What do the Shiites want?

Fuhaid Al-Adeem Makkah After the execution of the extremist cleric Nimr Al-Nimr, the national and international media shed light on how the Saudi government had treated his family. The state had sponsored the treatment of Al-Nimr’s wife and sent his sons abroad on government scholarships, not because they were the sons of Al-Nimr or because of any sympathy, but because they were Saudi citizens. This introduction is essential to answer the question: What do the Shiites in Saudi Arabia want? When we say what the Shiites are up to, we don’t consider Al-Nimr a model. He transcends the sectarian classification, which we are very sorry to mention here. There is no difference between Al-Nimr and other extremists who were executed on the same day. Some people want to mix up things by describing Al-Nimr as a man of opinion. This is utter nonsense because he was not expressing his views but inciting people to take up weapons to kill others, which is a big crime. In such cases, the state does not differentiate between Shiites or Sunnis or infidels, because all of them are equal before the law. Al-Nimr, like other extremists, had his fans and followers and they were not Shiites alone. When we talk about the Shiites, we remember the glittering personalities of Madinah and Al-Ahsa. This makes us ask why the Shiites of Qatif and Awamiya resort to violence. Many people object to generalizations, but I have been following up the discussions on social media after the execution of Al-Nimr and other terrorists, and I could not find any reasonable comment. They were repeating the same rubbish typically churned out by the fans of Sunni extremists. They call for a system based on extremism. In Qatif and Awamiya, we have lots of friends and loved ones. I know most of them are patriotic and sincere people. They feel extremely sorry for the developments in Qatif. This makes me ask this question to my friends who are reasonable in their thinking: What is happening in Qatif? Why is it happening only in Qatif, not in Al-Ahsa, for example?. I don’t think we can get a quick answer to this question. The million-dollar question is, how can we succumb to the popularity of a person at the expense of the nation’s security. All demands of citizens can be tolerated except those that violate the country’s security and sovereignty. People should talk reasonably, keeping their distance from violence.