Two sides of
the same, rotten coin
by Rannie Amiri
I submit that in today's Iraq,
and the Middle East more broadly, there are two genuinely radical
ideologies which have been the primary cause of all unrest,
instability and discord.
One emanates from Jerusalem, the
other from Riyadh.
The first is regarded by many
Arabs, a bit naively, as the sole destructive force in the Middle
East. The second has been fashionably singled out for rebuke by a
multitude of United States Senators and Congressmen, smug in the
satisfaction of acquiring a new, scholarly sounding "-ism" to
throw about. Nevertheless, the "Arab street" and Capitol Hill are
both correct.
They are Zionism and Wahabism.
A complete discussion of each is
obviously beyond the scope of this essay, as entire treatises can
be written on them. What can be said is that their disciples wreak
havoc wherever they go, and they have now converged on Iraq. These
strange bedfellows share a similar objective: to undermine the
emergence of a democratic, unified country.
By this time there should be no
question as to who engineered the Iraq campaign. The
neo-conservatives, all very closely aligned with Likudist/Zionist
philosophy, were beating the drums of war long before taking up
their posts in the Pentagon. The names are no mystery: Richard
Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, and Douglas Feith. Vice President Richard
Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are only their latest
recruits. The systematic dismantlement of all potentially
threatening Arab/Muslim nations on Israel's behalf is the paradigm
from which they operate.
Not surprisingly, as detailed by
Seymour Hersh in the June 28 issue of The New Yorker, Israeli
operatives have wasted no time setting up camp in northern Iraq in
a convenient alliance with the Kurds, strategically positioning
themselves for potential future operations against a Shi'a
dominated Iraqi government, and well placed for continued
agitation against Iran and Syria.
A case can be made, however, that
the enemy within is more harmful than the enemy without, as its
negative and harmful influence more insidiously blends into the
community and society. There can be no doubt that the most
dangerous of these internal influences on the greater Islamic
world today is the Wahabi movement.
To better appreciate its current role, we must understand its
roots.
Wahabism originated in the area
of Najd in present day Saudi Arabia during the late eighteenth
century under the teachings of one Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab. Abdul
Wahab promulgated what many regarded to be a literal, puritanical
form of Islam. In reality, though, it was one that divided people
into two: believers - those who agreed with a rigid, simplistic,
and intolerant interpretation of Islam, and infidels - or everyone
else. His followers became known as "Wahabis" and this is the
dominant form of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia to this day.
Although technically Sunni Muslims, many believe Wahabis to fall
outside the fold of Islam entirely, as they reject all four of
Sunni Islam's schools, are rabidly hostile toward the Shi'a
school, and espouse quite an un-Islamic anthropomorphic view of
God.
Abdul Wahab, however, was no more than a political tool used by
the British to consolidate control of the Arabian peninsula under
the rule of the one family, the House of Saud, in order to weaken
the hold of the Ottoman Empire. As a result, bizarre fatwas were
issued by him. For example, he officially branded Muslims
"infidels" if they disputed with the Saudi royal family or even
questioned the legitimacy of their hereditary rule.
This relationship between the
Wahabis and the Saudi monarchy continues to this day. It is only
through them that the kings and princes of Saudi Arabia remain in
power. In return, they are permitted complete authority over the
educational institutions and granted unlimited access to the
country's wealth.
And what has been the result?
The exportation of the Wahabi
creed from Saudi Arabia led to the creation and ascent of the
Taliban and the subsequent reversion of Afghanistan to a
pre-civilized state of being. It was directly responsible for
brutal massacres perpetrated against the Hazara Shi'a population
of Afghanistan and the proliferation of madrassas throughout South
Asia which continue to brainwash the youth. The prohibition of
women to vote or drive, let alone receive an education or
participate meaningfully in society, are all extensions of this
philosophy.
The sectarian violence we see in Pakistan has been fomented at
their hands through Saudi funding of such groups as Sipah-e-Sahaba
and Lashkar-e-Jhangavi. Of course, they are most famous for the
events of 9/11/01, when al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden blackened the
face of Islam on a global scale.
In Iraq, what very few Arabs are willing to admit is how they have
hijacked the country after the fall of Saddam Hussain's regime.
The gruesome beheadings of "infidels," indiscriminate mass
killings, and "jihad" for some imagery, perverted Islamic state
are their calling cards. This is purportedly under the direction
of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Whether Zarqawi actually exists is a moot
point, for the language and behavior which are their hallmarks are
already afoot.
Zionists and their apologists started the war in Iraq and have no
desire to see a popularly elected government arise there. Should
this occur, it will be dominated by Shi'a Muslims, who constitute
(at least) 60% of Iraq's population of 25 million, and also have
no regard for Israel. Hence the alliance of the Israelis with the
non-Arab Kurds. The Wahabis also see the Shi'a as a threat, and in
the post-war chaos, found it easy to set up shop in the "Sunni
Triangle" to wage their campaign of destruction. The United
States' occupation is left hapless and helpless, dismayed at what
mess they have found themselves in as a proxy for the former and
once old financier of the latter.
In Iraq, Zionism and Wahabism
have become partners. Both would like nothing more than to see
Iraq divided in three, which would nicely serve their coinciding
agendas. They are two sides of the same coin, ultimately seeking
to unravel the very fiber of the Iraqi nation.
Rannie Amiri is an indepedent
observer, commentator, and exponent of issues dealing with the
Arab and Islamic worlds.
