Ali Aljasem | In the Shadow of the State: The Rise of Kata’ib Al-Baath at Aleppo University after 2011.

This article examines the emergence and transformation of pro-state paramilitarism in Syria in the context of the uprising and civil war after 2011. It looks at how the National Union of Syrian Students (NUSS) was mobilized and armed to become a paramilitary group, with a particular focus on Aleppo. Theoretically, the article aims to contribute to the literature on pro-state civilian militias mobilization by looking beyond the state’s brokerage of such formations with a focus on intra-communal links of individuals in civilian positions and their significant role in mobilizing civilians - and in particular students - to oppress their fellow citizens and students and use violence against them. Empirically, the project looks beyond the classic lens of defining shabiha of belonging to criminal networks or smuggling groups. Rather, they are highly educated people with a consciously informed decision to mobilize. Thus, it examines the NUSS in their deployment and conduct in the current conflict and probes to answer the questions of how and why students voluntarily get involved in repression, and how they experience the conflict.

Allison Cuneo | Universal heritage? International cultural diplomacy, local sectarianism, and the restoration of heritage sites in Iraq after the Islamic State

This paper will investigate how cultural preservation of religious heritage sites is being integrated into current civil society and peace building initiatives in northern Iraq to determine if specific cultural and historical narratives being amplified to the exclusion of others. Numerous have offered financial assistance to rebuild cultural sites attacked by the Islamic State as a means to counter violent extremism; however, the care and management of religious heritage sites and objects, even those that would technically fall under the jurisdiction of Iraqi heritage laws due to age and cultural significance, by and large are controlled by the respective religious endowments with little government oversight or financial support. This patchwork response has resulted in competition among religious minority groups for resources and public awareness. Both domestic and foreign powers are eager to rebuild Iraq, and how these actors allocate legal, financial, and human resources to rehabilitate former ISIS-held territories will have significant ramifications for Iraq’s future political stability and cultural diversity.  The purpose of this research is to understand the modalities of heritage restoration initiatives by identifying the constraints on protecting cultural expression and diversity during post-conflict recovery, while examining the implications of repairing religious sites impacted by armed conflict.

Ana Kumarasamy | Divided Spaces and Contesting Sovereign Power: Unpacking Mechanisms of Exclusions and Environmental Challenges in Beirut

In recent years, the inhabitants in Beirut have been routinely exposed to environmental insecurities and efforts to regulate these challenges including waste management issues. In the Summer of 2015, protesters took to the street in protest after rubbish had started accumulating along the streets of Beirut. The “You Stink” movement represented not just a waste management problem, but also wider issues connected with dysfunctional, corrupt and sectarian governance. This paper explores what effect contesting sovereign power has on people in urban spaces and the environment. Sovereign power in Beirut consists of myriad competing sovereign entities predominantly based on a complex patron-client relationship. Consequently, I argue that political exclusion and environmental insecurities are manifested through formal and informal power structures in Beirut. As such, this paper seeks to create a further understanding of contested sources of sovereign power and its relation to environmental insecurities and life in Beirut.

Anne Kirstine Rønn Sørensen | The diversity of civic mobilizations against sectarian politics

Over the recent years, Middle East scholars have started to explore and conceptualize contestation of sectarianism. Previous work has discussed how the role of sectarian identities can be reimagined from a theoretical perspective. Meanwhile, less studies have examined systematically how the region’s citizens have opposed sectarian politics and elites. This paper studies a sample of popular mobilizations, which have challenged sectarianism in Lebanon and presents two main arguments: First, civic contestation of sectarianism should not be considered a one-size-fits-all category. Mobilizations which have targeted the same enemy – the sect-based political elites – have done so in highly different ways. Moreover, groups and individuals organizing these mobilizations have often had conflicts among each other. Second, the question of identity is not the only factor that distinguishes different mobilizations against sectarian politics in Lebanon. Challenges of sectarianism in Lebanon also vary greatly in their strategic approach, particularly regarding how to engage with the sectarian system. By presenting these arguments, the paper contributes to nuancing our understanding of popular challenges to sectarianism in divided societies in the Middle East and beyond. Moreover, it helps explain why it can be challenging for citizens to form a collective opposition, despite a shared dissatisfaction with sectarian politics. 

