The people of Iran predictably reacted violently to the Saudi execution of Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr. Two days after the beheading, Iranians stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and set it on fire.
Sectarian violence has plagued the Middle East for a long time, even before the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) terror group. Iran wields influence over the Shiite population of the region, whereas Saudi Arabia is seen by some as the guardian of Sunni interests.
The involvement of the United States in the region adds to the volatility of the political powder keg. The Americans, traditionally an ally of the Saudis, in 2015 softened its stance against Iran and removed certain sanctions it had imposed following the 1979 storming of the US embassy in Tehran.
This push for power in the region extends beyond the borders of the major players, as can be seen in the roles played by Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Yemeni civil war. Saudi Arabia has been formally leading a coalition of Sunni countries in a military operation against the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels, who are looking to unseat the internationally-recognised president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Sunni.
The crisis brought on by IS also bears the mark of Saudi and Iranian influences. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of the Salafist ideology espoused by IS, and it has been accused of covertly funding the group, whereas Iran is said to be providing advisory support to forces defending itself against the predominantly Sunni terrorist group.
Indeed, the schism extends well beyond the region. The Saudis are known to fund and support Sunni Muslim groups and communities across the globe, Malaysia included. The rise of Islam’s influence on the Malaysian government and on the lives of Malaysians can be traced to the Islamic revival of the late 1970s, with the Anwar Ibrahim-led Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement playing a major role. In subsequent years, however, the Saudis have contributed directly to the spread of Wahhabism – or Salafism, the term preferred by its followers – in the country.
What is probably not apparent to most Malaysians is Saudi Arabia’s role in the spread of anti-Shiite sentiments in the country. With Muslims in the country being predominantly Sunni, the Sunni-Shiite rift was of no consequence until about a decade ago. Since then, however, government Islamic institutions have begun criminalising Shiism and warning the population against its influence.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has explained that the controversial RM2.6 billion deposited in his personal accounts came from an Arab donor, widely believed to be a Saudi. This has inevitably raised fears of Saudi influence in the Malaysian government.
As in the case of Yemen, should the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia develop into a military conflict, the House of Saud will most probably call for the help of other Sunni Muslim countries, and that is when Malaysia may be asked to return the favour implied in the donation.
If this were to happen, Malaysians will have to insist that the government stay away as far as possible from the feud. It is a Middle Eastern matter and it needs to stay in the Middle East.
And perhaps Muslims in Malaysia will finally see that not everything in the Middle East happens as the result of a Jewish conspiracy, that the Muslims in the region are perfectly capable of mucking things up on their own.