Saudi Gazette This refers to Dr. Omar Elmershedi's comment regarding the hope of Sunnis ascending to power in Syria. I fully agree with his observation that some political regimes in MENA are silently praying for the dominance of Islamists in countries where political re-engineering is taking place, as long as Sunnis end up in the driver's seat. To them, Syria will fit this mold, after the collapse of Bashar Al-Assad and his gang. To them, this would be a sure way of countering Iranian hegemony. Elmershedi seems to be a staunch realist and a keen observer of the changes in Middle East politics. If the present Syrian regime falls, Sunnis will be in a position to rule Syria after a long time, but I doubt if they will be able to counter Iranian hegemony even if the Iranian regime is destroyed by blanket bombing like in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan or Libya. The current Shiite and Sunni political and religious propaganda that is blinding the Ummah is harming both Islamic sects socially and politically. The teachings of the famous Islamic thinker Ghazali were able to put the jinn of division back into the bottle for centuries. The two ancient Islamic sects were able to rule the Ummah without much religious fanfare for centuries. In those days, the Islamic Ummah, was enlightened and practical. After the advent of colonial powers the jinn of division was freed again to frighten and mislead the Ummah. Sectarian divide became a political card played shamelessly by the blood-thirsty colonialists. In the name of research, the Orientalists and European historians muddied the crystal-clear water of history with their poisonous and biased writings. Many Arab and Asian students studied in European and Western universities. And many of them sold their souls and became an enemy of their own culture and religion. Developments in the Arab Spring seem to be the repetition of historical mistakes. It seems that most Western-educated Arabs are accepting whatever comes from the West. The religious scholars either have become spokesmen for the old Arab regimes in the Middle East unconditionally or they have adopted an extremist ideology. Either way they have lost touch with the silent masses that are terrified by the menace of violence in the form of wars under the Zionist agenda imposed on the Muslim Ummah. No Muslim leadership, political or religious, is able to lead the Muslim Ummah in a time of crisis. This leadership vacuum is filled with small Shiite and Sunni extremist groups. This is unfortunate for such a big Ummah with clear-cut social, political and religious guidance. The Sunnis cannot decimate the Shiite minority and the Shiites cannot defeat the overwhelming majority of the Sunnis. Both sects have been on this planet since the early days of Islam and they will be in the future. It seems that it is the will of God to test our sincerity to our faith. Having political power or no political power, the Sunnis or the Shiites have to lead their lives in their countries peacefully — this is the simple truth. Nothing will prevail except Truth. We, mortal human beings, have to depart from this world sooner or later and this should be remembered by subjects, rulers, intellectuals and the common man. The Middle East went through socialist experiments and religious experiments earlier. This part of the world should be careful in its social, political and religious experiments, keeping the future of the Islamic Ummah in its mind. Peace will elude the Sunnis or Shiites, if they forget this truth. __