Chris Cooper-Davies | Between Sectarianism and Unity: Iraqi Shi’i Responses to National Integration in the 1920s and 1930s

Felix Akinboyewa | Politics of Violence and Terrorism in the Nigerian Democracy and Its Implications on National Peace and Security

Nigeria is faced with the problem of domestic terrorism in recent years. The spate of political assassination during the fourth republic (1999-Present Day) is representative of what has become a growing trend. In this research, an attempt was made to examine the problems of political assassination within the context of significant categories of domestic-related terrorism in Nigeria. The research findings show that unemployed youths and the members of Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) are the major actors in political violence in Nigeria. The research shows that factors responsible for political violence and terrorism in Nigeria include: poor electoral administration; election rigging; poor security system; religious and ethnic sentiment; problems of poverty and unemployment; and low level of education. The study concludes that electoral violence affects the function of democracy in Nigeria.

Haian Dukhan | The multi dynamics of sectarianism: how the Christian community of the Syrian governorate of al-Hassakeh responded to their security dilemmas

Since the beginning of the militarisation of the Syrian uprising, the Christians in Al-Hasakah found themselves in a contested region where the regime, Kurdish militias, the rebels and later the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were vying for control. The lawlessness that resulted from this competition of power in the periphery of Syria made the Christian minority in Al-Hasakah experience a security dilemma due to uncertainty around the intentions of the opposition. This caused the majority of the Christians to look favourably on the Syrian regime that provided them with safety and protection for many decades. The main question that this paper aims to deal with is what factors influenced the position of the Christians in the governorate of Al-Hasakah towards the Syrian uprising. In order to understand the position of the Christians towards the Syrian opposition in the early phase of the uprising, this research will use the security dilemma theory introduced by Barry Posen (1993). He argues that when the state loses its control over certain territory, a security vacuum takes place, making many groups - particularly minority groups - face a dilemma regarding potential threats from other groups seeking control of their territories.

Jihan Mohammed | A Micro-Level Analysis of Sectarian Discrimination in Iraq

Do Arab Sunnis and Arab Shiites in Iraq discriminate against one other? If so, to what extent do ethno-sectarian narratives impact these discriminatory attitudes? When trying to determine levels of discrimination between Arab Sunnis and Arab Shiites, what are the roles of such factors as a person’s degree of religiosity, of following political news from partisan and sect-affiliated media, of living in segregated cities, and of living in cities with higher levels of violence? For over a century, Iraq has been caught up in interlocking patterns of ethno-sectarian conflicts, civil wars, and terrorism at high levels. These conflicts, arguably, aggravated relations among various ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups, especially between Iraqi Arab Sunnis and Iraqi Arab Shiites. To illuminate the questions discussed above, this paper uses the “Arab Barometer, Wave II” dataset—collected in 2011 and a number of semi-structured interviews with Iraqis. This paper offers a micro-level analyses of sectarian discrimination and argues that analyzing the complex matrix of ethno-sectarian dynamics cannot be restricted to just violence or active hatred. Sectarian discrimination can be manifested in subtle ways, potentially even unintentionally and unconsciously in the form of what might be broadly termed “microaggressions.” 

José Antonio G. G. V. Lima | Iraq as a turning point in Saudi Arabia’s perceptions of Iran: Evidence from the ‘Cablegate’ 

In the latest version of the Regional Security Complex Theory, the Middle East Regional Security Complex is at a crossroads. Scholars point out that “although the Arab-Israeli conflict is still politically and symbolically central, it is no longer the epicentre of violence in the region.” Moreover, although they indicate that there were enough rivalries to maintain the existence of the RSC, they do not debate future perspectives. Under the terms of the RSCT, regime change policy has put the region in an overlay situation and undermined the “triangular rivalry” between Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this research is to help fill an omission in the literature regarding the state of the Middle East RSC. Thus I ask: To where has the security axis of the Middle East RSC moved? To this end, it will be examined to what extent, from the Saudi perspective, rivalry with Iran is central. The RSCT will be used in a theoretical framework of “analytical eclecticism,” alongside the concept of regime security and Foreign Policy Analysis. The empirical object is the diplomatic cables sent from the US embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia and made public in the so-called “Cablegate.” 

