Politics: When it is concerned, religion seems to be quickly flung out the window.

This is a recycling of an article I have previously posted on this blog. I have brushed it a bit, and added more information.

The reason of recycling the article is the news I came across a while ago that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given the green light to Israel to use the northern Saudi air space in case Israel and the USA wanted to launch an attack on Iran; a plan which is actually in progress.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) religion, which is Islam, is mainly based on Wahhabi Islam school of thought. Hence the Saudi-Israeli cooperation against Iran is a matter that confuses any Muslim, religious or secularist alike.

Avoiding to use the word “sects”, which is being used by “orientalists” (westerner scholars who are interested in Middle Eastern studies and their Christian prespective on Islam), as when it comes to Islamic Jurisprudence, there are no SECTS in Islam, but schools of thought, there are 4 Islamic schools prevelant not only in the Middle East, but also in the Islamic societies throughout the whole Islamic nation. These 4 schools are: Shafi’i, Malki, Hanafi, and Hanbali. They are all based on the pure principles of Islam; the Qur’an, the Sunnah (Muhammad’s actions and Hadith “sayings”) the action of the Four Guided Caliphs, and then “Kiyas” (deduction within the guidance of the former three).

One school of thought could be stricter than the other, but they all agreed on the basics Islam, including the Wahhabi school which is extremely strict.

Don’t judge the whole by your judgment of the part, otherwise you will reach a wrong conclusion. It is illogical.

Too many critics of Islam, including atheists, fail to appreciate just how diverse and varied Islam can be. 

There are things you can say that apply to all or most Muslims, as is the case with Christianity, but there are many more things which only apply to some or a few Muslims. This is especially true when it comes to Muslim extremism because Wahhabi Islam, the primary religious movement behind extremist Muslims, includes beliefs and doctrines not found elsewhere. It would be a mistake and unethical to criticize all of Islam on the basis of doctrines particular to Wahhabi Muslims. 

Modern Islamic extremism and terrorism simply cannot be explained or understood without looking at the history and influence of Wahhabi Islamic version. This means that it's important from an ethical and an academic perspective to understand what Wahhabi Islamic version teaches, what's so dangerous about it, and why those teachings differ from other branches of Islam.

Who is Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab?

Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab (d. 1792) was the first modern Islamic fundamentalist, but an extremist.

Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab made the central point of his reform movement the principle that absolutely every idea added to Islam after the third century of the Mulsim era (about 950 CE) was false and should be eliminated. Muslims, in order to be true Muslims, must adhere solely and strictly to the original beliefs set forth by prophet Muhammad.

So far, this is not bad, but Ibn-Abdul-Wahab did not take into consideration the leniency of Islam, and the leniency of the prophet of Islam in the rules set forth.

The reason for this extremist stance, and the focus of Wahhabi's reform efforts, was a number of popular practices which he believed represented a regression to pre-Islamic polytheism. These included praying to saints, making pilgrimages to tombs and special mosques, venerating trees, caves, and stones, and using votive and sacrificial offerings.

In contrast to popular superstitions, Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab emphasized the unity of God. This focus on absolute monotheism; to him and his followers is referred to as “Unitarianism”. Everything else he denounced as heretical innovation. Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab was further dismayed at the widespread laxity in adhering to traditional Islamic laws: questionable practices like the ones above were allowed to continue, whereas the religious devotions which Islam did require were being ignored. This created indifference to the plight of widows and orphans, adultery, lack of attention to obligatory prayers, and failure to allocate shares of inheritance fairly to women.

Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab characterized all this as being typical of “Jahiliyya”, an important term in Islam which refers to the barbarism and state of ignorance which existed prior to the coming of Islam. Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab thus identified himself with the Prophet Muhammad and at the same time connected his society with what Muhammad worked to overthrow. Because so many Muslims lived in “Jahiliyya”, Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab accused them of not being true Muslims after all.

Obviously, Wahhabi religious leaders reject any reinterpretation of the Qur’an when it comes to issues settled by the earliest Muslims. Wahhabis thus oppose the 19th and 20th century Muslim reform movements which reinterpreted aspects of Islamic law.

What's Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia is a monarchy country located in the Arabian Peninsula in the Asiatic part of the Middle east.

So far since its inception it has been ruled by the family of Saud; King Abdul Aziz, the father (founder), king Saud (eldest son) who was uneducated and a womanizer,  King Faisal (third son), hero of the famous “oil embargo”; a fair king who was sympathetic to the Middle eastern issues and was assassinated by a member of the Saudi family trained by the CIA for such specific task, King Khaled (fourth son), a moderate king who, during his rein, the kingdom bloomed financially,  King Fahd (fifth son); an ignorant, uneducated, and an American agent playboy and, currently, King Abdullah (Sixth son), who is another uneducated, ignorant member of the royal family. 

The name of the kingdom (Saudi Arabia) always kept me wondering. All countries in the Middle East have names like: Lebanon, Syria, Arab Republic of Egypt, the United Arab Emirate, Morocco, etc., except for Saudi Arabia, which is named after the family name of the royal family, as if this rotten family owns the land and the people.

I have worked in Saudi Arabia for quite a while. I reasoned with young Saudis as well as old ones. Of course, there are ones who kiss the "ass" of the royal family. But there also many who are not happy with them. Hence, a fair person should not judge the whole nation by his/her judgment to the rulers (Saudis, in general, are decent and generous people, contrary to the propaganda waged by the Zionists proaganda machine to smear them). For example, the Egyptians are nice people, but the regime ruling the country is rotten.

Shiites, what's for them and what's against them.

Based on one’s understanding of the Wahhabi school, Shiite Iran will not be considered as a Muslim country. In fact, I, myself do not like the Iranian understanding of Islam as there are many issues prohibited by the 4 schools of thought mentioned above whose prohibition is based on solid understanding of the Qur’an,  the Sunnah, etc. Example: Zawag al Mut’ah “pleasure marriage", which, in my mind, is nothing but a liscence given to fornicate in the guise of marriage.

Nevertheless, based on the fact that “who testifies that there is no God beside God, that Muhammad is the Messenger of God”, is a Muslim, I do not agree with the Wahhabi followers’ attitude regarding the Shiites. Iran is definitely a Muslim country who might have gone stray regarding specific issues in Islam.

In fact, according to the Wahhabi followers' attitude towards Iranian Muslims, and in view of all the crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinians and the global human societies, the recent Saudi-Israeli cooperation against Iran defeats the principles of the Wahhabi followers.

To me, it seems when politics are concerned, religion is quickly flung out the window. Is this good or bad? I actually don’t know. But when a country  that prides itself on being the protector of Islam, then the Saudi-Israeli cooperation as regard the fight against Iran is, on the Saudi side, the personification of hypocrisy.

Are they really cooperating? I hope not.