Sheikh Baqar al-Nimr
Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
Saudi Government has not ‘executed’
but assassinated prominent Imami cleric Sheikh Baqar al-Nimr. His state-sponsored
‘murder’ deserves to be condemned in the most severe term. It is essential so
as to prevent Saudi regime from carrying out more executions to crush pro-democratic
figures in the name of religion or treason. By killing Sheikh Nimr in defiance
of international appeals for his release, Saudi government has sent a clear
message to the world that it is least bothered for Muslim unity and world
peace. The widespread condemnation and protests over his killing throughout the
Muslim world is pointer to just one fact-the sectarian strife between two dominant
factions of Muslims will escalate in
days to come and dead Sheikh may prove to
be more lethal to ‘House of Sauds’. The entire world knows that Nimr had become
a high-profile thorn in the flesh of Saudi Kingdom by emerging as the most vocal
voice of anti-government protests. The police had arrested him 2012 from Qatif region
after an alleged exchange of fire. He was charged with instigating unrest and undermining the
national security, making anti-government speeches and defending political
prisoners. In 2014, a Saudi court sentenced him to death. The sentence was
upheld in March 2015 and confirmed in October last even as Amnesty
International repeatedly declared the “appalling” trial “deeply
flawed” and called for immediate quashing of the death penalty.
Kashmiris Staging demonstration Against Nimr's 'Execution'.
The world needs to analyze
the reactions over the ‘execution’ without any prejudice or bias. The
international forums should not perceive the accusation of Ayatollah Nasser Makarem
Shirazi as an obvious one that Saudi regime committed the ‘crime’ of killing
Sheikh after taking White House into confidence .No doubt, Iran is the main
rival of Saudi Arabia but it should not be forgotten that Tehran opposes Riyadh
for following blindly US, Zionists and funding terrorist outfits. Saudi also
accuses Iran of similar charges but had no excuse to justify non-inclusion of
Iran in its anti-terrorism coalition announced last month.
It is tragic that the Muslim
world is divided over the issue. Pro-Saudi governments in United Arab Emirates
(UAE) have justified the killing of Sheikh whereas Iran has reiterated that
Riyadh supports terrorist movements and extremists,
but confronts domestic critics with oppression and execution...the Saudi
Government will pay a high price for following these policies."Iraq’s
former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has predicted to the extent that Sheikh’s
death will mark the end of Saudi regime”. The prediction is not just a reaction
but somewhat genuine analysis of what has been happening in Saudia in the past
several years. In 2015, Riyadh carried out record number of executions.The country executed 47 prisoners on the second day of 2016,including Sheikh Nimr.At
world level, Saudia is always portrayed as the backbone of barbaric
organizations like Boko Haram, Daesh and Tafkirs. The eastern part of the
kingdom has been witnessing mass movement against the regime under the
leadership of Sheikh Nimr. His growing popularity ultimately resulted in his assassination.
But it would be wrong to assume that his blood won’t evoke serious repercussions.
Apprehending violent protests in Qatif, Saudi authorities have already deployed
troops but even then supporters of Nimr took to streets. Similar scenes were
witnessed in Bahrain where Police had to use tear shells to disperse the
protestors.
Protests In Bahrain
It is high time for
all Muslims believing in unity to condemn Sheikh’s alleged execution. They
should also offer condolences to his bereaved family. Muslims need to remember
that ever since ‘House of Sauds’ have occupied the kingdom, unity among Muslims
have remained a distant dream. It has used the revenue generated from petrol to
ignite fire to Muslim ‘Ittehad’. They have floated fanaticism in the name of
purifying Islam without letting the world know as to who gave them license to shatter
the peaceful co-existence of Muslims for centuries despite theological differences?
While Muslim world seems to be on tenterhook, among the western countries,
Germany has expressed concern in guarded language over the ‘execution’ and
reaffirmed country’s view that death sentence is inhuman form of punishment. Rest
of the western world is maintaining strange silence or may be awaiting signal
from US and reaction of Russia that is taking head on Washington in Middle
East. The most relevant comment on the ‘execution’ of Sheikh who has already
been declared as a ‘holy warrior’ by Houthis, has come from Boumedouha,
Deputy Director of Amnesty International, Middle East and North Africa Program:
‘The death sentence against Sheikh Nimr Baqar al-Nimr is part of a campaign by
the authorities in Saudi Arabia to crush all dissent, including those defending
the rights of the Kingdom’s minority Muslim community,”. The circumstances
leading to Sheikh’s killing needs to be examined in the light of Amnesty’s
remark to unravel the mystery as to why Saudia ‘executed’ him a week after
opening its embassy in Iraq after a gap of 25- years.(The article is based on the inputs taken from various sources on the net after 'execution' of the popular cleric.Photo Courtesy Google Images)
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