Politics disguised as religion

Politics disguised as religion August 2, 2012

Coexistence and the values of sectarian tolerance differ between the Zaidi Shiite sect and the Sunni Muslims. Political speeches have been lined with doctrinal instructions as an attempt to spark off sectarian conflicts and disputes.

Wadhah Abdu Al-Bari Taher, a researcher at the Yemeni Center for Studies, said that many religious figures at all levels incite violence, hate and dogmatism.

“We are now in a very complicated phase due to bad curricula. If this problem is not seriously addressed, the situation heralds a genuine catastrophe.”

Doctrinal conflict is political at its core. Religion masks this conflict, according to Sharf Al-Deen Al-Murtadhi, the founder of Wahi Al-Thaqafi (The Educated Inspiration) Forum.

“The former regime took Salifism as a religious ideology; the Houthis embrace the religious Zaidi ideology. Thus, each political side has become glued to a particular religious orientation. Essentially, it is not a doctrinal conflict; it is political. The core of this conflict is religion or doctrine.”

Some think that Yemen has become a fertile ground for political and sectarian imbalances, with the absence of a strong state and an onslaught of political and doctrinal disputes.
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