Latest news with #ShiaIslam
LeMonde
16 hours ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Four Syrian weddings, a symbol of reconciliation
The floor was strewn with hairpins, and the smell of hair overheated by hairdryers filled the room. Shelves were stacked with faux-diamond crowns. An esthetician danced a few steps to a pop song playing in the background. In early June in this basement beauty salon in an apartment building in Latakia, a city on Syria's northwest coast and former stronghold of the Assad family, four women were preparing to celebrate their respective marriages in a joint ceremony bringing together different religious communities. At the doorway, a man peeked in. In a rush, two of the soon-to-be brides covered their hair and faces in protest. They were Sunni. The other two were Alawite, a branch of Shia Islam with distinct customs and beliefs. "We've been engaged for a year and a half, ever since Achraf's car broke down in front of my house," said Roula Salman, a 27-year-old physics student from Latakia, with a smile. "By marrying this way, we wanted to show that Syria was still united." It was an unprecedented and symbolic choice against a background of tension. On Sunday, June 22, a suicide bombing targeted the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias church in Damascus, killing at least 25 and injuring around 60 Christians gathered there. Precarious calm In March, a wave of massacres mainly targeting the Alawite community – the religious minority to which the Assad clan belongs and which makes up about 10% of Syria's population – left at least 1,700 civilian victims, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Hundreds of videos showing killings and looting flooded social media, implicating extremist armed factions, some of which are affiliated with the new regime led by the interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, a Sunni and former jihadist leader.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
After Missiles, The Anxieties Taking Hold Of Iran Now
Earlier this week, as US President Donald Trump expressed his outright anger towards Israel - perhaps for the first time in such an explicit and public manner - Iran announced its subscription to a ceasefire agreement. Amidst the whole saga, while Trump expected to add another ceasefire to his kitty and Israel sought final blows against the Iranian military, Tehran preserved its theological and political systems that have governed the state since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The current hold of the ceasefire is fragile. From an Israeli point of view, dragging the US into combat against Iran's nuclear programme was a significant victory. However, Trump also wanted to draw red lines and not expand the American role beyond the strikes, something he has propagated over the past many years to make sure Iran does not go nuclear. Shaken Up Contrarily, for Iran, the events of the past few months and Israel's application of outright military dominance over its skies may shake up and reshape the way in which the state's polity has functioned over the past 46 years. Even though Iranian retaliation, despite its meek nature, was able to dent Israel's perceived indestructible air defence shield, the long-term state of its power and deterrence, along with its military competence, stands exposed. More than Israel's impunity in the air, installing an unchallenged air power supremacy - one that may be utilised at will, considering Iran's depleted air defence - it is the penetration on the ground by their intelligence that would raise urgent alarms within the system. For long, Israel has managed to build capacities within Iran's polity and military, mobilised during war to take out the crème of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), intelligence, and defence leadership. As a response, Iran has reportedly arrested more than 700 people already, accusing them of colluding with the enemy. Three of them have already been executed. How Power Is Maintained The war was also marketed as a direct challenge to the Islamic Revolution's veracity and longevity. The seat of power for Shia Islam has had its share of internal crises and inflexion points over the years, ranging from protests led by women to consistent dissent by a largely young population. However, the regime has maintained its position of power utilising its own support base - not meagre in numbers - and suppressive tactics. The power centres have, on occasion, also allowed the easing of their own diktats to manage these pressures. Scholar Vali Nasr notes how hijab patrols by the state's moral police, known as the Gasht-e-Ershad (Guidance Patrol), have loosened their enforcement of mandatory hijab for women. Often, they have allowed the police to look the other way if they encounter such a situation in some parts, such as northern Tehran, a young, affluent area of the capital. On a more political and military front, it is almost certain that the framework of the Ayatollah, the IRGC, and the elected representation of the government, currently under the moderate leadership of President Masoud Pezeshkian, may change for good. The Supreme Leader is already in his late 80s, and it is expected that succession plans for his replacement are in place. There was heavy debate a few years ago over his son Mojtaba Khamenei's eligibility as the next Supreme Leader; concerned voices back then had expressed unease over the idea of a nepotistic transfer of power rather than one underpinned by theology and consensus between the clerical leadership. Choosing The Next Supreme Leader Iran's Assembly of Experts, led by Mohavedi Kermani, who was also the Supreme Leader in the IRGC between 1992 and 2006, is tasked with leading the process of choosing a successor. The selection of Kermani, himself older than Khamenei at 93, arguably highlights that the oldest representative of the Revolution's ideology remains the most trustworthy entity for deciding any future course. Notably, the other name that had featured along with Mojtaba was that of Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's former conservative president who died in a helicopter crash in May 2024. Other viewpoints abound, too. One such is the increased power of the IRGC with regard to that of the Ayatollah. Iran has had a long-running 'reformists vs. conservatives' discourse. It is also one of the few states in the Middle East that has some kind of democratic process and elections (albeit orchestrated under the auspices of the Supreme Leader) - ironically, along with Israel. An outcome of this juxtaposition was the nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 nations beginning in 2006, culminating into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in 2015. Its demise in 2018, when the US under Trump unilaterally exited the deal, emboldened the anti-negotiations ecosystem, the outcome of which was reflected in Raisi's election as president in 2021. Whatever the speculations, the natural next step for Iranian power centres would now likely be to hunker down, re-strategise and rebuild conventional power, cleanse their compromised internal security dynamics, and rally public opinion around the fervour of nationalism. The unanswered question is, given what the regime has suffered over the last few weeks, will the intrinsic circles of power in Iran hand the next phase of the country's history to the same players, or will they demand a fresh take on power, politics and people? (Kabir Taneja is Deputy Director and Fellow, Strategic Studies Programme, Observer Research Foundation)
Malaysiakini
2 days ago
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
Weapons of mass deception in war
COMMENT | Why do some non-Malays online support the bombing of Iran? They probably feel bullied by Malay-Muslim ketuanan or supremacy at home and, therefore, have little sympathy when Muslims overseas are attacked. It's also strange how Sunni Muslim Malaysia is openly supporting a country which practices Shia Islam, which is officially an 'ajaran sesat' or deviant teaching at home. When religion and politics get mixed up, strange things can happen.
