[Reader-list] Waiting for the Fall of Saudi Monarchy : By Zaheer Ali

Wed Apr 13 22:19:54 IST 2011

Evolution of genuine democracy in the Middle East will liberate Islam itself from the clutches of the self appointed benefactors of pan Islamic movements worldwide leading to a better understanding of its tenets. In absence of pan Islamic fervour & foreign funds/AK-47s/mercenaries/ Kashmir ceases to be an issue. Rgds all LA-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:27:55 +0530
> From: ysikand at gmail.com
> To: anusaba at gmail.com
> Subject: [Reader-list] *Waiting for the Fall of Saudi Monarchy* : By Zaheer	Ali
> 
> *Waiting for the Fall of Saudi Monarchy*
> 
> *By: Zaheer Ali*
> 
> The current turmoil in North Africa and the Arabian region of
> Asia is something that might have momentous consequences for the world that
> is dependent a great deal on Arab oil. There are all sorts of analyses and
> predictions regarding the unrest in the Arab lands that have remained or
> forced to remain politically dormant by the local
> autocrats/monarchs/dictators and their western political masters. Two things
> 
> assign a very significant position to the Middle East, oil and Islam. The
> first one is badly required by most of the countries in the world to keep
> their industrialized economies moving and the second one is an extremely
> feared faith especially in Western Europe and the USA which believe that it
> represents an opposite value-system to that of theirs and for that reason
> its adherents are potential terrorists who might destroy the Western world
> by means of violence. These beliefs have always been the cardinal principles
> 
> of the foreign policies of most of the Western European nations and the USA.
> 
> However, they are cunning enough to camouflage these guiding principles of
> their foreign policies by employing various euphemisms such as regional
> security, geopolitical considerations, respecting local culture and faith,
> extending technological expertise and so on depending upon the context.
> Western world, in reality, has three major objectives in relation to their
> Middle East foreign policy. The first one is obviously to exploit the oil
> resources of the Arab world to their advantage, the second one is to keep
> militarizing Israel so that it maintains its dominant position in the region
> 
> to function as an outpost of the Western world and third is to check the
> activities of the radical Islamists who might be helping terrorist
> organizations such as al-Qaeda.
> 
> In order to protect their interests the Western world, in particular, the
> USA have been successfully implementing a strategy for decades i.e. to keep
> the Arab masses politically ignorant so that they remain the loyal subjects
> of their autocratic and corrupt rulers. It is in this background we may have
> 
> to gauge the significance of Saudi Arabia, a country ruled by the most
> ruthless and corrupt monarchy which is totally supported by the USA. In
> reality the house of Saud and its dominance over the region considered to be
> 
> the holiest land for the Muslims, itself is the creation of the Western
> world. Until the end of the World War I, almost the entire Middle East was
> part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. When the Western world, Britain to be
> precise, got to know about the oil deposits in the Arab land in the
> beginning of the twentieth century, they adopted a strategy comprising
> deceit, conspiracy, immorality and aggression to destabilize the Ottoman
> Empire with an aim to grab the oil-rich deserts of the Middle East. The
> clandestine activities of the British spy T E Lawrence (made popular by the
> movie, Lawrence of Arabia) in the region that is roughly the area of
> present-day Saudi Arabia, were part of the British conspiracy against the
> Ottoman Empire.
> 
> The turn of events prior and after the First World War helped the British to
> 
> achieve their objective. Turkey joined the war on the side of Germany and
> with the defeat of the Axis Powers it provided Britain and France to break
> up the Ottoman Empire and divide its colonies among themselves. During the
> course of war, thanks to the machinations of Lawrence, the Arabs revolted
> against their Turkish masters and helped the British destroy the Turkish
> fighting forces from inside. The territory of present Saudi Arabia was
> consisted of three main provinces of Hejaz, Najd and Asir. The region of
> Hejaz, wherein are located the two holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina,
> was locally under the control of Sharif of Mecca who traced his lineage from
> 
> the Prophet Muhammad. The present rulers of the country were in fact outlaws
> 
> and bandits who would always be at war with the Sharif to grab control of
> the province of Hejaz. The Turkish imperialists, however, had always
> supported the Sharif. Consequently, the members of the house of Al Saud had
> to seek shelter in the desert. When the British launched their clandestine
> campaign to instigate the Arabs against their Turkish masters they made a
> pact with the outlaw Saudis that on gaining victory the Saudis would be made
> 
> the rulers of the region. With the defeat of Turkey in World War I the
> Armistice of Mudros was signed on October 30, 1918 according to which most
> of the Arab lands were handed over to the British. The Saudis who had helped
> 
> the British during the course of the war demanded their pound of flesh and
> the British rewarded them. Thus, the present country of Saudi Arabia came
> into existence in 1932 with the amalgamation of the three provinces with the
> 
> house of Saud as the absolute monarchs. The first thing the usurpers of
> political power did was to name the country after their family name and thus
> 
> the historical provinces of Hejaz, Najd and Asir came to be known as the
> Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There is no parallel in the history of the world
> when a megalomaniac ruler named the entire country after his family name!
> 
> The Saudi monarchy came handy for the Western Powers to retain its control
> over the oil resources of the country. In the post World War II scenario,
> the USA took Saudi Arabia in its firm grip to oversee the outflow of oil. In
> 
> return the unscrupulous and terribly corrupt monarchs have always been given
> 
> a free hand to treat their people like chattels. Saudi Arabian government is
> 
> the worst violator of human rights, gender justice, freedom of speech and
> expression, minority rights, civil liberties and right to freedom of
> religion. The Muslims in the USA demand to construct a mosque a few blocks
> away from the site where the Twin Towers stood before 9/11. However, nobody
> can think of constructing a ten by ten feet church in any part of Saudi
> Arabia. The Saudi rulers get away with all excesses and barbarism because
> the USA extends the unconditional support to the most ruthless monarchy in
> the world.
> 
> The winds of revolt that are blowing in the Middle East are no doubt long
> over due and a healthy sign of people’s aspirations to participate in the
> affairs of their nations. However, it is difficult to say that these revolts
> 
> will necessarily lead to the establishment of democracy in the region. The
> two major stumbling blocks are the USA and Saudi Arabia. While the former
> enjoys the military and diplomatic supremacy in world politics the latter
> exploits the religious sentiments of the Muslim world. The USA could not
> directly intervene in the uprisings of Tunisia and Egypt because the
> autocrats of the two countries had outlived as the protectors of American
> interests in the region. In Libya the USA and its NATO allies are directly
> taking military action because they want to get rid of Gaddafi who is
> putting up a stiff resistance against the revolutionaries. In Bahrain, a
> tiny country comprising 70 % Shia population the USA and the Saudi Arabia
> support a brutal Sunni monarch because it serves their purpose to contain
> Iran’s political ambitions. For public consumption the Obama administration
> did express its displeasure over Saudi move to send its troops to Bahrain to
> 
> kill and torture the protestors. Nevertheless, the Saudi action had the
> clandestine approval of Washington.
> 
> The turmoil in the Middle East is certainly the expression of democratic
> aspirations of the people of the region who have been suffering under
> barbaric monarchies and autocracies for long. These rebellions can reach to
> their logical conclusion only if the USA refrains from interfering directly
> or indirectly in the affairs of the region and most importantly the people
> of Saudi Arabia who are politically leading a life of slavery rise against
> the tyrannical rule of the House of Saud..Unless the Saudi monarchy is
> overthrown the region would never become truly democratic.
> 
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> The writer is a political commentator and heads the Centre for Promotion of
> Democracy and Secularism.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
> 
> 
> --The Buddha
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