Armin Navabi, Mother Mary versus Fatimah
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2017/08/05
Armin Navabi is the Founder of the Atheist Republic. One of the most popular pages on Facebook for atheists that faced repeated censorship and shutdown from Facebook authorities. He was born in Tehran, Iran, and raised as a Muslim. Now, he is a former Muslim and an atheist living in Vancouver, British Columbia. Here we explore, in an educational series, the figures in the Abrahamic faiths from the view of a leading former Muslim, this is session 2. Session 1 here.
*Audio interview edited for clarity and readability.*
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Why are you comparing Islam and Christianity?
Armin Navabi: Because I see the similarity in the difference of between Sunnis and Shias are like Protestants and Catholics.
Catholics added Mother Mary as a divine figure. Shias added another female figure, which is Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah. Sunnis have a highly revered female figure, which is the favorite wife of Muhammad named Aishah.
They have given her this very high title of “Mother of the Faithful.” They revere her, but not as much as Shias revere Fatimah. Shias consider Aishah with disgust and hate, sometimes, because she waged war against the first Imam, Imam Ali.
So, Aishah is a high figure in Sunni Islam. Fatimah is not only holy, but infallible too, and a role model for all women in Shia Islam. Fatimah is someone people even pray to. When many Shias standing from a sitting position or trying to pick up something heavy, they often ask for help or strength from these Imams by calling out their name. This is offensive to many Sunnis, which see these prayers or worship of dead people rather than almighty God.
I always saw Sunni Islam as obsessed with victory, power, and conquest. Sunni Islam seems a lot more macho and masculine. Shia Islam is obsessed with being a victim and being oppressed. A lot of focus on female figures in Shia Islam. I felt Shia Islam was more feminine and Sunni Islam was more masculine.
Another point of conflict between Shias and Sunnis is that fact that the second Khalifa of the Sunnis, Umar, unintentionally caused Fatimah’s miscarriage and eventual death. To Sunnis, he was this macho man warrior who leads the Islamic army to many victories.
This is the person who took Islam from Saudi Arabia and conquered many lands for Islam, which includes Iran. It is not a center of Shia Islam, which is another reason why many Shias hate Umar.
When Ali refused to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr, the first Sunni Khalifa, Umar was the one who showed up at Ali’s door and slammed the door open. Fatimah was behind it and pregnant with Ali’s third son, who died from this incident. Fatimah died awhile after this. That is another reason Umar is hated by Shias.
If you ask Shias if what they’re doing is considered worship of Fatimah, Ali, or Husain, they’ll say, “No, worship is only for God.” But if you observe how they pray to these Imams and other figures, you could see why Sunnis might consider it worship. Many Shias mention Ali, Husain, and Fatimah more than they mention Muhammad and Allah.
For example, many Shias consider the dust from Karbala to be holy. Karbala is where Husain, the third imam of Shias, died. It is interesting that I noticed people in Iran bring the dust from Karbala and they consider it holy but have never brought dust from Mecca as a souvenir which might say something about their priorities.
License
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.
Copyright
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012-Present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. All interviewees and authors co-copyright their material and may disseminate for their independent purposes.
In-Sight Publishing 