Sectarianism

Sectarianism is bigotry, discrimination, prejudice or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion or the factions of a political movement.

The ideological underpinnings of attitudes and behaviors labeled as sectarian are extraordinarily varied. Members of a religious or political group may feel that their own salvation, or success of their particular objectives, requires aggressively seeking converts from other groups; adherents of a given faction may believe that for the achievement of their own political or religious project their internal opponents must be purged. Sometimes a group feeling itself to be under economic or political pressure will attack members of another group thought to be responsible for its own decline. It may also more rigidly define the definition of "orthodox" belief within its particular group or organisation, and expel or excommunicate those who do not agree with this newfound clarified definition of political or religious 'orthodoxy.' In other cases, dissenters from this orthodoxy will secede from the orthodox organisation and proclaim themselves as practitioners of a reformed belief system, or holders of a perceived former orthodoxy. At other times, sectarianism may be the expression of a group's nationalistic or cultural ambitions, or exploited by demagogues.

A sectarian conflict usually refers to violent conflict along religious and political lines such as the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland (although political beliefs and class-divisions played major roles as well). It may also refer to general philosophical, political or armed conflict between different schools of thought such as that between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Non-sectarians espouse that free association and tolerance of different beliefs are the cornerstone to successful peaceful human interaction. They espouse political and religious pluralism.

Religious sectarianism

Sectarianism is present in all parts of the world. Wherever religious sectarians compete, religious sectarianism is found in varying forms and degrees. In some areas, religious sectarians (for example Protestant and Catholic Christians in the United States) now exist peacefully side-by-side for the most part. In others, some nominal Catholics and Protestants have been in fierce conflict – one recent example of this was in Northern Ireland, although the conflict was condemned by some Catholic and Protestant leaders. Within Islam, there has been conflict at various periods between Sunnis and Shias; certain Sunni sects inspired by Wahhabism and other ideologies have declared Shias (and sometimes mainstream Sunnis) to be heretics and/or apostates. Iraq and Pakistan are two notable contemporary examples.

Europe

See also: the Troubles, Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland

Since the 17th century, there has been sectarian conflict of varying intensity in Ireland. This religious sectarianism is bound up with nationalism. This has been particularly intense in Northern Ireland since the Irish Free State became independent in 1922. Irish emigration has taken this conflict to other lands, including Scotland (with some fans of football clubs such as Rangers and Celtic indulging in sectarian chants) (see: Sectarianism in Glasgow), Newfoundland, Canada's Maritime provinces, New York State, Ontario, Liverpool,Birmingham and elsewhere. See also Know-Nothings for anti-Catholic sentiment in the United States.

In Catholic countries, Protestants have historically been persecuted as heretics. For example, the substantial Protestant population of France (the Huguenots) was expelled from the kingdom in the 1680s following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. In Spain, the Inquisition sought to root out not only Protestantism but also crypto-Jews and crypto-Muslims (moriscos); elsewhere the Papal Inquisition held similar goals.

In most places where Protestantism is the majority or 'official' religion, there have been examples of Catholics being persecuted. In countries where the Reformation was successful, this often lay in the perception that Catholics retained allegiance to a 'foreign' power (the Papacy), causing them to be regarded with suspicion. Sometimes this mistrust manifested itself in Catholics being subjected to restrictions and discrimination, which itself led to further conflict. For example, before Catholic Emancipation in 1829, Catholics were forbidden from voting, becoming MP's or buying land in Ireland.

Today, bigotry and discrimination in employment are usually relegated a few places where extreme forms of religion are the norm, or in areas with a long history of sectarian violence and tension, such as Northern Ireland (especially in terms of employment; however, this is dying out in this jurisdiction, thanks to strictly-enforced legislation. Reverse discrimination now takes place in terms of employment quotas which are now applied). In places where more 'moderate' forms of Protestantism (such as Anglicanism / Episcopalianism) prevail, the two traditions do not become polarized against each other, and usually co-exist peacefully. Especially in England, sectarianism is nowadays almost unheard of. However in Western Scotland (where Calvinism and Presbyterianism are the norm) sectarian divisions can still sometimes arise between Catholics and Protestants. Indeed, in the early years following the Scottish Reformation there was actually internal sectarian tension between Church of Scotland Presbyterians and 'High Church' Anglicans, whom they regarded as having retained too many attitudes and practices from the Catholic era. Northern Ireland has introduced a Private Day of Reflection, since 2007, to mark the transition to a post-[sectarian] conflict society, an initiative of the cross-community Healing through Remembering organisation and research project.

