10:50PM
What's the difference between Shia and Sunni?
By 
Issandr El Amrani | US
Issandr El Amrani | US
Several readers have emailed in this NYT story about how many US officials involved in the Iraq operations and the Global War on Terror (or is it Extremism these days?) are unable to answer the question, "what's the difference between Sunni and Shia?"
Well of course it is rather worrying that, at this stage in the game, many people who should don't seem to have even a basic inkling of what the fitna is all about. Even if it's a complicated topic, you would assume they would at least know about where each kind is found, some basic differences in the way they are organized, and a little historic background about early Islam. No one's asking them to memorize the name of the twelve imams.
But it seems to me that concern about what they don't know is rather besides the point compared to the idea that you need to have a lot of competent managers who know these things. The United States and its officials should not be trying to run an empire in the Islamic world, and these officials should not be expected to have intricate knowledge of the natives in the same way that a British colonial officer in India might have in the early 20th century. They should not be putting themselves in that position in the first place.
Well of course it is rather worrying that, at this stage in the game, many people who should don't seem to have even a basic inkling of what the fitna is all about. Even if it's a complicated topic, you would assume they would at least know about where each kind is found, some basic differences in the way they are organized, and a little historic background about early Islam. No one's asking them to memorize the name of the twelve imams.
But it seems to me that concern about what they don't know is rather besides the point compared to the idea that you need to have a lot of competent managers who know these things. The United States and its officials should not be trying to run an empire in the Islamic world, and these officials should not be expected to have intricate knowledge of the natives in the same way that a British colonial officer in India might have in the early 20th century. They should not be putting themselves in that position in the first place.
Reader Comments (7)
Many of these guys just figured out the difference between an Arab and a Muslim in the last few years, it's rather optimistic to expect a sophisticated knowledge of Muslim sects at this point.
Their great intellectual mentor Bernard Lewis went on Charlie Rose's show before the invasion and raised the comparison between British colonial officers and the American mission in Iraq. He quoted a wise old India hand counselling an earnest young officer, who was feverishly trying to read all he could about the natives before being sent off to the colonies - "my dear fellow, it doesn't matter if you understand the natives or not - what matters is that they understand you, and understand that you mean business."
The US mission in Iraq was never about gentle suasion and understanding, but rather shock and awe. Arabs were supposed to be impressed by the US show of strength (because, per Lewis and his disciples, that's what they understand) and get behind the new bosses, even if those bosses were recently graduated College Republicans.
But yes, if you claim to be a counterterrorism expert, it might help to know what it means to be salafi or Wahhabi (unless you're of the homo foggybottomus species, in which case it's fine to be an insta-expert so long as you have the patronage of an important institution).
Global War on Terror (or is it Extremism these days?
No, the dummies call it islamic fascism these days
Fun fact: "Islamic Facism" (le fascisme islamique) was actually coined by a French scholar, Maxime Rodinson, in 1979 to describe the new regime in Iran. So don't blame Bush for a phrase invented by a pro-Palestinian French Maxist!
Andrew-
Rodinson= pontificating leftist academic. Not widely read.
Bush= President of the US. A little less than half of the voting population of the most powerful nation cling on to his every word.
Who needs to be more careful about choosing words?
I thought Christopher Hitchens was generally credited with introducing the term "islamofascism" in the contemporary US political discourse.
The thought of Republican policymakers discussing "le fascisme islamique" is pretty giggle-inducing though.
SP - Do you have a source on the Bernard Lewis-Charlie Rose quote? I looked at the 3 episodes available on google video from around that time & he doesn't mention it. Not doubting - it's such an incredible quote I wanted to make sure I could source it properly.
Iraqd - I watched the show with my own eyes and heard this with my own ears - was pretty incredulous (particularly as I had been accustomed to thinking of PBS as "liberal" and surely this was an extremely politically incorrect thing to be saying on air, in America too). Assume transcript it available on PBS site? Charlie Rose may have his own site too. It was right about the time when the decision to go to war was being made. Will hunt it up.