Laura Sayah | Sectarianism and economic behavior: Lebanon as a case study

In Lebanon, religious and sectarian affiliation is deeply present, sects have historically had different economic paths, and diversity leads to conflicts at several levels. Thus, it becomes legitimate to analyze individuals’ economic situation based on their religious affiliation. The present work is an attempt to find if there is any particular pattern correlating selected economic variables such as monthly income, saving behaviors, employment sector, and labor market status to the religious and sectarian affiliations.  The paper is based on the Arab Opinion index (AOI) published by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, where the sample uses the latest published data, and compares the changes in income patterns before and after the salary scale adjustment approved by the parliament in 2017. Findings show significant differences in employment patterns especially when it comes to public employment, but also significant differences in salaries between the different sects. Some patterns can be explained by the differences between urban and rural areas, yet associated to sectarian affiliations, because of the regional sectarian agglomeration.

Marcin Rau | The use of cultural heritage toward reconciliation of deeply divided societies

The aim of this paper is to explore new ways of understanding the nature of “heritage” and the influence that this concept has. Whereas the frequently used notion of “cultural property” points out the commercial relevance of cultural assets, “cultural heritage” designates human expressions that constitute the identities of communities. Cultural heritage may be tangible like monuments and paintings or intangible like fashion, movies or sports games. All of these cultural institutions stand at the interface between political and civil society. In divided communities, cultural heritage has been not only an agent of separation, sectarian hatred and violence, but also a highly effective tool for conflict resolution, reconciliation and peace-building. Therefore, I will diagnose the psychological and sociological causes of conflicts in divided societies and explain the similarities between the countries, which I classify as “source nations”. Next, I will analyze which strategies of Western societies could be successfully applied in the Arab world. Finally, I will propose possible steps that lawmakers, local communities and individuals in these countries can take to build a cultural identity based on mutual respect, a sense of freedom and human dignity.

Metin Atmaca | Contesting the Politics of Sectarianism: Naqshbandi-Khalidi Sufis on the Ottoman-Iranian Frontier and Their Relations with Shi’a and Non-Muslims 

This project focuses on the political and religious transformation of the sheikhs of the Naqshbandi-Khalidi Sufi network from both historical and contemporary perspectives. After the network was initiated by Mawlana Khalid al-Baghdadi (1779- 1827) in Sulaimaniya in present-day Iraq, it rapidly expanded to the other parts of the Ottoman Empire, Iran, and Caucasus. Studies on Khalidi order stress on the confrontational attitude of this network towards the West, especially European colonial powers, and the Shi’a world. Whereas, historical accounts show that Khalidi sheikhs protected the local Christian population against aggressors and established political with Shi’i rulers and accepted them to their network as disciples. As the historiography of the Naqshbandi-Khalidi order presents a conflicting picture, this study hopes to open a new discussion on the subject with a new study based on both Ottoman and Persian documents and manuscripts. With this project I aim to show how politics and religion were interwoven with the sectarian tension between the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Iran in the nineteenth century. Beyond highlighting such initiatives of local leaders this study aims to show how sectarian tensions were created and mitigated by the state.

Nathaniel George | The Weapons of Criticism and the Criticism of Weapons: Sectarianism, Anti-Sectarianism, and the Struggle for the Lebanese State, 1975–76

It is difficult to imagine a clearer anti-sectarian demand than for the abolition of sectarian political representation in Lebanon. In August 1975, the Lebanese National Movement (LNM), a coalition of political parties and independent figures representing an ideologically diverse, multisectarian constituency, released its “Transitional Program for the Democratic Reform of the Political System in Lebanon.” Promulgated during the opening rounds of what became a fifteen-year international civil war, the program was the culmination of at least a decade of polarizing popular struggle. Calling for “a progressive, democratic, Arab nationalist Lebanon,” it detailed a suite of comprehensive changes premised upon the abolition of sectarian representation and the declaration of a voluntary civil personal status code. Using Lebanese and American archives and interviews, this paper considers the efforts of the LNM to push its program in the political sphere and on the battlefield, within the context of local, regional, and imperial opposition. Against a historiography that either dismisses the venture as predestined to fail, or only considers the period within the shackles of post-defeat melancholia, this paper reevaluates the history of one of the most explicit emancipatory challenges to the Arab order.

