For Shia pilgrims to Mecca and Medina, few can forget the that occurred in 1987. Each year prior to that, a group of Iranians, Saudis, and other nationals held a peaceful, Saudi government-approved demonstration to denounce internal hypocrisy in Islam (even though it was a not-so subtle jab at the Saudi monarchy). It was a tradition started by Imam Khomeini after the Iranian Revolution and one that continued with barely a scuffle for years.

In 1987, however, an argument broke out between demonstrators and Saudi police in which the police opened fire, forcing the demonstrators to flee in a stampede-inducing frenzy. Over four hundred people were killed with another 649 injured, an event described in vivid detail in the book Iran's Persian Gulf Policy: From Khomeini to Khatami. While discrimination in Mecca and Medina continued afterwards against anyone the Saudi government deemed outside its definition of Islam, actual violence against worshippers rarely did.

That uneasy but stable status quo was broken on August 5th when a group of Shia pilgrims from the US and the UK were physically harassed, verbally insulted, and then detained by Saudi authorities. In a letter now widely circulated on the Internet, one participant, Syed Jawad Qazwini, an Islamic scholar and community leader based in Florida, extensively documents the abuses he saw committed against himself and his group.

According to his account, his umrah delegation was praying inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca and were within earshot of a Saudi appointed religious scholar lecturing on Islam.The speaker allegedly repeated familiar anti-Shia canards -- Shia Muslims worship the dead, are hypocrites, and gave Muslim lands away to the enemy (a reference to the support many Shia leaders gave to the overthrow of Saddam Hussain).

A young man then approached the religious police and told them that they should not disrespect Shia Muslims. Qazwini, a 25-year-old Iraqi American, urged the young man to ignore the incident but tension ensued and the police became physical. "They began to hit us with chairs, bats, radio communication devices, their fists, kicks, and punches continually," recounted Qazwini. "They were hitting us with so many blows that I could not hold them back," added another pilgrim, Mustafa Field.

The Saudi police responded with a barrage of insults, reportedly telling the worshippers that they were "all cowards and we will purify the holy mosque from the Shia," according to Qazwini's account. Qazwini then told the police that they were "guests of Allah" and that they were "in no position to go against Allah and the government of your king."

The police officer then pushed Qazwini aside and arrested him, reportedly dragging him to a detention center within the mosque with several members of his group trailing behind. While the detention center was cleared of others, Qaswini claimed that a Saudi official boasted to other officers that he had caught an "Iraqi Shia causing problems".

With the room now empty, a police officer then threw his boot at Qazwini, hitting his forehead. "I was in more pain and I could barely see," wrote Qazwini. "I had a severe headache. He then proceeded to beat me and he was laughing with amusement, telling the rest on the police in the room how good it felt to hit a Shia."

Qazwini recalled crying for help while some members of his group tried to approach the detention center to help him. Chaos ensued as over 30 police officers were dispatched to quell the trouble. Members of Qazwini's umrah delegation were then beaten by Saudi police, some reportedly hit in their genitalia. "Take this message back to America," a Saudi officer allegedly told to the group. Seven Britons and one American was detained for 12 hours until their eventual release, according to the BBC.

The story has yet to be corroborated by any eyewitnesses outside Qazwini's group, and groups like Amnesty International are still waiting for more information before any statement (or action) can be made. Images of some the victims are now circulating on the internet and many of the pilgrims said they plan legal action. Syed Hasan Qazwini, an Islamic scholar and the head of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, said the attack was not surprising and part of a very familiar pattern of abuse. Said Qazwini, "This event (is) another episode in a long standing culture of policies which discriminated against Shias living in Saudi Arabia or those on pilgrimage."

In a statement released to reporters, Ghazi al-Usaimi, deputy police chief at Mecca's Grand Mosque, decried these allegations, saying "What the media said is baseless; no assaults took place in the shrine." Repeated calls for comment to the press office at the Saudi Embassy in Washington DC were unanswered.

Interestingly, victims reported that Saudi officials further escalated their assault when they learned of the victims nationality. "They were calling us infidels. When we said we were British and American citizens and wanted to speak to our embassies the beating got even worse," Amir Taki, a civil-servant from London noted in a London press conference. One of those beaten was a 16-year-old British Shia Muslim who was assaulted even further when Saudi authorities learned that his mother was an Englishwoman. Qazwini told reporters, "I think they wanted to send a message to the West, and unfortunately we were the means they used to do so. We were targets for two reasons, because we held American passports and because we are Shias."

