Siege of Mecca and International Sunni Islamist Terrorism based on Gulf Petrodollars and Western Intrigues
Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
In the 1980s, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and some other nations began to fund Sunni Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan. This meddling came hot on the heels of the Siege of Mecca in Saudi Arabia in 1979. Therefore, the funding of radical Sunni Islamism in Afghanistan came at a very opportunistic time for the feudal rulers of Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan became the central base in training international Sunni jihadists and spreading Islamism in Afghanistan. Irrespective of the motives in Afghanistan and the rights and wrongs, it is clear that the convulsions from intervening in this nation are still being felt in many nations today. The United States and Pakistan unleashed the CIA and ISI respectively, in order to create a Sunni Islamist fighting force that could take on the Soviet Union. British special intelligence also played its part in this covert war, therefore, turning the clock forward to 2016 then it is clear that a stream of failed states is based on outside meddling.
In the case of Pakistan then the ISI and central government have created their own Sunni Islamist Takfiri nightmare because this nation can no longer contain the forces it unleashed. This means that the Islamist agenda now views the government of Pakistan to be anti-Islamic with the knock-on effect being increased hatred towards all minorities in this nation. Therefore, all minorities irrespective if Muslim or non-Muslim are facing the wrath of Takfiri Islamism and this can be seen by attacks against Ahmadiyya Muslims, Shia Muslims, Hindus, Christians and against the followers of Sufi Islam.
When brave Sunni Muslim voices in Pakistan speak out like Salman Taseer, the former Governor of Punjab, then death follows. At the same time, Christians have been burnt alive and attacks against Shia Muslims is part and parcel of modern day Pakistan. The most worrying aspect is that these crimes against humanity are not happening only in areas of chaos because of the power of several Sunni Islamist organizations – but it is also happening within mainstream society.
This means that all the past funding of militant Sunni Islamism by nations who supported the war in Afghanistan have collectively created a nightmare that was filled with the dreams of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf powers. It is clear that while the United States and the United Kingdom were focusing on the sole issue of Afghanistan, that fellow Gulf allies and Pakistan had different ideas. At no point did either nation appear to understand the dynamics of militant Sunni Islamism that began to alter the religious and political landscape.
Yet dangerous past political leaders in Pakistan like General Zia ul-Haq, along with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, would alter the dynamics of the Muslim world in this part of Asia. The repercussions continue today with various militant Sunni Islamist movements causing mayhem in Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively. At the same time, the roles of women have suffered greatly in areas where Islamists have strong power-bases. Likewise, sectarianism, terrorism and weakened central states in Afghanistan and Pakistan have followed the vacuum that was unleashed – likewise, modern day Libya is in crisis based on the same meddling powers.
Therefore, sectarian Takfiri attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan are natural realities in this part of the world. On top of this, the US-led invasion of Iraq that led to the exodus of vast numbers of Christians and other minorities was also filled by Takfiri Islamism and rampant sectarianism. Iraq, despite the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, was staunchly secular and internal terrorism was not a threat to the government based in Baghdad. However, once the US entered the equation then the vacuum once more was filled by various Sunni Takfiri Islamist organizations including al-Qaeda. Also, just like September 11 was done by mainly Saudi nationals, this nation also provided the single largest number of foreign Islamists who went to Iraq in order to kill US soldiers and other allied forces – along with killing Shia Muslims.
The angle from Saudi Arabia was that the control mechanisms of the new Iraq had installed a Shia-led government against the wishes of Riyadh. After all, for Takfiri Islamists who follow the Wahhabi faith in Saudi Arabia, this was tantamount to treachery. Once more, just like American citizens had been killed on September 11 because of mainly Saudi nationals, it was now American soldiers who would die in the thousands because of Saudi Islamists and the funding that came from Gulf nations – irrespective if from organizations or because of wealthy individuals. The irony now – and a sad irony for American soldiers – was that the majority of American deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq were because of the policies of their so-called friends in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia respectively. Once more, however, the United States and elites within Washington appeared to allow this confused policy to stand by ignoring the ratlines that were killing their own soldiers.
Today Iraq falls into the “failed state domino system” that often follows outside meddling by other nations. Therefore, terrorism is a daily reality in Iraq, vast numbers of minorities have fled, women have suffered in parts of the country, the north is de-facto under Kurdish rule and sectarianism blights the nation state. However, political leaders once more in Washington have now unleashed another brutal vacuum in Syria despite the ongoing problems in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan.
At no point during the leadership of Bashar al-Assad did religious minorities have to worry about their future prior to outside meddling. Likewise, women in Syria have freedoms that could only be dreamed about in Afghanistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other nations within the US orbit in the Middle East. Indeed, unlike in France that infringes on the way Muslim females must dress, or in Switzerland which puts restrictions on Muslim places of worship – in Syria women decide how they want to dress and all religious faiths have places to worship.
