伊斯兰两大教派必须合力打击ISIS

There are few happy consequences of the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has swept across Iraq and Syria since the beginning of the year. A rare shaft of light, however, is to be found in the rapprochement between the two biggest branches of the Islamic mainstream.

“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国”(ISIS)从今年初以来横扫伊拉克和叙利亚的大片土地，这个组织的诞生没有带来什么好结果。但我们将可以看到一线阳光，那就是伊斯兰教两大主流教派重新修好。

Shia and Sunni Islam have been at odds for most of the past decade. But the self-declared caliphate of terror known as Isis presents them with a common challenge. And they are beginning to put aside their differences in an effort to meet it.

过去十年的大部分时间里，什叶派和逊尼派争斗不休。但自封为“恐怖哈里发国”的ISIS让两个教派面临共同的挑战。为应对这一挑战，两大教派开始搁置分歧。

The grand clerics of both schools – the Shia from Tehran, Qom and Najaf, and the Sunni from Riyadh and Cairo – have called upon their followers to take up arms against Isis. Political leaders have also declared their support for an intensified campaign. When the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers met in New York in September, both diplomats hailed the opening of a new chapter in relations between their countries.

两大教派的高级宗教领袖——德黑兰、库姆和纳杰夫的什叶派领袖、以及利雅得和开罗的逊尼派领袖——都号召各自的信徒们拿起武器抗击ISIS。政界领袖也宣布支持加大抗击ISIS的力度。伊朗和沙特两国外长9月在纽约会晤，为两国关系翻开了新的篇章欢呼。

For better or worse, western countries are also engaged in this complex, onerous mission.

无论后果是好是坏，西方国家也参与了这项复杂而艰巨的任务。

It is of paramount importance that all parties clearly understand the differences between Sunni and Shia traditions with respect to the war on Isis and other terrorist groups that claim to find justification in Islamic doctrine.

至关重要的一点是，就抗击ISIS以及其他从伊斯兰教义中为自身行为找理由的恐怖组织而言，各方务必认清逊尼派和什叶派在传统上的差异。

Neither traditional Sunni nor Shia clerics would recognise Isis as their own, but the group more closely follows the model of Islamic governance suggested in the teachings of Salafism, an offshoot of the Sunni school.

传统逊尼派和什叶派的神职人员都不会将ISIS视为自己人，但ISIS与萨拉菲主义(Salafism)教义主张的伊斯兰教治理模式更接近，而萨拉菲是逊尼派的一支。

Isis did not materialise out of thin air. Its emergence was facilitated by financial and military aid from Sunni countries that support them – supplied by individuals and governments alike, and initially intended to curb the influence of Shia Iran in Syria and Iraq.

ISIS并非凭空出现，它的诞生得到了逊尼派国家的资金和军事支持——个人和政府都参与了支持——其初衷是打压什叶派国家伊朗对叙利亚和伊拉克的影响。

The two Islamic factions differ in their ways of mobilising their followers in the campaign against Isis.

两大教派在动员信徒参与抗击ISIS的方式上存在差异。

In Shia tradition, this is straightforward because religious leadership is centralised. For instance, Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran and Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq can issue a fatwa urging their followers to join the fight. Hundreds of thousands of their followers would take up arms without hesitation. These leaders carry with them a huge mass of support.

按照什叶派传统，这种动员是直接的，因为什叶派的宗教领导权是集中的。例如，伊朗的阿亚图拉•阿里•哈梅内伊(Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)和伊拉克的“大阿雅图拉席斯塔尼”(Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani)可以发出教令，敦促信徒参与战斗。他们的数十万名信徒会毫不犹豫地拿起武器。这些领袖有着非常广泛的支持。

But under Sunni Islam there is no central authority and no hierarchy, making the issue far more complicated. That is precisely why it is possible for a charismatic, authoritarian leader to assume control of a radical movement – albeit a limited one.

但在逊尼派中不存在中央集权，也没有宗教学者等级制度，因此问题要复杂得多。这恰恰就是使得一个富有魅力的威权领袖有可能控制一个激进运动团体（尽管控制力有限）的原因。

This decentralisation gives the extremists latitude to develop their own reading and understanding of jihad. In the absence of central authority, preventing fundamentalist Sunni Muslims is a daunting task. So is thwarting financial or political support of extremists by this non-governmental force in the Sunni world.

这种非中央集权的特点让极端分子能够对圣战做自己的解读和理解。没有中央宗教权威，使得遏制原教旨主义逊尼派穆斯林的任务变得极其艰巨。阻止逊尼派世界这股非政府势力为极端分子提供资金和政治支持，也同样不容易。

Major governmental Sunni players in the region, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have taken contrasting approaches towards extremist groups. Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood created friction with Saudi Arabia and tensions have also appeared between Turkey and Saudi Arabia over their support for opposed currents of extremism in Syria and Egypt.

该地区的主要逊尼派国家，也就是沙特、卡塔尔和土耳其，对不同的极端主义团体采取了相互矛盾的对待方式。卡塔尔因为支持穆斯林兄弟会(Muslim Brotherhood)与沙特产生摩擦，土耳其和沙特也因为支持叙利亚和埃及相互对立的极端主义潮流而关系紧张。

The coalition built by America to check the advance of Isis must pay careful attention to these facts.

美国牵头建立旨在阻止ISIS发展的联盟，必须注意上述事实。

Sunni players in the region should be urged to cut their support for the terrorist groups. International measures should be taken to prevent sympathisers elsewhere from providing financial or material support. A co-ordinated approach was largely successful in starving al-Qaeda of support.

必须敦促该地区的逊尼派势力停止支持恐怖主义团体。国际社会必须采取措施，防止其他地方的同情者为这些团体提供资金或物资支持。在切断外界对基地组织(al-Qaeda)支持的努力中，各方合作的方式就在很大程度上取得了成功。

Violent extremism that claims to act in the name of Islam has emerged as a monster that may come back and haunt Sunni states. But this threat has also created an opportunity. Shia and Sunni Muslims now face a common, grievous enemy. They must settle their differences and confront the danger together before events spiral even further out of control.

打着伊斯兰教旗号的暴力极端主义魔鬼已经诞生，可能会回过头来袭扰逊尼派国家。但这种威胁也创造了一个机会。什叶派和逊尼派穆斯林眼下面对一个共同的可怕敌人。两派必须在事态进一步失控之前解决分歧、共同面对危险。

For the Sunni states to succeed in this mission, difficult as it may be, they should put their differences aside and unify against the dark forces that threaten their stability – and even their existence.

逊尼派国家要完成这项任务，就必须抛开分歧，团结起来——尽管做到这些很困难——共同反抗威胁本国稳定、乃至带来亡国威胁的黑暗势力。

The west – particularly the US, as the leader of this coalition – should recognise that as things stand the only unified actors in the Islamic world are the Shia. This force cannot be ignored. It should assume its proper place as the pillar of this vital campaign.

西方、尤其是领导联盟的美国应该认识到，就眼下的情况来看，伊斯兰世界里唯一团结的力量就是什叶派，决不能忽视这股力量。什叶派应该在这场关键的战斗中扮演起应有的角色，充当顶梁柱。

The writer, a former Iranian diplomat, is author of ‘Iran and the United States: An Insider’s View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace’

注：本文作者是伊朗前外交官，著有《伊朗和美国：一个局内人对失败的过去与和平之路的看法》(Iran and the United States: An Insider’s View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace)一书。