be categoric and universally understood is that violence and conflict heaps misery on the participants as well as the observers.
We here in Britain, obviously coming under the latter category, cannot help but be horrified by what we see on our television and computer screens.
Most vivid in my mind is the sizzling hair of a dying woman.This gallop towards anarchy has got to stop.
Apportioning blame is now a common therapeutic tool which, depending on who you believe, could be anyone from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with his supposed connections with Al-Qaida motioning the Sunnis against the Shi’ites.
On the other end of the spectrum, there is a theory that this is an intra-Shi’ite struggle between the secularist and religious wings vying for influence and using the notion of an Islamic constitution as their wall of difference.
Initiatives have to be taken, preferably by world renowned Sunni and Shi’ite scholars (because these are arguably the most equipped people to discuss their differences and avenues of reconciliation if that be appropriate).
Meanwhile, it should be clear that using the occupying forces as a pretext to slaughter innocents is at the very least misguided and at worst...well, can it get worse?
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