However, the so-called “Arab Spring” was usurped by powerful forces and for Saudi Arabia and Qatar, it was a time to fill the vacuum with Sunni Takfiri Islamists. The Libya crisis once more is unleashing forces that are still ongoing and this applies to chaos and no central control. Alongside this is the destabilization of northern Mali because of forces unleashed by the demise of Libya. It is still too early to say which way the future will go in Libya but clearly Islamic terrorist groups and Islamist religious organizations are intent on filling the vacuum. In northern Mali, they have already altered the landscape and this area will be a base for further chaos throughout the region irrespective of central forces and outside support.
Syria, therefore, remained the most powerful and independent Arabic speaking nation that was staunchly secular and free from outside control. Neither America nor Saudi Arabia could pull the strings of this nation but once demonstrations began in Syria then outside forces soon entered. The emergence of “a ghost Free Syrian Army (FSA)” soon emerged rapidly just like the rise of the Kosovo Liberation Army and rebels in Libya. Clearly, all these forces rose far too quickly for them to be spontaneous therefore long-term policy objectives had been waiting in the wings to fill any vacuum that may emerge – or, to create a vacuum by unleashing powerful forces quickly.
From very early on in the Syrian crisis, many soldiers were killed by non-peaceful demonstrators in deplorable ways. Bashar al-Assad admitted himself that mistakes were made in the early period but if it wasn’t for outside forces then the situation was containable. The crisis in Bahrain remains because the Shia feel neglected and forces within the Sunni population also have many misgivings. Despite the brutal crackdown in Bahrain, it is clear that the death rate is much lower than Syria because no outside nation is giving military arms to new proxies. On the contrary, Saudi Arabia was allowed to get involved in order to crush the uprising in Bahrain that happened to be spontaneous.
In the case of Syria, the nations of Saudi Arabia and Qatar are funding international terrorists and mercenaries. Also, Turkey is another aggressor to Syria because this nation is allowing the FSA and various Islamist organizations to have bases near the border with Syria. The CIA and Islamist agenda, unlike in Iraq and Afghanistan after September 11 (before this both were allies), have once more converged in order to destabilize Syria. Just like in Afghanistan it is clear that America’s only interest is to reduce the power of the Russian Federation and Iran respectively, with regards to geopolitics. However, just like in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan; the Saudi Arabia objective is Sunni Islamism and spreading the Wahhabi/Salafist version of Islam.
The upshot of all this is that Syria is being destabilized by many forces which are supporting sedition, sectarianism, and terrorism. Once more, this policy is impacting on the region and Lebanon remains very delicate and terrorist attacks have also started to increase in Iraq. Now in modern day Syria both the FSA and Islamists are beheading people, killing minorities, killing Iraqi refugees who fled to Syria, killing individuals who support Bashar al-Assad, killing journalists and TV reporters. Recent videos taken by the FSA show dead people being thrown from rooftops and captured individuals being photographed before being murdered.
Collectively, the deaths that people are currently reading about in the news or seeing on television in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and now Syria; all relate to the policies based in Washington and whereby other allies like Saudi Arabia have funded the carnage. Pakistan also continues to be blighted by Islamism because of dangerous policies which were enacted by past leaders. Other nations like Mali and Lebanon are feeling these shockwaves while closer to home Islamists are also spreading radicalism in major cities throughout Europe. Therefore, the powerful tremors of the Siege of Mecca in 1979 when Juhayman al-Otaibi and his followers stormed Mecca continues to reverberate around the Islamic world within the religious arena.
This single event galvanized America and Saudi Arabia to further bankroll Sunni Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan and bordering regions of Pakistan from 1979 onward and up until the demise of the Soviet Union. After all, the elites in Saudi Arabia needed a distraction and America and the United Kingdom were worried about the repercussions of this extremely important event. It could well be that internal convulsions in Saudi Arabia are also behind events in Syria just like what happened after the Siege of Mecca with Afghanistan. After all, it is clear that the Shia community and elements within the Sunni population are unhappy with the current feudal leaders of Saudi Arabia. Likewise, Saudi Arabia is supporting sectarianism in Bahrain and Yemen respectively and this helps to fill the “restive Islamist void in Saudi Arabia.”
Irrespective of all the factors of why America, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, France, Turkey and the United Kingdom are destabilizing Syria, it is clear that the forces being unleashed will not be contained if central forces in Syria collapse. America is now worried about this because of what happened in Iraq based on the tenacity of the Syrian government. Despite this, elites in Washington have allowed Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey to destabilize Syria based on the deeds of the CIA, MI6, MIT, DGSE and other international covert operatives in NATO Turkey. The upshot of this is that ISIS and other terrorist forces are a major threat to Iraq and Syria. Similarly, the same reality is happening in Yemen in 2016 because of the direct meddling of the anti-Shia Saudi Arabia led coalition.
One thing is for sure, the current carnage and daily terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan and Syria are all linked with the policies of Washington and the money emanating from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. All the above nations were once mainly free from international terrorism (some happened from time to time) but once the United States and Gulf petrodollars entered the equation then this all changed. The destabilization of Syria is following an all too familiar pattern and the same applies to the spread of terrorism and sectarianism once political elites in Washington and Riyadh get involved. However, just like what happened in Afghanistan in the 1980s and early 1990s, it is clear that forces being unleashed against Syria can’t be contained and this reality is also threatening Iraq once more.
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
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