Shafaq News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq sentences four over ties to extremist al-Qurban sect
Shafaq News/ An Iraqi court on Wednesday sentenced four individuals to two years in prison for their affiliation with the banned group known as al-Qurban, a security source told Shafaq News. According to the source, the defendants had insulted a religious figure held in high reverence by a recognized sect. The court based its ruling on Article 372 of the amended Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, which criminalizes offenses against religious symbols and beliefs. The most recent arrests took place in April, when Iraqi security forces detained 148 members of the outlawed sect, including the group's chief ideologue, known as 'Al-Arif,' during operations in Basra, al-Muthanna, Wasit, Maysan, and Dhi Qar provinces. Al-Qurban, also known locally as 'al-Allahiya,' has gained notoriety for its extreme practices. Its followers reportedly venerate Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb, the first Imam in Shia Islam, as a divine figure and engage in ritual acts involving symbolic sacrifices, including selecting individuals by lot. No Shia religious authority has recognized the group, which remains banned under Iraqi laws prohibiting religious incitement and threats to public safety.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Apocalyptic Iranian 'messiah' theory 'proves the country CANNOT be allowed nuclear weapons': PETER VAN ONSELEN on the deranged belief system of Iran's ayatollahs
It is concerning when any country has nuclear weapons - but it's a threat the world has learned to manage. There's a basic assumption that most nuclear-armed countries refrain from using atomic bombs out of self-preservation. That is, if they fired nuclear warheads, their country would be destroyed. Defence experts call this 'Mutually Assured Destruction'. But what if a state doesn't fear destruction? What if it welcomes it, viewing it as a gateway to divine salvation? That's long been the concern with Iran. And it's not an exaggerated risk. Iran's nuclear ambitions don't exist in a vacuum. They sit within a broader ideological framework that includes what's known as millenarianism: the belief that the world is heading for a final, transformative clash between good and evil. Years ago, as a university academic, I supervised an honours student whose thesis examined millenarianism. It opened my eyes to its impact on politics in the Middle East. In Shia Islam, millenarianism is tied to the return of the Mahdi, or the Hidden Imam. He is a messianic figure who will emerge in an era of chaos to establish a just Islamic order. This isn't just background noise, by the way. Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad openly embraced this worldview. During his presidency, he not only referred to the Mahdi in speeches, including at the United Nations no less, but his government poured funds into religious preparations for the Mahdi's return. Ahmadinejad believed the apocalypse wasn't to be avoided but welcomed - even hastened. Road upgrades to Jamkaran, home of the mosque linked to the Mahdi's reappearance, were budgeted as national infrastructure. The line between religion and state planning was deliberately blurred. While not every Iranian leader is a millenarian, enough are, and the political system gives them real influence. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which would almost certainly be in control of any Iranian nuclear arsenal were that to eventuate, has leaders who parrot similarly apocalyptic language. General Hossein Salami, the head of the IRGC - before he was recently killed by Israeli strikes - had repeatedly threatened to wipe Israel off the map. He described Israel as a 'cancerous tumour' that must be 'destroyed'. There's not a lot of room to move with such rhetoric. It can't be treated as a metaphorical flourish. It is a statement of intent, rooted in a belief that conflict with Israel is religiously sacred. This is why Israel acts the way it does - from targeted assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists to cyber sabotage and the recent airstrikes in Iran. The moves by the US and Israel this past fortnight aren't just about national defence. They're about preventing the unimaginable: a nuclear-armed state run by people who don't fear a true Armageddon. The US under Trump hit three separate nuclear-linked sites, facilities buried deep underground, because no other country has the capability to strike those types of bunkers effectively. The message was clear: diplomacy has its limits when dealing with a state like Iran, which in many ways is a much more dangerous actor than somewhere like North Korea precisely because of its millenarian tendencies. While Iran has always claimed its nuclear program is civilian, about energy not weapons, that claim doesn't pass the sniff test. Places like Fordow, the nuclear fortress buried under mountains, were deliberately shielded from airstrikes precisely because it's not an energy enrichment site. It's designed for survivability in the event of war, which only makes sense if the goal is to build a weapon, not a civilian reactor. The US has now apparently taken care of that. Iran getting the bomb poses other risks. If it was armed with nuclear weapons, we would see nuclear proliferation across the Middle East. If Iran got the bomb, Saudi Arabia would want one (it has said as much), and potentially, so would Turkey. Egypt might seek to build one too. Some in the West forget, or wilfully ignore, that Iran is not the underdog in the Middle East. It is the regional bully. Far from being a besieged victim of aggression Iran is the primary source of destabilisation right across the region. As a Shia theocracy in a predominantly Sunni region Iran's rise is deeply feared by Sunni Arab states. Its nuclear ambitions are seen as part of its ideological mission to reshape the Middle East in its image. It's a revolutionary regime, where parts of the leadership believe global chaos isn't to be avoided, it's to be embraced, because it brings the end times closer. If that doesn't justify aggressive containment measures, what does?
