Role of Saudi monarchy in promoting reaction

[Paul Cockshott]

A good exposure of the role of the King of Saudi Arabia in funding and promoting reactionary ideology here:
http://criticalppp.com/archives/266499

[Vercingetorix]

The Saudi royal family has something like 16,000 members.

If the Arab Spring ever arrives there in earnest, it will be led by "renegade" Saudi princes.

[Nakidana]

Comes across as just another islamophobic POS article to me. I mean just look at this crap:


I would expect the British authorities to not just hunt down the terrorists, but also to fight the cancer of this radical Saudi literalist ideology that is the root of this terrorism. As a British citizen, I expect my safety and protection guaranteed by the state. I do not feel safe, I want the state to take these Islamofascists heads on add stop cosying upto them and Arab states. Muslims who see the West as the enemy and seek its destruction have become even more strong by the lack of resolve.The state should crack down on the "Islamofascist cancer"? Really? This might as well have been written by an EDL nutcase.

I don't think the root cause of the problem is Arab countries funding mosques. I think the root cause is the US and Britain invading and bombing the Middle East and South Asia.

[Paul Cockshott]

The Saudi's and other gulf monarchies were funding their obscurantism long before that, and have been hand in glove with the US and the UK in promoting Jihadist groups since the days when they funded the opposition to the socialist government in Afghanistan. Today they are funding the mercernaries in Syria. Last year it was Libya. The reason why the UK state can not crack down on it is their close foreign policy alliance with the Saudi monarchy.

The post is from a PPP website, ie from a social democratic website. Social democrats in Pakhistan know what they are talking about when they compare the Taliban there to fascists. They are using the classic tactics of fascism : terror and intimidation against left wing parties.

[TheCultofAbeLincoln]

In light of the Arab Spring (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring), Abdullah laid down a $37-billion programme of new spending including new jobless benefits, education and housing subsidies, debt write-offs, and a new sports channel. There was also a pledge to spend a total of $400bn by the end of 2014 to improve education, health care and the kingdom’s infrastructure.[32] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-32) However, Saudi police arrested 100 Shiite protesters who complained of government discrimination.[33] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-.22af.reuters.com.22-33) Later during the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%932012_Saudi_Arabian_protests), in September 2011, the King announced women's right to vote (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage#Saudi_Arabia) in the 2015 municipal council elections (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabian_municipal_elections,_2015), a first significant reform step in the country since the protests. He also stated that women would become eligible to take part in the unelected shura (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consultative_Assembly_of_Saudi_Arabia).[34] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-34)[35] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-35)

In January 2012, King Abdullah dismissed the head of Saudi Arabia's powerful religious police, replacing him with a more moderate cleric, state news agency SPA reported without giving reasons. Abdullatif Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh, was named in place of Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Humain, to head the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_for_the_Promotion_of_Virtue_and_Prevent ion_of_Vice). King Abdullah, appointed Humain in 2009 to head the "mutaween" which ensures the strict application of the country's ultra-conservative version of Islam, as a step towards reforming it. Humain hired consultants to restructure the organisation, met local human rights groups and consulted professional image-builders in a broad public relations campaign. Under his leadership the commission also investigated and punished some out-of-control officers for misbehaviour.[36] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-36)

In July 2012, Saudi Arabia announced that it would allow its women athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time. Officials say the country's Olympic Committee will "oversee participation of women athletes who can qualify". The decision will end recent speculation as to whether the entire Saudi team could have been disqualified on grounds of gender discrimination. The public participation of women in sport is still fiercely opposed by many Saudi religious conservatives. There is almost no public tradition of women participating in sport in the country. Saudi officials said that, if successful in qualifying, female competitors would be dressed "to preserve their dignity".[37] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-37) On 11 January 2013, King Abdullah appointed thirty women to the Consultative Assembly or Shura Council (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consultative_Assembly_of_Saudi_Arabia) as well as modified the related law to realize that the female members of the assembly would be consisted of no less than 20 percent of 150 members

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia#Domestic_affairs


If the Arab Spring ever arrives there in earnest, it will be led by "renegade" Saudi princes.

Such a thing is possible, but I don't think it would occur in order to usher in a long-awaited wave of progressive overhaul. Quite the opposite I would wager, personally.

[GerrardWinstanley]

This article is classic racist essentialism, laying the blame for Islamic terrorism on muslims in general for somehow not doing enough challenge the extremists. As if Islam were an ahistorical monolith and not a part of the ideological superstructure that changes and adapts to material conditions.

In addition, it plays off the racist, xenophobic alarmism in Britain over muslim communities, suggesting Anjem Choudary were somehow representative of it and not the pathetic media sideshow (hated by most British muslims) he actually is.

Also, it's a minor point, but that website article praises the delegation of far right European politicians in Syria (including the BNP's Nick Griffen) for a reception with the Syrian PM. Just saying...