The British Newspaper “The Independent” Reveals The Truth About Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia

Robert Fisk, a veteran journalist saw that there is a history of hypocrisy pursued by Saudi Arabia regarding several variables and events, which is matched by neglect and flattery from the West motivated by a common interest related to petroleum.

And that at a time when Western countries realize that the source of extremist Wahhabi ideas and terrorism lies in the Saudi Wahhabi creed, these countries have chosen to remain silent and overlook what Saudi Arabia has done in the files of criminality and the killing of innocents and others, and that mutual hypocrisy has reached the point of shedding tears over the Charlie Hebdo incident in Saudi Arabia, while those with an “opinion” are punished in Saudi Arabia by imprisonment and flogging in front of the silence and conspiracy of countries that consider themselves defenders of what they call “human rights.”

At the beginning of his article entitled “The History of Saudi Hypocrisy, Which We have chosen to Ignore” published by the British newspaper “The Independent”, Fisk referred to historical background on Britain’s experience since the beginning of the Wahhabi call with the brutality of its adherents and followers, and that they, according to what was published by a British orientalist named William Hunter, killed British subjects with support and funding. of the House of Saud during their first state, and wrote: “Sir William Hunter – a high-ranking British civil servant – published a book in 1871 in which he warned of the crowds of fanaticism from the Wahhabis who murdered our subjects, financed by (men of great wealth), while the majority of Muslims (in Peninsula) are to decide – once and for all – that they must play the role of loyal followers of the Wahhabis or be Muslim subjects. On his visit to the Arabian Peninsula, Hunter identified what he called a hate preacher as the cause of this terrorism; He is the one who pretends that he is the right person Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who’s followers are the violent Wahhabi sect, allied with the Al-Saud family.”

And Fisk considered that the British orientalist’s book may seem to have been written these days despite being published more than 140 years ago, due to “the whirlwind of hate on the Internet, individual attacks by Sunni Muslims in the disciplinary and cruel Wahhabi style, and also the state of looking at the Muslims of Europe as a second-class citizen.”

Fisk explained that there is a congruence between what ISIS is doing these days and what the Wahhabis did dozens of years ago, considering that the behavior of the two are the same and is continues in Saudi Arabia, especially about what they call “human rights,” where he wrote, explaining, “In the manner of ISIS, the Wahhabis seized cities The holy sites in the Arabian invaded in the manner of ISIS also massacred its inhabitants. Like ISIS, until it invaded Syria, they imposed penalties. These are the supporters of the Saudi military, who made the flogging of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi appear as a minor misdemeanor. Hypocrisy was the slogan of Arab history at the last stage, as was European history. Of course, petroleum had no meaning in those days. The Saudi ruler was sent to Constantinople in 1818, and was beheaded by the great power in the region – the Ottoman Empire – and the European countries did not mind. Then a young captain in the British army (William Hunter) was able to explore Diriyah, the ruined capital of the Wahhabis, with complete satisfaction. But due to successive campaigns of invasion by the Al Saud-Wahhabi alliance, and with the rapid transformation resulting from pumping and using oil instead of cheap naphtha in the markets of the Western world, Wahhabi violence, including the destruction of mosques and ancient Islamic monuments and the killing of what they considered (the infidels) to be separated from the House of Saud and ignored by Europeans and Americans. And a historical fact was erased, which is that Muhammad bin Saud, the leader of Najd, married the daughter of Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab.

Fisk exposed the contradiction between the stance of Western countries in the nineteenth century towards the expansion of the Wahhabi movement and what his country and other Western countries are doing today, as he pointed out that although Europe is facing ISIS within it as Britain used to do with the Wahhabis in the past, while at the time Now, on the part of Europeans and Americans, there is a “drawing of a dividing line between the moderates loyal to the oil-rich West who follow the same behavior as ISIS: the Saudis who criticized the terrorist attack in Paris, which is praised by Western countries that ignore the fact that these actions are the work of their Wahhabi friends who behead criminals.” Convicted under grossly unfair trials, torture and persecution of those who disagree with them, and flogging of their rebellious journalists. Saudi Wahhabism weeps with crocodile tears over the killing, of innocents in Europe and elsewhere, while sympathizing with extremists in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan who massacre aid workers and journalists, destroy monuments and enslave women.

The British journalist drew attention to the background of Western disregard for Saudi Arabia’s involvement in supporting extremism, pointing out, “The situation is distinctive for the Saudis, 15 out of 19 airplane kidnappers of the 11th of December accident: George Bush made immediate arrangements for the safe transfer of Saudis, some of them from the Bin Laden family, from the United States. Bin Laden himself was a Saudi before his citizenship was revoked. The Taliban group was funded and armed by the Saudis and also had a similar institution to the Committee for the Promotion of Vice and Prevention of Good; Saudi Wahhabi religious police in Riyadh and Jeddah. The Saudis are very valuable to us, Tony Blair was able to close the British police investigation into a joint bribery incident (the Al-Yamamah deal) because the national interest was for us not for them, was at stake anyways.”

Fisk shed light on the penetration of Wahhabism in Europe, especially in its east and center, where the European countries with a Muslim majority such as Bosnia and Albania, and saw that there is a replacement for the manifestations of Islamic education and culture there with Wahhabi money that scorns the culture and Islam of these people and supports ISIS at the same time. Journalists who sympathize with fellow victims of Wahhabi thought and who criticize Saudi Arabia are being confronted and threatened with trials by lawyers assigned by the Saudi government. In this context, Fisk cited what the Irish writer Fintan O’Toole said, who pointed out that a hundred billion dollars bought a lot of silence while talking about the circumstances of the Charlie Hebdo incident, where he said, “The House of Saud runs the brutal tyranny…While the killers of Charlie Hebdo turned to Maximum censorship was the  savage lashing of blogger Raif Badawi for daring to promote public debate.”

At the end of his article, Fisk pointed out that “Wahhabi grave-breakers threaten to destroy the tomb of the Prophet (Muhammad), peace be upon him, as a religious duty, just as they smashed the graves of the Companions and saints in Africa and the Middle East.”

The writer concluded his article by saying, “We certainly know the common slogan [the Saudis are at the forefront of the war against extremism] by arresting, torturing and imprisoning [extremists], condemning ISIS [extremists] and standing behind the French and Europeans against [extremism] side by side with the Egyptians, Russians, Pakistanis and all these [democracies]. [in their] war against reprehensible terrorism.