Saudi Arabia royal family at a crossroads
IN GENERAL, Americans don’t know much about other parts of the world. We are after all raised on a steady diet of American exceptionalism, which indoctrinates us from an early age to view ourselves as the best people in the world. If we then view ourselves as the best people in the world, then it naturally follows that learning about the rest of the world might seem like a waste of time. Nonetheless, since our ruling class has decided to put our nation’s military in the Middle East, we should take the time to learn a thing or two about that part of the world.
A recent New York Times op-ed piece by Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sheds light on the destabilizing role that the kingdom of Saudia Arabia has been playing in the region. The two largest branches of Islam today are Sunnis and Shiites. The official religion of the kingdom of Saudia Arabia is Wahhabism, which has been described as an extremist and intolerant distortion of Sunni Islam. Zarif said, “Though it has attracted only a minute proportion of Muslims, Wahhabism has been devastating in its impact. Virtually every terrorist group abusing the name of Islam from al-Qaida and its offshoots in Syria to Boko Haram in Nigeria has been inspired by this death cult.”
The Saudi royal family finds itself at a crossroads. On the one hand, they can continue to use their oil money to spread Wahhabism around the world via missionary work, support death squads in Syria and indiscriminately bomb Yemeni civilians in order to undermine the Shia government there, or they can repudiate Wahhabism and go back to mainstream Sunni Islam.
Zarif ended his analysis by inviting the Saudis towards reconciliation. Zarif concludes by writing, “Though much of the violence committed in the name of Islam can be traced to Wahhabism, I by no means suggest that Saudi Arabia cannot be part of the solution. Quite the reverse: We invite Saudi rulers to put aside the rhetoric of blame and fear, and join hands with the rest of the community of nations to eliminate the scourge of terrorism and violence that threatens us all.” MUHAJIR ROMERO
Albuquerque