As the recent 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut, Tunisia and San Bernardino show, Islamic State has achieved a global reach. No longer satisfied with terrorizing regions throughout the Middle East, it is marketing, recruiting, training and supplying terrorists to carry out barbaric acts around the world.
Nwaf Obaid, a former communications adviser to the Saudi government, is decrying the pointing of fingers, as to who is responsible for the creation of ISIS. He is particularly sensitive to those accusing Saudi Arabia for being at fault. Mr. Obaid has written an opinion piece in the 12/22/15 Guardian Magazine arguing why it is crucial for Saudi Arabia to be heavily involved in defeating ISIS. The following are some excerpts from his arguments.
“Three factors clarify Saudi Arabia’s intrinsic and total war on ISIS. First, many people claim that Saudi Arabia is the source of Isis because both practice a version of Islam called Salafism (erroneously known in the west as Wahhabism). Salafism is rooted in the word salaf, or “forefathers”, and refers to the way the prophet Muhammad’s followers in the religion’s first three generations practiced Islam. And while it is true that the kingdom espouses Salafism, Isis’s claim that it is Salafi has no theological basis, because the group is in fact a continuation of a crude sect known as the Kharijites, or the ones who “defected” from the Muslim community (ummah) during the reign of the fourth caliph Ali (whom the Kharijites assassinated). The Kharijites, like ISIS, believe that whoever disagreed with them should be murdered as infidels (takfir), rationalized mass killings against civilians including women and children (isti’rad), and practised an extreme form of inquisition to test their opponents’ faith (imtihan).”
ISIS’s adherence to the Kharijite ideology is not the only reason it is not a true Salafi movement; it has also committed an act of disobedience that effectively nullifies its Salafi pretenses. In original Islamic scriptures and practice, the highest authority is the “guardian” of the ummah, (wali al amr). All religious, political and military powers are concentrated under this authority, which Saudi Arabia’s system best exemplifies in the modern world. In other words, King Salman’s legitimacy to rule is contingent on him being first and foremost the wali al amr of the people, and in return the people show their acceptance of his rule by proclaiming him as their ruler. This proclamation (bay’ah) is a contract between the ruler and the ruled in which the first swears to promote Islam and the welfare of the second, and the second swears to obey (ta’ah) the tenets of Islam and follow the first’s leadership. Should the first deviate from Islam, the second is obliged to replace him. The joint bay’ah of the ummah to the ruler is fundamental to Salafism and anyone that breaks the bay’ah – as ISIS has done – can never again be considered a true Salafi.
Given the importance of the wali al amr to Sunni Islam, ISIS and Saudi Arabia are locked in a theological struggle from which only one can emerge victorious.
The second reason Saudi Arabia and Isis are in complete opposition is that the core mission of ISIS is to restore the caliphate, an Islamic empire led by a supreme leader. Given that the kingdom is the epicenter of Islam, ISIS’s road to the caliphate lies through the kingdom and the Saudi people. ISIS has conducted a series of terrorist attacks in the kingdom in the past year. In response Saudi Arabia has put the group on its list of terrorist sponsors, declared that belonging to or funding Isis is a crime punishable by death and arrested countless ISIS supporters, operatives and financiers.
The final reason why Saudi Arabia is ISIS’s strategic enemy is financial. As an organisation with expanding ambitions, ISIS requires ever-expanding resources. Therefore, just like al-Qaida, ISIS covets the kingdom’s enormous oil fields and monetary wealth.
When ISIS first appeared in Syria in 2011, Saudi Arabia tried to galvanize support for the moderate Syrian opposition. But the world failed to listen. Now Isis is a threat not only to the Middle East but also to the entire world. Only a coalition led by Saudi Arabia can genuinely defeat ISIS while also de- legitimizing the group in the eyes of the wider Muslim world. If the nations of the world hope to completely defeat ISIS, they should stop accusing the Saudis of creating the group and instead join them in defeating it.
Gronda Morin 
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Saudi Arabia and ISIS …
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GRAZIE MILLE! As usual, I am so grateful for all your support and thank you for this reblog.
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Most welcome!! Hugs ….
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A very interesting read. But if I may, I would offer the comment that people find it very hard to see Saudi Arabia as a reliabile broker with their appaling record of pubic executions and the like. It smacks of the same barbarism of which we accuse ISIS. If they want to be taken seriously, they must end such practices as once. We can’t wait for the Kingdom to evelove. There is no time for subtley. It is unacceptable in the modern world as should be stopped now!
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Saudi Arabia does practice Sharia law. Their women were allowed to vote for the first time in 2015.. In 2013, it was finally permitted for a woman to drive a bicycle as long as she is accompanied by a man.The more secular regimes have been the ones being toppled.There is no easy, quick fix to bringing stability and peace to this part of the world. However, Saudi Arabia is a major player in this part of the world to where they cannot be ignored if they are serious about fighting ISIS. This is a question mark.
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Actually, the quick fixes are easy late at night after a drink or two. Yes Saudi is making progress, but they should hurry this thing along.
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Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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GRAZIE MILLE!! Thanks a million for all tour support, encouragement and for this reblog.
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