A small Shia minority in Saudi Arabia, long subject to discrimination in religion, education and employment, has become the latest pawn in the brutal West Asian politics as the execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr seems a Saudi bid to whip up Sunni sentiment against rival Iran and out-compete the Islamic State (IS).
The decision to carry out the death sentence awarded to al-Nimr, a cleric who crossed Saudi law but who's dissent stopped short of a call to arms, has sent regional tensions soaring as Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran after its embassy was stormed in Tehran. The provocative act of executing al-Nimr along with 46 others, including an alleged al-Qaida leader, on terrorism charges could be prompted by Saudi King Salman's desire to signal his toughness at a time when social discontent due the economic stress of falling oil prices could pose fresh challenges to the ruling clan.
But it is also likely that harsh action against a prominent Shia cleric is a way to underline Saudi Arabia's claims as a defender of the faith when the IS is staking claim to being the real representative of sunni Islam. Saudi Arabia has been increasingly worried by the IS's ideological pull and willingness of wealthy Saudis to donate millions of dollars to the terrorist movement's coffers. The IS, just as al-Qaida — but with more venom and a meaner bite — sees the Saudi ruling family as pretenders in league with the US.
Suppressing the Shia minority and presenting it as a "terror" threat is intended to drum up Sunni sentiment in the region and emphasise that, as keeper of the two holiest mosques, Saudi Arabia is the flag bearer of Islamic interests. The rise in Saudi-Iran tensions will almost certainly dilute efforts to confront the Islamic State that sees Shi'ism as an impure sect and has even targeted Shia mosques inside Saudi Arabia.
The decision to carry out the death sentence awarded to al-Nimr, a cleric who crossed Saudi law but who's dissent stopped short of a call to arms, has sent regional tensions soaring as Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran after its embassy was stormed in Tehran. The provocative act of executing al-Nimr along with 46 others, including an alleged al-Qaida leader, on terrorism charges could be prompted by Saudi King Salman's desire to signal his toughness at a time when social discontent due the economic stress of falling oil prices could pose fresh challenges to the ruling clan.
But it is also likely that harsh action against a prominent Shia cleric is a way to underline Saudi Arabia's claims as a defender of the faith when the IS is staking claim to being the real representative of sunni Islam. Saudi Arabia has been increasingly worried by the IS's ideological pull and willingness of wealthy Saudis to donate millions of dollars to the terrorist movement's coffers. The IS, just as al-Qaida — but with more venom and a meaner bite — sees the Saudi ruling family as pretenders in league with the US.
Suppressing the Shia minority and presenting it as a "terror" threat is intended to drum up Sunni sentiment in the region and emphasise that, as keeper of the two holiest mosques, Saudi Arabia is the flag bearer of Islamic interests. The rise in Saudi-Iran tensions will almost certainly dilute efforts to confront the Islamic State that sees Shi'ism as an impure sect and has even targeted Shia mosques inside Saudi Arabia.
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