Discontent and Political Activism Among Shi’i Minorities : หน้า 33/52

Discrimination inevitably breeds discontent and resentment, and those certainly exist among Shi’i minorities in the Gulf and, of course, in Lebanon. The real question, however, is whether this resentment has translated into greater political activism and, if so, what kind of activism—political opposition or violence? So far, resentment has only led to open violence several times in Bahrain and once in Saudi Arabia. In Lebanon, Shi’i discontent in the 1960s and 1970s led to large-scale mobilization and was part of the dynamic of the 1975–1990 civil war. In Bahrain, violence erupted in 1975, as a response to the passage of the new State Security Measures Law, which effectively voided the rights guaranteed by the 1973 constitution, and again in 1994, when demonstrations demanding a return to the 1973 constitution were brutally suppressed by the government. At present, large segments of the Shi’i opposition participate in parliamentary politics and recognize the legitimacy of the Bahraini state. However, some organizations, such as Hizbollah al-Bahrain, the Haqq (Right) Group, and the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, remain outside the legal political process, rejecting the system created by the al-Khalifa dynasty. In Saudi Arabia, a radical Islamist group, inspired in part by the Islamic revolution in Iran, dramatically but briefly seized the Great Mosque in Mecca in 1979, leading to a period of great tension. In general, however, open expressions of discontent have been prevented by the security apparatus’s ruthless measures. During the 1979–1980 confrontation, the Saudi government literally bulldozed the entire historic downtown of Qatif, a major Shi’i stronghold, for example. More recently Shi’a in Saudi Arabia have taken advantage of the few available political opportunities—many ran in the 2005 municipal elections in the eastern provinces—but most activities are covert and difficult to evaluate. While Shi’i resentment is in evidence, leading both to occasional violence and to political activism when conditions allow it, it is much more difficult to find conclusive signs of the development of a transnational movement. The Iranian revolution undoubtedly had an impact throughout the region. New political organizations developed in several countries, with ties to each other and Iran, and Khomeini’s radical interpretation of Shi’i doctrine to justify theocratic rule became influential. Similarly, elections in Iraq taught Shi’a a lesson not in democracy so much as in the power of numbers in elections. None of this amounts to the formation of a Shi’i crescent. Mobilization so far has been confined within the borders of existing nation-states. Shi’i communities have not questioned the legitimacy of the states in which they reside based on a grand Shi’i narrative. Rather, the objectives of their activism have been domestic in nature, primarily to fight socioeconomic and religious discrimination and achieve more political representation. Such efforts predate the war in Iraq or the Iranian revolution. Apart from marginal and unpopular militant groups, the Shi’a of the Gulf have remained loyal to their nation-states. Indeed, in the face of growing Sunni suspicions, many leading Shi’i clerics and politicians have repeatedly declared their loyalty to the state and denied that they are part of a grand Iranian-led conspiracy against the Arab states of the Gulf. For example, Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of the Shi’i-based Wefaq Society, stressed repeatedly in 2007 the loyalty of the Bahraini Shi’i community to the state and denounced quasi-official claims emanating from Tehran that Bahrain is part of Iran.