Nora Gueliane | Social diversity in question in the M'Zab Valley in Algeria

This study focuses on social diversity in the M’Zab Valley of Algeria. Using field work, analysis, and observation, this study notes the absence of social diversity and mixing in the cases studied. The paper presents the hypothesis that there exists a new form of communitarianism in the ksour, a communitarianism that prevents Mozabites from moving from group solidarity to broader or national forms of solidarity. This research project is important for several reasons: it provides a contribution to the study of the issue of urban diversity in Algeria, particularly in M'Zab, which is experiencing dangerous cohabitation problems and inter-community conflicts. The Mozabite case is also valuable in the study of African cities, as an example that could well be generalized, given that it serves as a source of knowledge for the rest of the cities of the world. Finally, this paper offers a theoretical contribution to the notion of social and urban diversity in general.

Olivia Glombitza | Not all that sectarian: Turkey and Iran’s foreign policy during the Qatar Crisis

Turkey and Iran constitute two important actors whose politics and foreign relations significantly impact their region. Both are non-Arab Muslim states, but while Turkey exhibits a secular political system and an overall Sunni majority population, Iran builds on an Islamic political system with an overall Shi’a majority. Though not always in agreement, the paper argues that both countries share a constructive and pragmatic approach towards their foreign relations, however, not driven by sectarian considerations, but by pragmatism and interest. The paper further contends that Turkey and Iran’s policies and approach towards the Arab world are similar, marked by comparable ideological undercurrents creating an overall strategic fit. This study compares Turkey’s and Iran’s foreign policies towards their Arab neighbours at the height of the Qatar crisis and analyses how national identity is negotiated at the state level, and how both countries’ approach contributes to regional peace and stability. The study adopts an instrumentalist-constructivist perspective where identities are simultaneously constructed through discourse and are instruments of power in the pursuit of strategic interests. The paper adds to larger debates on the instrumental use of religious traits in foreign policies as well as sectarianism and desectarianization.

PremAnand Mishra | The Geo-politics of Sectarianism and its Impact on Indian Muslims: A Normative Understanding

The rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has a disturbing presence in South Asia. Christopher Jaffrelot calls it an ‘Arabisation of South Asian Islam.’ At the historical level, the strong Sufi culture was more prominent as the face of Islam in the Indian Subcontinent. Since 1979, however, sectarianism has found a geo-political presence in South Asia, which many call: the transformation of ‘Indo-Islamic civilisation’ to ‘Arabisation’. In Pakistan, sectarianism has established a deeper root and becoming more violent. However, the condition in India has been less discussed. The argument has been: India doesn’t have a sectarian problem. The paper aims to challenge that at three levels. First, there is a resonance among Indian Muslims on the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The second level focuses on Kashmir and Kerala, where sectarianism can be seen as an everyday reality. Thirdly, at the height of ISIS threat, Shias offered to visit Iraq to fight the hegemony of ‘Sunni internationalism.’  The paper will discuss Simon Mabon’s work on sectarian rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia on two approaches:  identity incongruous and internal security dilemma.

Rapheal Ojo Joseph | The Porousness of Religious Borders: Dissemination of Religious Ideas and their Implications on the Nigerian State 

Religion has been argued to be the only profession where the untrained, unlearned and uncertified/unlicensed are permitted to operate unchallenged and unhindered. Its ‘free entry and exit’ nature in Nigeria often allows for proliferation and dissemination of different but sometimes conflicting ideologies and doctrines that have become major threat to the Nigerian state and thereby portends danger to human survival if not properly and ultimately addressed. This religious freedom has created splinters of groups in form of sects or denominations with different motives which at times could be injurious to human security, such as in the case of the Boko Haram insurgency which has been misconstrued as a religious struggle. This work aims at interrogating some of these issues that are connected to religious manipulation and uncontrolled dissemination of religious beliefs, and their implications on Nigeria, and to proffer workable solutions towards addressing this problem in the Nigerian society. The work argues for de-emphasizing of religious exclusivism, deconstruction of the age-long theologies of ‘absolute truth claims’, and the re-evaluation of the concept of religious pluralism, its possibility and plausibility given the contemporary realities of the proliferation of religious ideas.

