Introduction:
Politics and the Sectarian Identity in the Middle East
How Islamic sectarianism strengthened the division of sunni/shia
Colonialism’s impact on strengthening social sectarianism
Political Islam and its contributions to the rise of sectarianism in the middle east.

Section I:
(Approx. 1500 words)
Historical Perspective
• How history has impacted current day
– How sectarianism started in Islam in 632
The start of the Sunni/Shiaa Division
Sectarianism in Islam started right after the death of the Prophet Muhammed in 632 AD. The succession to the Prophet led to division of people with different ideas and beliefs. Some believed in the election system, hence recruited Abu Bakr as the successor, and others aimed for proximity of blood, and thought Prophet Muhammed’s niece should be the successor. The succession situation had turned into a more socio-political issue that is the division of Sunni/Shia today.
• Comparative political analysis
o Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, the Middle East

• Colonialism’s contribution to sectarianism
During 1929, Indigenous Bahraini Shia in Persia faced discrimination and harassment from the Persians. Even though they had ask for protection from the British, Britain had neglected their struggle in Persia. In return of Britain’s avoidance to interfere, Bahraini Shia nationals were forced to adopt the Persian nationality to avoid arrest or expulsion from the country.

• Colonial impact in these countries that led to deepening sectarianism in society and politics
– European Genesis of Sectarianism
The first iteration happened in the 1940s. The British started to identify people with their sect, and they started to classify people based on where they came from. This is when sectarianism emerged.

Section II:
(Approx. 1500 words)
Political Perspective
Islam Emerged as a political ideology (Islamism)
• Reasons
The kinds of political Islam
• Official Political Islam
Ideological tool at the disposal of the state.
(What you see in Iran) Iran officially has an Islamist ideology.
Sign posts that the state has.

• Unofficial Political Islam
– Popular
The Islam of an average person. When people are religiously devout, a sense of piety. They do their religious rituals. They are politically aware. (ME societies are highly politicized)

– Intellectual
Doesn’t only revolve around rituals of Islam. (More philosophical)
Sects within itself
a. Traditional
Inner piety (Mystical/mysticism)
Usually they talk about social justice and economic justice in response to Marxism. They talk about the moral decay of society (Alcoholism, pre-marital sex, emphasize family and gender issues.)

b. Reformist
The accumulation of Islamic knowledge (Hermeneutics). We need to reform what previous scholars are telling us. We need to engage in independent reasoning (Ijtihad). We need to make Islam contemporary and apply to daily life, make it relevant. Historical jurisprudence (Fiqh) is irrelevant for today’s time. Democracy is not Western, it humane. It belongs to human civilization, so does observing human rights. The prophet allowed criticism.
– They advocate for human rights through an Islamic perspective (No compulsion in religion) Therefore, lets undergo interfaith dialogue. Their voices are drowned by the other strand of political islam, which are the fundamentalists.

– Fundamentalist
Popular within the lower, middle classes. Where there is inequality, and vast disparities in wealth. They believe in scripturalism (Quran said this, done) No jurisprudence or reasoning. They are frustrated and sick of what they see that they become puritanical. The ends justify the means. If the end justifies Islam, then it is okay to do other things that is not necessarily Islamic. (Ex: violence)

• Arab Spring
By 2010-2011 Things became to change. Bin Laden is hiding, fundamentalism is not developing, Iran’s soft power got eroded.
The Arab Spring happens.
1 outcome: Success
2 outcome: Civil War (Libya, Syria, Yemen)
3 outcome: aborted in Bahrain
Bahrainis who protested were majorly shia, and some sunnis joined. It became a national uprising. They arrested everybody and the revolution aborted. The gov of Bahrain that a sectarian framing of the national uprising would serve its politics, and Iran is to blame. Right in the Arabian peninsula

• Sectarianism in Iraq
– Iraqi Civil War
Tensions between the different religious and ethnic groups of Iraq, most notably Shia/Sunni
Post-civil war Iraq
• Sectarianism in Syria
– Syrian Civil War

• Sectarianism in Yemen
– Violent sectarianism
– dynamic interactions of regime survival in a self-cancelling state, regional rivalry between Riyadh and Tehran, and the international and global geopolitical climate after 9/11

Section III:
(Approx. 1500 words)
The era of sectarianism
• Contemporary politics in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
• Political Islamic Ideologies surviving today
• Would eliminating sectarianism reform corrupt politics?
Modern Outcomes
• Further division of Islamic sects after the Arab spring
• How history impacted contemporary views of sectarianism
• Social and Cultural Sectarianism in the Middle East
– Kuwait
– Qatar
The rise of sectarian awareness occurred right after the elections of Shura Council in 2022. The Qatari law had classified first class citizens as those who have inhabited Qatar before 1930, and continued to preserve their Qatari nationality until after 1960 (According to Qatari Law no.38-1). After the Qatari people had their eye open, “second class” citizens began to question their national duty and sense of belonging. For example, all Qatari nationals are required to enter national service regardless of their citizenship status.

• Tribal Sectarianism in the GCC (Tribalism)
Tribalism in the Middle East is a strong factor among the people in distinguishing sects and where people have come from. It is also an attribute of Sunni/Shia sects and division, since tribalism in the two sects specifically is different,