Cultivating strong relationships with Western governments and having access to seemingly undepleted oil money have enabled the ruling Saudi family to act regionally with impunity. The ruling family has managed to coercively seduce foes and buy the loyalty of several governments across the globe.
Since the early 1960s, the Saudi family has never retreated from pursuing its goals of ensuring the survivability and influence of its regime. Indeed, despite perpetual turmoil in the region, the family has been successful in demonstrating that those Arab countries that challenge its political design will live to regret it. Whether in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Sudan or in Yemen, those who have attempted to act independently have suffered greatly.
The current Saudi military intervention in Yemen is aimed at not only sending a message to Yemenis and to broader regional players, like Iran and Russia, that the Arab World is under its undisputed domain of influence, but it is also acting with the total approval of Western governments. More importantly, it is sending a powerful message to other Arab actors that when it comes to the security and safety of the ruling family, Washington is offering unlimited support militarily and diplomatically.
The aforementioned points were communicated by senior members of the Saud family to political leaders who were recently invited to Riyadh, including, on March second, the president of Egypt, Sisi, and, on March 3, the president of Turkey, Erdogan, and other political figures, both Arabs and non-Arabs, to support its plan for imminent military intervention in Yemen. The Sauds have been obsessed with keeping the family power intact and is alarmed by the strength of the Prophet Mohamed’s family in motivating the masses in different parts of the Muslim world.
What the Sauds did not tell the invited visitors directly is that the Saudi ruling family views itself as an heir to the Ommeyad ‘s ideological legacy. This dynasty was powerful, economically and militarily, in Arabia before the rise of Islam around 610. However, the Prophet Mohamed denounced tribalism and underscored the message of equality and inclusion, thus marginalizing the role of the Ommeyad dynasty. In doing so, its leader, Abu Sufyan, lost most of his social and political prestige. But in 656, Muawiyah, the son of Abu Sufyan, challenged the Fourth Caliph, Imam Ali, the cousin and son in law of the Prophet Mohamed, and successfully reinstituted the power of the Ommeyad dynasty in 661. Thus, tribalism thrived again in Arabia. This reached its peak as the Ommeyad dynasty, a few years later, slaughtered the Prophet Mohamed’s grandson and several of his family members. Following that, the dynasty solidified its power and for many decades became the unrivaled ruling family before they were defeated at the hands of another rival.
Since it came to power in Arabia in 1932, the Saud family has never forgotten the historical significance of the Ommeyad dynasty. Though it has governed in the name of Islam, the Saud dynasty relies on tribal loyalty instead of religious tolerance and inclusion to strengthen its power, thus derailing the message of Islam.
In fact, the Saud family, since 1979, has been long engaged in planned programs to convert the Shia in Yemen to extreme Salafism. It recruited Muqbil Bin Hadi al-Wadi’i al-Khallali , at the time a devotee of the Prophet Mohamed’s family, to extreme Salafism with a gloomy ideology that discounts the power of the mind and the necessity to think independently. One of his followers, Mohamed al Imam, with millions of dollars from the Saud family, has established madrassas (schools that specialize in spreading the Sauds’ official branch of Islam—Dar al Hadith) to convert Shias to Wahhabism and to spread extremism. This has not been looked on favorably by intellectual and open-minded Yemenis.
In addition to spreading Wahhabism in Yemen, the Saud family has been uncomfortable with seeing members of Prophet Mohamed’s family acquiring influence in Iran, in Iraq, and in Lebanon. The rediscovery of powerful Yemeni groups of their roots as followers of the Prophet Mohamed’s family and their quest to strengthen their relations with rising members of the Prophet’s family represent a nightmare to the Saudi family.
The Sauds have treated the rise of the descendants of the Prophet Mohamed in neighboring countries and the failure of madrassas to spread Wahhabism in Yemen as a historical setback. Thus, the Saud family has decided to act swiftly and mercilessly to deter current threats and future threats from rising.
For this very reason, Saudi Arabia has been beating the drums to attack the followers of the Prophet Mohamed or Shias. This has been going on for years, but has recently intensified. In an interview with Bloomberg (November 22, 2013), an influential member of the Saud family, Waleed bin Talal, stated frankly that the “The Sunni Muslim is very much anti-Shiite.”
The Saud family, like the Ommeyad dynasty, has been utilizing its wealth and careful exploitation of the of the Muslim majority’s ignorance of their history to successfully assemble a coalition to defeat the followers of the Prophet Mohamed’s family. The Saud family is enlisting the support of Western governments and several extremist groups in its war plan and is confusing the public in large.
Two factors have given the Saud family a boost internationally: Western unlimited support for its aggression and the failure of those who back the Prophet Mohamed’s family to articulate a coherent message. The Western support enables the Saudis to act forcefully and the weakness of its rival’s message legitimizes its use of violent aggression in Yemen. Indeed, the latter has made it easy for the Saud family to hide its primary goal of initiating the war in Yemen.
The war against Yemen is conducted to inflict unlimited damage upon people and infrastructure. Its perpetrator, the Saud ruling family, must be brought to justice. This family has managed to escape international punishment and condemnation. Its action, in Yemen, is horrific and has energized fanatics and terrorists in different parts of the World. Indeed, the brutality and barbarianism of the Saudi regime enable terrorists to freely spread chaos and destruction.
The current war in Yemen is a modern enactment of the deep conflict between the Prophet Mohamed’s message and that of tribalism. It is a war between the original Islamic message of tolerance and inclusion and the outdated tribal mentality that seeks to maintain power at any expense. This war is catastrophic and has resulted in the mass destruction in Yemen. It is time to put an end to this madness.
Akram Arfan Al Shammari is an Iraqi writer and political commentator.