Rima Majed | What is So Deep about ‘Deeply-Divided Societies”? Conceptual Notes on Understanding Sectarianism in the Middle East

Journalists, policy makers and researchers are pre-occupied with the ‘sectarian” phenomenon to understand conflict and violence in the region. Such understanding of social and political dynamics stems from a broader conceptual paradigm that approaches the Middle East through the lens of “deeply-divided societies”. This has consolidated the idea that these societies are vertically fragmented along sectarian (or tribal/ethnic) lines and are formed of groups of people who are in conflict because of identities and old animosities. However, what does it mean to say that a society is “deeply divided”?  How enduring are these divisions? And how can they form the basis for policy making? This paper aims to rethink the predominantly sectarian framing of political mobilization, conflict and violence in the Middle East. It builds on the feminist literature of intersectionality and on the critical race studies literature to propose some conceptual and methodological revisions to the study of sectarianism, aruging that although primordialism has been declared a “dead-horse” in the academic literature since the 1960s, its remnants are still very clear in the literature on conflict and violence in the Middle East.

Saad Ahmad | The Sectarian Turn in the Discourse of Salafism: The Case of India

One of the essential aspects of Salafism emerges out of its ability to imagine a particular world. In discourses of Salafism, the idea of ‘righteousness’ defines ‘the being’ and related mode of existing. However, in the name of reform and delivering the ideal Islam or so-called moderate Islam, a differently idealised, perhaps domestic-able sense of Salafism means to represent pure Islam. Thus, the official version of Salafism captures and tries to homogenise associated practice worldwide. Noticing no resistance against homogenisation of Salafi discourses, the paper intends to discuss the ‘sectarian turn’ in discourses of Salafism with unique references to India and the Arab world. It tries to highlight how a sort of Salafi discursivity in India, ‘shifting from being in the society’ to ‘being in the text’. It fuels Salafi arguments with new kinds of sensibility towards the sectarian consciousness. At the same time, alleged regional contestation of West Asia’s theology of sectarianism feeds the South Asian social set up in general, and India in particular. Thus, this paper intends to unpack the related complexities.

Sara Musaifer | Switch on the TV, do you hear us?": The politics of sociolinguistics, belongingness and schooling in (post) colonial Bahrain

This paper focuses on the question of sociolinguistics, and its relationship to power differentials, identity-formation, and schooling in (post) colonial Bahrain. Drawing on qualitative data, school-based ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and archival research over the course of one year, the paper makes four main arguments. First, the rise of the monolingual nation-state in Bahrain finds inspiration in Western colonial epistemologies. Second, languages and dialects become critical sites of exercising power, maintaining differences, challenging authorities and transforming cultures. Third, discourses and practices of linguistic identities are entangled in a web of contestations over religious, ethnic, racial, class and gender identities. And finally, linguistic homogenization efforts unfolding in schools - especially in relation to identity and community - are fraught terrains. Their imposition of a particular interpretation of self and other, belongingness and community, is constantly re-negotiated by students, teachers and administrators, in ways that are subtle, creative, and deeply political, inside and outside of the school. 

Serhun Al | Why Does Nationalism Not Unite the Ethnic Brethren? Organizational Rivalry and the Competing Kurdish Nationalisms in Iraq, Syria and Turkey

Kurds are considered to be one of the largest ethnic groups in the world with a population around 30 million people, and they do not have their own independent state. Yet, Kurds are not a homogenous group with a collective understanding of self-government. There are intra-Kurdish rivalries related to delivering physical, psychological, and cultural security for the Kurds in a volatile region. For instance, while the Barzani-led Kurdish nationalists in northern Iraq believe that Kurds have been victimized due to the lack of their own independent Kurdish nation- state (and thus only Kurdish nation-state would permanently secure the Kurds), the Ocalan-led Kurdish nationalists (YPG) in northern Syria tend to believe that the system of nation-state itself is a source of insecurity for not only Kurds but for other ethnic and religious groups in the region as well. My broader research question is: why does Kurdish nationalism fail to unite these different Kurdish actors despite their common victimhood and threat perceptions? Why do these two competing Kurdish nationalist projects have different understandings of security and stability? The data for this research is based on field work in northern Iraq and eastern Turkey.

