Our natural ally

Islamic Republic of Iran or the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?

Why have we always had such a problematic relationship with Iran? Shouldn’t we be on much friendlier terms with our neighbour than we actually are? How long do we further have to wait in frustration for the promised Iran gas pipeline to finally arrive? Why is there talk of TAPI when cheaper natural gas can be had from much closer to home? Many Pakistanis fail to find satisfactory answers to these questions. For most of my life I have been one of them. Now, into the fifth decade of my life, I think I finally have the wisdom to answer these questions. Life begins at forty, they say. Perhaps they are right.

To state the conclusion first, Iran is not a natural ally of Pakistan. If it’s a choice between Saudi Arabia and Iran – and it is always going to be a choice between the two – it has to be Saudi Arabia every time. In the following, I will try and back this statement up by presenting the various implications of befriending Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Let’s start with security, the most vital consideration. On the side of Saudi Arabia, there is the 34 nation Islamic Military Alliance that includes military powers such as Djibouti, Yemen, and Somalia, to name but three. (Others like Afghanistan and Tajikistan have shown enthusiastic interest in joining). With Iran it is at best a one nation alliance, which will likely antagonize many of our other friends. With the US and the UK always on the side of Saudi Arabia, it’s a no-brainer, really.

Secondly, Saudi Arab never had any claim on our territory (that’s where not being a neighbour is a blessing). With Iran’s Sistan and “Balochestan” bordering our Balochistan, and the Iranian interests in Afghanistan, there exists a very real conflict situation. It is worth noting that our only neighbour with which we don’t have a problem is the Arabian Sea.

How do the two languages compare? Well, consider Arabic words such as mashallah and inshallah, jazakallah and ma’aazallah, salah and shariah, ummah and bid’ah, mudaarabah, and muaanqa. These are all useful, everyday words for Pakistanis. On the other hand, Persian words such as awaara–gardi, daaru-khaana and naamard – which mean tourism, drug-store, and life-bachelor respectively – can cause a lot of misunderstanding and misfortune in Pakistan. Besides, learn Arabic and you can cope in 20 countries. Learn Persian and you can’t even communicate with the Iranians – their dialect is so different from the standard Persian taught in the Pakistani universities as to qualify as a completely different language. The Iranians definitely need to step up their game when it comes to Persian.

Syeds are another gift for which we are greatly indebted to the Arabs. The generosity of Arabs is legendary, but in this case they have outdone themselves, because it appears that they have donated all their Syeds to us. Even if they have a few left in Saudi Arabia, they must be negligible compared to what we have. It goes without saying that we owe the Iranians absolutely nothing in this regard.

Iran is a self proclaimed Islamic republic. Although Saudi Arabia is a holy kingdom, the Saudis are too humble to officially call it that. I won’t dwell much on religion, since the comparison is self-explanatory. Let’s just say that Iran is an unorthodox theocracy. The Saudi King, on the other hand, is the custodian of our two holiest places of worship.

The historical verdict is also clearly in favor of the Arabs. Muhammad bin Qasim defeated the infidel Raja Dahir, and sowed the first seeds of the Muslim civilization in India. Nadir Shah, on the other hand, crushed the forces of a fellow Muslim, the great Muhammad Shah, looted the Mughal capital Delhi, and took the plunder back to Persia, making it easier for the British to ultimately take over.

Coming back to the present times, Saudi Arabia is vital for our democracy. Like it did in the past, it can save Pakistan in its darkest hour by hosting our exiled political leaders till it is safe for them to return to Pakistan and lead the country out of the shadows of dictatorship into the light of democracy.

Iran is one of the oldest civilizations of the world. When the Arab Bedouins had barely figured out how to get a flame going by rubbing stones together, the Iranians already had working bureaucracies, central governments, and a rich culture. Consequently, the Iranians never stopped looking down upon the Arabs. The Arabs don’t like the Iranians either, but that is merely a reaction; the Iranians are solely to blame for it. The Iranians are to this day a very haughty people – and not to Arabs alone. Compare this with the humility of Arabs, and the gracious way in which they treat their Muslim brethren around the world.

Finally, our liberals despise Saudi Arabia.  This alone is reason enough to have much closer ties with Saudi Arabia than Iran.

I rest my case.