RSS
Saudi Arabia’s aggressive strikes in Yemen
Posted on April 6, 2015 by Akram Arfan Al Shammari
Cultivating strong relationships with Western governments and having access to seemingly undepleted oil money have enabled the ruling Saudi family to act regionally with impunity. The ruling family has managed to coercively seduce foes and buy the loyalty of several governments across the globe.
Since the early 1960s, the Saudi family has never retreated from pursuing its goals of ensuring the survivability and influence of its regime. Indeed, despite perpetual turmoil in the region, the family has been successful in demonstrating that those Arab countries that challenge its political design will live to regret it. Whether in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Sudan or in Yemen, those who have attempted to act independently have suffered greatly.
The current Saudi military intervention in Yemen is aimed at not only sending a message to Yemenis and to broader regional players, like Iran and Russia, that the Arab World is under its undisputed domain of influence, but it is also acting with the total approval of Western governments. More importantly, it is sending a powerful message to other Arab actors that when it comes to the security and safety of the ruling family, Washington is offering unlimited support militarily and diplomatically.
The aforementioned points were communicated by senior members of the Saud family to political leaders who were recently invited to Riyadh, including, on March second, the president of Egypt, Sisi, and, on March 3, the president of Turkey, Erdogan, and other political figures, both Arabs and non-Arabs, to support its plan for imminent military intervention in Yemen. The Sauds have been obsessed with keeping the family power intact and is alarmed by the strength of the Prophet Mohamed’s family in motivating the masses in different parts of the Muslim world.
What the Sauds did not tell the invited visitors directly is that the Saudi ruling family views itself as an heir to the Ommeyad ‘s ideological legacy. This dynasty was powerful, economically and militarily, in Arabia before the rise of Islam around 610. However, the Prophet Mohamed denounced tribalism and underscored the message of equality and inclusion, thus marginalizing the role of the Ommeyad dynasty. In doing so, its leader, Abu Sufyan, lost most of his social and political prestige. But in 656, Muawiyah, the son of Abu Sufyan, challenged the Fourth Caliph, Imam Ali, the cousin and son in law of the Prophet Mohamed, and successfully reinstituted the power of the Ommeyad dynasty in 661. Thus, tribalism thrived again in Arabia. This reached its peak as the Ommeyad dynasty, a few years later, slaughtered the Prophet Mohamed’s grandson and several of his family members. Following that, the dynasty solidified its power and for many decades became the unrivaled ruling family before they were defeated at the hands of another rival.
Since it came to power in Arabia in 1932, the Saud family has never forgotten the historical significance of the Ommeyad dynasty. Though it has governed in the name of Islam, the Saud dynasty relies on tribal loyalty instead of religious tolerance and inclusion to strengthen its power, thus derailing the message of Islam.
In fact, the Saud family, since 1979, has been long engaged in planned programs to convert the Shia in Yemen to extreme Salafism. It recruited Muqbil Bin Hadi al-Wadi’i al-Khallali , at the time a devotee of the Prophet Mohamed’s family, to extreme Salafism with a gloomy ideology that discounts the power of the mind and the necessity to think independently. One of his followers, Mohamed al Imam, with millions of dollars from the Saud family, has established madrassas (schools that specialize in spreading the Sauds’ official branch of Islam—Dar al Hadith) to convert Shias to Wahhabism and to spread extremism. This has not been looked on favorably by intellectual and open-minded Yemenis.
In addition to spreading Wahhabism in Yemen, the Saud family has been uncomfortable with seeing members of Prophet Mohamed’s family acquiring influence in Iran, in Iraq, and in Lebanon. The rediscovery of powerful Yemeni groups of their roots as followers of the Prophet Mohamed’s family and their quest to strengthen their relations with rising members of the Prophet’s family represent a nightmare to the Saudi family.
The Sauds have treated the rise of the descendants of the Prophet Mohamed in neighboring countries and the failure of madrassas to spread Wahhabism in Yemen as a historical setback. Thus, the Saud family has decided to act swiftly and mercilessly to deter current threats and future threats from rising.
For this very reason, Saudi Arabia has been beating the drums to attack the followers of the Prophet Mohamed or Shias. This has been going on for years, but has recently intensified. In an interview with Bloomberg (November 22, 2013), an influential member of the Saud family, Waleed bin Talal, stated frankly that the “The Sunni Muslim is very much anti-Shiite.”
The Saud family, like the Ommeyad dynasty, has been utilizing its wealth and careful exploitation of the of the Muslim majority’s ignorance of their history to successfully assemble a coalition to defeat the followers of the Prophet Mohamed’s family. The Saud family is enlisting the support of Western governments and several extremist groups in its war plan and is confusing the public in large.
Two factors have given the Saud family a boost internationally: Western unlimited support for its aggression and the failure of those who back the Prophet Mohamed’s family to articulate a coherent message. The Western support enables the Saudis to act forcefully and the weakness of its rival’s message legitimizes its use of violent aggression in Yemen. Indeed, the latter has made it easy for the Saud family to hide its primary goal of initiating the war in Yemen.
The war against Yemen is conducted to inflict unlimited damage upon people and infrastructure. Its perpetrator, the Saud ruling family, must be brought to justice. This family has managed to escape international punishment and condemnation. Its action, in Yemen, is horrific and has energized fanatics and terrorists in different parts of the World. Indeed, the brutality and barbarianism of the Saudi regime enable terrorists to freely spread chaos and destruction.
The current war in Yemen is a modern enactment of the deep conflict between the Prophet Mohamed’s message and that of tribalism. It is a war between the original Islamic message of tolerance and inclusion and the outdated tribal mentality that seeks to maintain power at any expense. This war is catastrophic and has resulted in the mass destruction in Yemen. It is time to put an end to this madness.
Akram Arfan Al Shammari is an Iraqi writer and political commentator.