As the world of Islam plunges deeper into sectarian conflict, the identity of a corpse stolen by terrorists in Syria is creating a new theme for schismatic clashes between Sunnis and Shiites.
The corpse is supposedly that of Hajar bin Udai, a companion of Prophet Muhammad regarded as the first Shiite martyr. Before the current conflict in Syria, more than a million Shiite pilgrims a year, mostly from Iran, visited the sumptuous Iranian-built shrine in the Damascus suburb Marj Arda, where Hajar was buried.
Last week, however, Sunni militants, operating under the name of Jabhat al-Nusra (“The Victory Front”) attacked the shrine, dismantled the gilded fence around the grave and claimed to have disinterred the corpse.
The militants are followers of Ibn Taymiyyah, the medieval Islamic theologian whose work inspired Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab, the founder of the Wahhabi movement that seeks “purification” of Islam by returning to its fundamentals.
The movement opposes the building of shrines or marking the places of burial with tombstones, on the grounds that this is a diversion from exclusive attention to God. Over the centuries, its followers have destroyed thousands of shrines and graveyards in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Jordan and Syria.
In 1802 they scored their biggest success by demolishing the shrines of Ali in Najaf and Hussein in Karbala, the two most revered imams of Shi’ism. In the Arabian Peninsula, they destroyed hundreds of sites indicating the presence of Christian and Jewish communities. (Medina, under its original name Yathrib, boasted the world’s largest Jewish community in the early 7th century. Today, no trace of that presence is left.)
In recent years, the house where Muhammad was born has been demolished, along with shrines dedicated to the first three caliphs. Only The Prophet’s tomb is preserved in a mosque bearing his name in Medina — but the tomb is cordoned off, with all access denied. (Abdul-Wahhab himself has not been spared. Today, no one knows where he is buried.)
Though revered by many Shiites, Hajar bin Udai was no angel. During the Arab invasion of Iran in 633, he led units that killed thousands in the Baghdad region. After the death of the third caliph, Osman, Hajar sided with Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali against Muawiyah, who headed the rival Bani-Sufiyan tribe and wanted the caliphate for himself. Ali enjoyed support from his own Bani-Hashim tribe.
In several battles, Muawiyah won; Ali was assassinated by a sect known as Kharijites (“Outsiders”) who wanted the caliph elected by the faithful, rather than imposed by tribal chiefs.
Radical Sunni groups across the Muslim world have been celebrating the demolition of Hajar bin Udai’s shrine. It was the topic of the traditional sermon in many mosques in Pakistan. In Egypt, some mosques distributed sweets and fruit to create a festive mood. Radical Sunni Web sites celebrated the demolition as the “first step towards ridding Islam of shrines that defy Allah.”
The threat has forced Iraq to tighten the security of shrines in Najaf, Karbala, Baghdad and Samarra. In 2006, Sunni militants demolished the golden dome of the Imam al-Askari shrine in Samarra, triggering years of sectarian war that claimed thousands of lives.
But a look at the photo circulating around the Muslim world suggests the stolen corpse is not Hajar bin Udai. It appears to be a recent death, not more than 1,400 years old. And it is a middle-aged man with designer stubble and a balding head — whereas Hajar must have been at least 70 when he was beheaded in 660.
As the carnage in Syria continues, all sides are using Sunni-Shiite differences as a means of furthering political aims — making it more likely that the conflict will spin out of all control.