Middle East can do without another conflict

That, in other words, demands a real religious reform, which never truly happened in Islam. A religious reform can help recalibrate Islam's development leading to an extensive social reform. Known for its various religious services and for generally excluding women from public life — women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to vote and contest elections for the first time only one month ago — Islam as a practiced religion in many Muslim countries is far removed from the real happenings in the world.

That religion is about almost everything in a Muslim's life could, in some ways, help mobilize and unite believers for a public cause, but in many ways it could be easily demonized by the West and exploited by extremist and terrorist outfits like the notorious Islamic State to wage war on regional peace and prosperity.

Given these facts, the escalating tensions between Teheran and Riyadh may deal a blow to the region's fight against terrorism, allowing the IS to regain its strength after the losses it suffered recently. Although the two major regional players are unlikely to declare war on each other, they will be less willing to cooperate in the fights against terrorism, probably prompting other Muslim states in the region to readjust their anti-IS strategies based on religious sects.

As for the West (including the US, a traditional ally of Saudi Arabia), it may not be interested in getting further involved in the Teheran-Riyadh row, which cannot be settled in the short term. But the top priority for the conflict-stricken Middle East countries should be local people's well-being, which can only be secured if all regional leaders agree to manage their relations in accordance with the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, jointly fight terrorism, and enhance transnational economic cooperation.

Wang Jinglie is a professor of Middle East Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a council member of a think tank affiliated to the Institute of Middle East Studies, Shanghai International Studies University. The article is an excerpt from his interview with China Daily's Cui Shoufeng.