Prior to this incident, there were indications that conditions were improving for Shia pilgrims. In October 2006, Saudi Arabia played host to a conference of prominent Muslim leaders calling for an end to sectarian strife between Muslims. But for many, the attack on the pilgrims recalls a painful history of abuse in Mecca and shatters hopes for a more inclusive and tolerant hajj and umrah experience.

Anthropologist Abdellah Hammoudi's "A Season in Mecca" does much to chart the current state of the Hajj, which is dogged by petty nationalisms, consumerism and the presence of Wahhabis who view the the Hajj merely as an opportunity to propogate their puritan, anti-Sufi teachings. The Muslim world will never be united or strong until our Holy Places are in the hands of a sisters and brothers genuinely committed to an understanding of Islam that is moderate, tolerant and humane.

"an understanding of Islam that is moderate, tolerant and humane."

Why not try for an understanding that is fundamental? An understanding of the way it is supposed to be, not how we want it. The way of Qur'an and Sunnah, the Sahaba, the Salaf As-Saliheen.

"This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor towards you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”(Al-Ma’idah 5:3)

What changes are needed to fix something perfect?

"And hold fast to the rope of Allah, and do not be divided amongst yourselves." (Aali 'Imran 3:103)

We are not to be divided, so should we all unite? Should we brush aside our differences and say "It's okay, we're all Muslims"? No.

'Abdullaah ibn 'Amr said: The Messenger of Allaah said,"..My Ummah will split into seventy three sects, all of which are in the Fire, except one.".

Allah says do not be divided, but his Messenger says that we will be divided. All muslims are going to hell, except one group amongst them. Which group is that?

They (The Sahaba)asked, "Which is that one, 0 Messenger of Allaah?" He replied, "That which I and my Companions are upon."

Was The Messenger of Allah or his companions shiites or sufis? No.

"Indeed in the Messenger of Allâh you have a good example to follow, for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day and remembers Allâh much." (Al-Ahzab 33:21)

"If anyone contends with the Messenger even after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him and follows a path other than that of the Believers (i.e. the Companions), We shall leave him in the path he has chosen and land him in Hell. What an evil refuge!" (Surah an-Nisaa' 4:115)

"The Muslim world will never be united or strong until our Holy Places are in the hands of a sisters and brothers genuinely committed to an understanding of Islam that is moderate, tolerant and humane."

What is moderation? Moderation is holding on firmly to every precept of the pure religion, without falling short into laxity or going to excess, extremity. The Muslim Nation will never be united or strong until we realize this and act upon it. May Allah enable us to be so, Aameen.

Shia are not the only ones abused by the Saudis and their minions. I was repeatedly hit over the back/head with brooms and bottles and witnessed other women being harrassed the same way because we were not praying in the appropriate "place", even though there were no real designated areas for women in the haram. In addition, I was elbowed and knocked over by a large group of Iranian women in the Prophets Mosque in Median.

With a global population of 1.3billion Muslims, and an attendance of 3million people at each Hajj, and assuming an average life of 60 years, I think as an Ummah we can be hopeful that even 5% of us can perform the Hajj. It is a commodity and an unjust government can unfortunately afford to discriminate if it suits its aims.

That said, Shia, women, non-Arabs, the poor, various sects, various people, various amounts of literature and practices are openly defiled by the Saudi government and the states eagerly violent police force. But as it stands .. it can only get worst.

All of the links you have provided seem to end in errors. It seems hard to believe that you would put up a bunch of faulty web-links, but lets hope someone else isn't preventing readers from gaining access to the story.

It seems unthinkable for such things to happen by those who all read the same book? But then again it seem unthinkable that more people would be killed in the name of allah then for any other single reason in the history of mankind.

When we cannot even agree to disagree and let other believe as they wish and allow allah to be the judge, then this will be the result until judgement day. Thanks be to allah that he will judge and not men.

All of the links you have provided seem to end in errors. It seems hard to believe that you would put up a bunch of faulty web-links, but lets hope someone else isn't preventing readers from gaining access to the story.

Sorry - fixed that

i am a non-muslim. i want to know a bit more re this feud between shia and sunni in islam.

from what little i know, islam is a democratic religion. islam as a political force is to be led by elected leaders of muslims. the role of imam is to lead in prayer. role of a scholar is to provide understanding and relevance to current life in light of Quran and Sunnah, when requested, and not to enforce sharia, islamic law, that is left for the majority or as we call today,democratic forces in a fair and open manner.

Question to sunni and shia muslims, is: where does Ali, his sons Husain and Hasan fit into political leadership roles after Mohammad? Did Mohammad want nepotism, ie. offsprings of Mohammad to politically lead all muslims because of of birth right? or did Mohammad want islam's leaders to be elected fairly and openly thru democratic elections on merit and track record?