The civil wars in the Balkans which followed the breakup of Yugoslavia have been heavily tinged with sectarianism. Croats and Slovenes have traditionally been Catholic, Serbs and Macedonians Eastern Orthodox, and Bosniaks and most Albanians Muslim. Religious affiliation served as a marker of group identity in this conflict, despite relatively low rates of religious practice and belief among these various groups after decades of communism.

Australia

Main article: Sectarianism in Australia

Sectarianism in Australia is a historical legacy from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Pakistan

Main article: sectarian violence in Pakistan

In Pakistan, there has been a history of sectarian violence and unrest since the 1970s, although much of the violence may be attributed to non-theological clashes over tribal lands, rivalries, and class-disputes. Almost all relations between Shias and Sunnis are peaceful, and there exists a large degree of intermarriage between the two communities. Further, many prominent Shias play an important political role in the country - the late Benazir Bhutto is believed to have been Shia, for example. However, sporadic violence between the two communities is often initiated by extremists on both sides, particularly in South Punjab.

History

In the early years of sectarian conflict, extremist Sunnis clashed with Ahmadis, until they were declared non-Muslims in 1974 by judges on Pakistan's supreme court. Under continuing rule of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, sectarianism in Pakistan, especially in Karachi and South Punjab, became quite violent as the began his process of Islamization began in the Pakistani judicial system. Social laws, which had been tolerant of the open-sale of alcohol, intermingling of the sexes, etc. were severely curtailed by Zia's laws, although hardliners in both the Shia and Sunni camps were largely in favor of his restrictions. The process eventually came upon issues in which Sunni and Shia viewpoints differed. In such instances Zia favored the Sunni interpretation of Islam over the Shia one, causing a rift between the two communities.

Saudi Influences

Because of massive Saudi assistance to Pakistan in the 1980s, Zia began to shift his favor away from local variants of Sunnism (which were largely tolerant of Shias) towards the far more intolerant Saudi style of Sunnism known as Wahhabism. Much of the violent sectarian conflict can be attributed to the introduction of Wahabbism, which is fundamentally anti-Shia, and gained notoriety in mainstream Sunni Islam after the destruction of the Shia holy shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq, in 1800. Saudi funded arms soon flooded into the country as the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. While the arms were meant to be directed to Afghan fighters, many inevitably ended up in the hands of newly formed Wahhabi paramilitary groups. However, the Wahhabist paramilitary groups attacked not only Shias, but anyone who they felt was not a true Muslim, including Sufis, who have largely influenced the practice of Sunnism in Pakistan.

Spread of Sectarianism

During the 80's and early 90's, violence spread as Shia mourning processions during the period of Ashura frequently came under attack from Saudi-backed Wahabbi extremists. Despite the attacks from Wahabbi extremists, many mainstream Sunnis would visit the processions to show their own reverence for historical Shia figures. However according to Wahabbis, the local Sunnis were acting un-Islamic in their participation in Shia rituals, and were considered legitimate targets as such. In response, Iranian-backed Shia militant groups would often attack Wahabbi mosques, and events staged by Wahabbists. Also at the time, old rivalries took on a more sectarian nature in the areas around Gilgit, and Skardu as Saudi and Iranian paramilitary groups spread their influence.

Sectarianism as a Class Conflict in Punjab

In South Punjab, sectarian violence is most deadly. However, violence is often rooted class-disputes, and not theological arguments. Most of the wealthy and powerful estate-owners in the region of Shia, while their tenants are poorer Sunnis. Sectarianism feeds off the class tension, which may explain why sectarianism is more prominent there then elsewhere in Punjab where Sunnis and Shias belong to similar economic classes.