Siwar Youssef | ‘Jasmine’ and ‘Nile’ revolutions: Religion as a Mobilizer of Communitarianism after the Arab Awakening

Nine years have passed since the beginning of the protests in the North African and Arab countries, called generally the “Arab Spring/Awakening”. However, the academic/scientific community still does not implement a specific analysis to evaluate the religious “Islamic” communitarianism movement among the anti-authoritarian regime protests. Observers have affirmed that religion played an important role in motivating the collective protests; this pattern was particularly common in some African and Muslim countries where religion played a particularly strong encouragement for the social movements. Religion also influenced political mobilization. Thus we have reason to believe that religion may influence protest behavior through multiple communal channels. The main question of this paper is:  Did the Islamist movements promote or discourage communitarian behavior in the revolutionary protests during and after the Arab Spring?

Suberu Ibrahim | Sectarianism, Shi’ism and the Contemporary Conflict with the Nigerian Government

The problems of sectarianism, minorities and communal violence in Nigeria have attracted much scholarly attention. This is against the backdrop of the violence between Nigerian government and the Nigerian Shi’ites. This article examines the historicity of contestations and the effects of the social disorder of religious violence and sectarianism in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. Utilizing the historical approach and the qualitative research method, the work avers that history of Shiism and the sectarian crisis in Nigeria can be traced to the aftermath of the Iranian revolution. It also discovered that sectarianism and religious violence must be understood in the wider context of Nigerian political economy, which has fostered unemployment, corruption, poverty and youth frustration. The work recommends caution on the part of the Nigerian state and interfaith dialogue in to resolve tensions between the Shi’ites and the state. There is also the need for provision of education and employment for the youths who participate in violence.

Sumeyra Yakar | The Usage of Sectarian Religious Interpretations in Iran and Saudi Arabia

The notion of innovation (bid‘a) in religion according to the interpretation of Saudi and Iranian scholars shapes the way of life in these countries. The concept of bid’a as a religious tool is also used to create idiosyncratic nations depending on the interpretation of different scholars, Wahhābīs in Saudi Arabia and Shi’īs in Iran. The respondents’ opinion of the religious concept of bid‘a will be analysed with reference to the sectarian interpretations and custom of societies by using the descriptive method throughout the paper. With the intent of perceptibly unfolding the interaction between sectarianism and the concept of bid’a within Islamic legal opinions related to custom, the fatwās issued by scholars will be chosen as exemplary texts. The religious opinions (fatwās) concerning Nowrūz celebrations, issued by the Dār al-Iftā in Saudi Arabia and marji’ ṭaqlīds (sources of imitation) in Iran are presented and evaluated both in terms of methodological and contextual components. The analysis of religious opinions attempts to introduce and compare the operative purposes behind the rulings, in order to answer the question: which reasons impel the scholars functioning in these two countries towards issuing diametrically opposite views on this controversial issue? 

Victor Achem | Middle East to West Africa: Shiite’s uprising and the threat to the Nigerian State

Between 1999 and 2019, the Shiite’s Islamic Movement of Nigeria, backed by Iran, has engaged in series of armed clashes with the Nigerian forces, leading to the proscription of the group by the federal government in August 2019. The major discourse explains how the use of force by the Nigerian government could provoke the Shiite group into embracing a radical approach and how effective conflict management could prevent such radicalization. This paper adopts structural strain theory by Robert K. Merton, and incorporates data from available academic literature on Islamic radicalism, as well as reports from reliable local and international media and human rights organizations. Organizations like Amnesty International and Islamic Human Rights Commission condemned the Nigerian army for killing Shiite members and conducting secret mass burials. However, this outcry, and the detention of El-Zakzaky since 2015, has sparked a series of protest in Nigeria, Iran and India. Considering the Shiite and Sunni divide in the Middle East, Nigeria may be caught in-between their cold war.