Very much appreciate if someone cared to answer this particular question that has dogged me while living and working in muslim countries with shia and sunni muslim friends?

thanks!

One cannot essentialize shi'i islam as being nepotistic and sunni islam as being democratic.

From a shi'i perspective, though the Imams are all from the family of the Prophet, they are not the Imams by virtue of their birth. They were divinely appointed in a way analagous to the divine appointment of Prophets. Other members of the Prophets family were not chosen in the same way and do not have this status. So it is not simply that if one is related to the Prophet one deserves leadership, which would be nepotism. The suitability of the Imams for the Imamate has to do with their special position as comprehensive inheritors to the Prophetic legacy.
In Sunni Islam, it is thought that the leadership of the Ummah was left to the community itself. Sunnis hold that the Prophet did not prescribe any particular methodology for selecting the leader of the Muslim community. The Sunni community generally looks to the period of the "Four rightly guided caliphs," as an exemplary model for Islamic governance. During this period however, the selection of the Khalifa (political leader of the muslim community) occured by various means: appointmet, election through a small council and also by mass approval.

Sunni and Shi'i Muslims, through history, have adopted various political arrangements, that include monarchy and democracy, and so to essentialize them in terms of the extent to which they encourage democracy is of very little use. In a modern context, most Muslims approve of democracy, if what we mean by it are free and fair open elections. Having said this, we should not be surprised that democracy in the Muslim world may not share the liberal shade of Western democracies. Most Muslim majority countries will want religion to play some role in public life.

many thanks mohammed for an informative answer.

and i would tend to agree with you knowing somewhat of muslim history re actual practice of such a society as 'idealized' by both shia and sunni has not existed for a possibly a very very long time. actually, i am hard pressed to learn of such a society other then in books and folklore where muslims co-existed with non-muslims with gauranteed equal rights other then in the present in modern times as we live in a vastly superior developed non-muslim ruled world.

and lest this becomes a more involved religious discussion for which I am not trained in, I think I understand shia religion better I think.

i do apologize for an uninformed view of what i thought sunni muslim rule vs shia muslim rule was a difference between democratic ideals and nepotism in a 'muslim society'.

and to follow up on your message, would you then say that shia believe , the 'divinely' guided imams would be following up after Mohammad's death? and do shia then believe people related to Mohammad, Islam's prophet were follow-up prophets, and Mohammad was not the last prophet, as most sunni muslims believe? i, like most people would infer 'divine' to be instructed by God Almighty himself.

Shi'is believe in the finality of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and the message which he brought forth. The Imams of the Ahlul-Bayt (Prophetic household) are the authoritative expositors, interpreters protectors of the Prophetic message, but they do not receive revelation. Thus, Shi'is and Sunnis are in full agreement that the Prophet Muhammad is the "seal" of the Prophets.

The differences between Shi'i and Sunni Islam are subtle. It's difficult to communicate Shi'i/Sunni difference without presupposing a fairly comprehensive understanding of Islam itself. (The media has done precisely this, and in so doing has created an impression that Shi'is and Sunnis everywhere are practically at each others throats) Simply regurgitating the doctrinal differences between Sunni and Shi'i Muslims (e.g. the Imamate), though of importance, tends to exaggerate the differences between them, particularly for the outsider, and does not reflect how profoundly similar the religions are.

You mentioned being more familiar with Shi'i Islam. I'm curious, where is it that you are working?

Mohammad -i have lived and worked for a European firm as a logistics/shipping broker 1980-1998 Dahran(ARAMCO)-KSA, UAE, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bander Abbas (Iran), Manama(Bahrain), Kwuait City(Kuwait), in the muslim world and been thrown into shia and sunni company of friends and associates.

I am back home in US raising kids, and work for a large global consulting firm that keeps me plugged into global affairs, especially islamic world.

It may be just my opinion, but it does seem to me that most shia and sunni people differ in terms of rituals they follow and have separate mosques. They also rarely if ever, inter-marry.Also, from what i have learnt listening to discourse between shia and sunnis while in social settings, is that they seem to have very different outlooks on islam and what it means to be a muslim when it comes to following Koran and Hadith. Sunni muslims seem more fixated on what Mohammad said, and did, and Shia on his cousin&soninlaw;Ali&his;family.

And, i may not agree with the 'subtle differences' you espouse in your message, but i try to continue to learn more from people like yourself re the two sects that divide islam and muslims today....

george