Sectarianism as a Triban Conflict in the Northwest Frontier

Tribal clashes between Pashtun tribes in the Northwest Frontier Province have also taken on a sectarian nature, with the Shia Orakzai tribe often battling with their Sunni neighbors. These clashes are centered around the town of Bannu, and have often turned deadly. However, the conflict is rooted in centuries' old land disputes, and has only taken on a sectarian nature since the fanatic Taliban regime came into power in nearby Afghanistan in the 1990s.

Hitlists

In the early part of the new millennium, the names of Shia doctors and lawyers were listed on anonymously paid-for newspaper ads; these were, in fact, assassination hit lists - those listed were systematically assassinated by extremist the Wahabbist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, as part of an effort to eradicate the nation of prominent Shias. A new wave sectarian violence erupted when a Sunni suicide bombing of a Shia mosque in Iraq in 2003 took place.

Waning of Violence

Since 2003, sectarianism in Pakistan has considerably waned, and only a few instances of sectarian violence have been reported. Of these, the majority stem from the tribal conflict in Bannu, while attacks in Karachi, Gilgit, and Punjab have almost entirely ceased. This may be largely attributable to a new Saudi hesitance in funding the number of attacks in proportion to the size of the community is quite low. Additionally, there are several Shia

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Middle East and Asia

Iraq

Main article: Sectarian violence in Iraq

Iraq's Shia population was persecuted during the presidency of Saddam Hussein, and certain elements of the Iraqi insurgency have made a point of targeting Shias in sectarian attacks. In turn, the Sunnis have complained of discrimination and human rights abuses by Iraq's Shia majority government, which is bolstered by the fact that Sunni detainees were allegedly discovered to have been tortured in a compound used by government forces on November 15 2005. This sectarianism has fueled a giant level of emigration and internal displacement.

Some people advocate an independent nation for the Shias of Iraq. The idea that Iraq could be split into Kurdistan in the north, Iraq in the center and Basra in the south. The thinking is that if each community is busy nation-building, they would not be attacking each other as they would be within a single country where the communities may be striving for political dominance at expense of other communities instead of working together. British India was split into Hindu-dominant India and Muslim-dominant Pakistan. After a two year trial, Malaysia was split into Malay-dominant Malaysia and Chinese-dominant Singapore.

Lebanon

See also: Lebanese civil war

Lebanon's religious divisions are extremely complicated, and the country is made up by a multitude of religious groupings. Sectarianism in Lebanon was caused because of the political sharing of power. The 1943 National Pact gave the Maronite Christians, the then majority, more power than the other groups. Although the Taif agreement ended the civil war, power is still divided along sects.

Sectarianism within Judaism

Sectarianism also exists between Orthodox and Reform Jews, with orthodox Jews often characterizing reform Jews as being non-religious, disobeying the Torah, rarely attending shul and adopting semi-Christian styles of worship. Reform Jews, on the other hand, often view the orthodox as being intolerant of them and of other religions, placing legalistic rules such as the observance of the Sabbath above ethical obligations, being cult-like and hostile to change.

Political sectarianism

In the political realm, to describe a group as 'sectarian' (or as practicising 'sectarianism'), is to accuse them of prioritizing differences and rivalries with politically close groups. An example might be a communist group who are accused of devoting an excessive amount of time and energy to denouncing other communist groups rather than their common foes. However, separatist fundamentalist Protestant political parties have proliferated, and regularly denounce one another, in New Zealand, as can be seen from the entries on United Future New Zealand and Future New Zealand. Libertarianism seems to be similarly susceptible to fissiparous tendencies of its own.

Another great example is the Stalinist denouncing of Trotskyist movements, and libertarian socialists.

The Monty Python film The Life of Brian has a well-known joke in which various Judean groups, who to an outsider are indistinguishable, are more concerned with in-fighting than with their nominal aim of opposing Roman rule. This is taken to be a parody of modern political groups.

See also

• Authoritarianism
• Cult
• Ethnic cleansing
• Feud
• Fundamentalism
• Religious segregation
• Sports rivalry
• Sectarian violence
• Sect
• Cybersectarianism

Memorials fostering a fragile parity-of-esteem-for-difference

• The Linen Memorial : Northern Ireland