A child is kneeled on the floor, tears streaming down his face. The only sound emanating from his mouth are the sobs and pleas of mercy to the man who will end his innocent life. The man stares at the tear filled eyes, no sympathy apparent and slices this boy’s neck with his sharp knife.
This is the current state of a once peaceful yet troubled nation known as Syria. The recent massacre and bloodshed of more than 100 people in the town of Houla, including 32 children, has raised an urgent level of pressure upon the international community to take action. Disturbing events such as these shine a much needed spotlight on the Syrian government, its people and the responses or lack of, by the international community.
Rulers like Assad dictate the nation, based upon the belief that citizens within Syria should uphold the same views and beliefs, which in his case is to be a Shia from the Allawite sect. Ironically enough, 75% of the Syrian population are Sunni; therefore this will never be the case.
Let’s face it, I, along with many Muslims are tired of the continuous media representation of Sunnis and Shias holding knives against each other’s throats. This is simply not the reality of the majority of countries around the world. Within the Islamic community the general consensus and practice is that are no issues between the Shia and Sunni sect. I myself, being a Sunni Muslim didn’t even know the difference between the two until the media coverage of the “religious disputes” in Iraq bought my attention to it. I could have found stark differences between a red and green apple, than I could a Shia and Sunni. Highlighting the differences between a Shia and Sunni was not a daily practice growing up in a Muslim household and such is the case for the majority of Muslims.
For generations these two sects have lived harmoniously side by side, proclaiming their united belief in the one god. Of course each sect has its different practices and procedures; however the ultimate message of Islam, based on the oneness of God and peace is the underlying foundation for both. Many countries coexisting peacefully with both Shias and Sunnis living as one, include our very own Australian community. The real trouble and division in Syria and across the Middle East is not instigated by a fight for dominance between the Shias and Sunnis. Rather this fight for dominance is engraved in the hands of dictators like Assad, his regime and his government.
In the case of Syria, Al Assad was the first Allawite leader capable of dominating the fractious Allawite sect. The Al Assad’s, stacked the security apparatus with loyal clansmen while taking care to build patronage networks with Druze and Christian minorities that facilitated the Al Assad rise. Meanwhile, the al Assad regime showed little tolerance for religiously conservative Sunnis who refused to remain quiescent. The state took over the administration of religious funding; cracked down on groups deemed as extremist and empowered itself to dismiss the leaders of Friday prayers at will, fuelling resentment among the Sunni Islamist class. This is the real division; one that is created by power seeking dictators, hungry for the ultimate control of the masses.
This is where the international community need to step in. Just as Saddam was removed in Iraq and Gaddafi was overthrown in Libya, surely the Western Forces can unite together to bring an end to the injustices inflicting the people of Syria. Until the international community attempt to walk the walk instead of drafting useless peace plans designed to set itself up for failure, than many more innocent citizens will be victims of cruel and gruesome murders.
If the international community do not act soon, the rest of the world will have to deal with a calamitous situation on their hands, even more so than the killing of innocent Syrians. A larger problem looms near: is a sectarian war about to break out between the Shias and Sunnis in the Middle East? Both sides are continuously being driven apart, ironically having nothing to do with religion at all.