Colonialism, or sectarianism, or. . . ?
Sadeghi’s take on Bahrain
An in-depth and worthwhile article in Al Jazeera by Shirin Sadeghi, which is nevertheless partially retrograde in its analysis. Yes, sectarianism is promoted as the root cause of the troubles in Bahrain by many actors, not least the Bahrainis and Saudis, for their own cynical reasons. However, suggesting that colonialism is the root cause–that Britain and America are the primary villains–is a step backward. The ongoing Arab Revolt is increasingly successful because the Arabs in the revolutionary countries have, for the first time, taken responsibility for their own governance. For the first time, they have said to hell with foreign conspiracy theories and outmoded ideas of the survival of colonialism, and, recognizing that their oppressors are their own, they have eliminated them.
Still, this is an insightful and well-written article by a native Iowan of Iranian ethnic stock. We can learn something from Intricacies of Bahrain’s Shia-Sunni divide
