The Impacts of Shia Policy of Iran in South Africa: Al-Jihad and Qıbla Mass Movements

Year 2022, , 99 - 122, 30.06.2022

Feyza Yaşa

https://doi.org/10.48203/siader.1119657

Abstract

For Iran, an important ally of the USA against the Soviet Union, the revolution in 1979 was a breaking point in its relations with the West. At the same time, security concerns originating from Israel pushed Tehran to follow sectarian-based policies in its domestic-foreign policy by sticking to Ayatollah Khomeini's velayet-i faqih project. Therefore, the Iranian state has succeeded in associating itself with the imamate, which Shia considers one of the principles of faith, with real political concerns. On the other hand, in the African policy of Iran, which has turned to South-South cooperation with the aim of breaking the economic embargoes, the politics followed in the political, economic, security and religious fields are not independent of each other. Therefore, it has become a matter of curiosity whether there are Shiite Muslims in the Republic of South Africa, the most powerful economy of the African continent. In this context, as a result of our research, we were informed about al-Jihad, which took on a Shiite character by being influenced by the Iranian revolution, and the Qibla Movement, which emerged 12 years after the revolution in question. At the same time, the political participation processes of South African Muslims accelerated the formation of these Shiite movements. In this study, it will be possible to get an idea about whether the sectarian policies followed by the Islamic Republic of Iran have reached the southernmost part of Africa by looking closely at the al-Jihad and Qibla Movements.

Keywords

Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of South Africa, Shia, Security, al-Jihaad, Qibla Mass Movement

Güney Afrika’da İran’ın Şiî Politikasının Etkileri: el-Cihad ve Kıble Hareketleri

Abstract

ABD’nin Sovyetlere karşı önemli bir müttefiki olan İran için 1979 yılında yaşanan devrim Batı ile ilişkilerinde kırılma noktası mahiyetindedir. Aynı zamanda İsrail kaynaklı güvenlik endişeleri Tahran’ı Ayetullah Humeyni’nin velayet-i fakih projesine sadık kalarak iç-dış siyasetinde mezhep temelli politikalar izlemeye itmiştir. Diğer yandan üzerindeki ekonomik ambargoları kırma gayesiyle Güney-Güney işbirliğine yönelen İran’ın Afrika politikasında siyasi, ekonomik, güvenlik ve dini alanlarda izlediği siyaset birbirinden bağımsız değildir. Dolayısıyla Afrika kıtasının en güçlü ekonomisi Güney Afrika Cumhuriyeti’nde Şiî Müslümanların var olup olmadığı merak konusu haline gelmiştir. Bu kapsamda araştırmalarımız sonucunda İran devriminden etkilenerek Şiî karaktere bürünen el-Cihad ve mevzu bahis devrimden 12 yıl sonra ortaya çıkan Kıble Hareketi’nden haberdar olunmuştur. Bu çalışmada söz konusu iki oluşuma yakından bakılarak İran İslâm Cumhuriyeti’nin izlediği mezhepçi politikaların Afrika’nın en güneyine erişip erişmediği hakkında fikir edinilebilecektir.

Keywords

İran İslam Cumhuriyeti, Güney Afrika Cumhuriyeti, Şia, El-Cihad, Kıble Hareketi, Güvenlik

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