I have been on record criticizing the authorities of Saudi Arabia as the worst people in the world, with their oppression of women, corporal and capital punishment for ridiculous things like blasphemy and sorcery, their export of intolerant religious fundamentalism, their near-genocidal war against Yemeni Shiites, and material support for terrorist groups. I can't think of a more loathsome coterie of fanatics.
Currently, the Saudis are involved in a diplomatic conflict with, of all places, Canada, over criticism of the kingdom's human rights record. They have withdrawn diplomats, expelled Canadian diplomats, pulled students out of Canadian universities, and restricted trade. Sadly, other nations have not stood by Canada in this conflict.
The real bizarre dimension of this conflict is the hamfisted attempt by the Saudis to wage a disinformation campaign, complete with claims that Jordan Peterson is a political prisoner and allegations of camel abuse. I cannot think of a sillier international spat.
I was reading a while back about how many years ago, it was the collaboration between the Wahhabis and the Sauds that really screwed things up in the Muslim world. Essentially, the local power brokers made nice with some really fundamentalist Muslims and then struck it rich with oil, importing workers from throughout the region and then indoctrinating them with this version of the faith.
ReplyDeleteThey're sort of the worst of the worst but they've got so much money that we make way too nice with them, even when they're responsible for most of the ills we blame on the poorer nations of the region.
Go Canada!
The royal House of Saud runs everything. If a citizen is not "of the blood," and thereby "connected," there are harsh limits to how far one may rise in the ranks; civil service, military, whatever. Even a connected blood relative is subject to whims of the top male sibling.
ReplyDeleteMy closest Muslim friends are from Morocco, and they deplore what the Saudis are trying to do there, between pushing fundamentalism and acting in misogynistic fashion toward local women and girls.
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