Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

118 The Arab Queens
than a number of imams, why do other Arab historians have trouble
in doing so? What is special about the relationship of the Yemenis
to women as a basic element of their history? Is it the pre-eminence
of the female element in the ancient cults and religions? Is the
memory of the legendary queen of Sheba as persistent as the
bewitching perfumes of the region? Is it the fact that back at the
dawn of time the Shebans practised polyandry? Trying to answer
these questions would certainly lead us along paths full of surprises,
but too far from our current objective, which is to clarify the reasons
for the amnesia. Why does an hijab veil the recollection of the
queens Asma and 'Arwa? What ghosts, what phantoms, what
thoughts, what anxieties would their memory awaken?
I am led to believe that the fearful ghost that the memory of
Asma and 'Arwa rouses is that of shi'a - meaning political dispute
linked to a very particular violence, violence in the name of Allah.
This is a dispute which destabilizes political power at its most
fundamental point, its legitimacy, which is by nature sacred - and
all this in the name of religion. For centuries shi'a shook the
foundations of Sunni Islam in its claim to be a totalitarian orthodoxy,
its dream of a powerful empire in which unity and prosperity went
hand in hand and were inconceivable in any other way. The sudden
irruption of Shi'ite Islam on to the international scene with the
accession of Imam Khomeini to power during the 1970s led to the
Iran-Iraq war which, perhaps with modern missiles but also with
feelings as old as Islam itself, killed thousands of Muslims. The
aftermath may not be the best time to stir up certain memories;
amnesia is exactly what is wanted by all those who do not want to
probe into this problem. And the problem is the development of
democracy in Islam. The Sunni-Shi'ite conflict is nothing but a long,
sad, aborted dialogue on the question of representation and power.
Aborted dialogue always sweeps the frustrated disputants into a
violent blood bath. Therefore one can understand their deliberate
attempt to heal wounds by taking refuge in forgetfulness so as to
avoid thinking about history and the failed dialogue between Sunni
and Shi'ite, for it reflects credit on no one. But today, for us as
Muslim men and women, remembering the price paid in blood for
failed dialogue by our ancestors can only benefit us. Today, when
fanaticism reigns more strongly than ever, when the spectre of
internecine violence hovers over us, today, when the problem of
tolerance and difference of opinion is posed in a fundamental way
for all nations, forgetting Asma and 'Arwa means wanting to forget
the murderous madness caused by the Sunni-Shi'ite conflict for