Saturday, November 25, 2017

Why Are We Backing the Beast?



Canada's Middle East policy, whether Conservative or Liberal, is shameful. We back Israel on everything (just look at our voting record in the UN General Assembly if you don't believe that) and, on the Muslim side, we support the Saudis and their underlings, the Gulf States. Why?

The Saudis represent the cornerstone of Sunni Islam which, to Israel, is the lesser of two weevils, the worst being Shiite Islam represented by Iran. Hence we too side with the Saudis and villify the mullahs of Tehran.

Sunni, Shia, Salafi, Wahhabi, Sufi - to a Westerner it can be so confusing.

In the wake of a murderous attack on a Sufi mosque in Egypt, Deutsche Welle published a very helpful examination of the parties to the turmoil rocking the Middle East and it's a perspective that lays bare Canada's hypocrisy in denouncing Iran while giving the Saudis a convenient pass.


First of all, a quick look at the recent terrorist targets, the Sufi, known in some corners as the "whirling Dervishes."

Sufism is a mystical and acetic Islam practiced by tens of millions of Muslims. Known as "Tasawwuf" in the Muslim world, in the West it is often erroneously thought of as a separate sect.

Sufism is more prominent among Sunnis, but there are also Shiite Sufi orders, or "tariqa."

Followers of Sufism believe they can become closer to Allah through inner purification and introspection. They do this by meditating and receiving guidance from their spiritual leaders, or "murshid" (guide).

Adherents of Sufism follow the five pillars of Islam just as other practicing Muslims. They declare faith in one God Allah and Mohammed as his messenger, pray five times a day, give to charity, fast and perform the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Sheikh Esref Efendi described Sufism for DW.

"The Sufis are Muslims and live Islam in perfection with body and soul. The body of Islam is Sharia, the law, and soul of Islam is Sufism, spirituality. For Sufis, Sharia is indispensable, because law provides order in life and Sufism provides for joy in life. The daily remembrance of God in the dhikr and the different forms of meditation in the community, strengthen the conscious feeling of closeness to God and the charity for the other."

He continued: "Sufis adhere to the prophet's tradition of loving every creature for the sake of the Creator's love. So they overlook the mistakes and blemishes of the people they encounter and only look at the light of God in them. By recognizing the light of God, the Sufis practice forgiveness of mistakes of man."

And then there's the Muslim bad boys, oddly enough our allies, the devotees of Sunni Wahhabism which just happens to be the state religion of Saudi Arabia.

The 18th Century saw the emergence of a new puritanical Islamic ideology and movement on the Arab peninsula that would later give birth to violent extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and IS.

Wahhabism sought to purge Sunni Islam of accretions and innovations such as the widespread Sufi practice of venerating saints and visiting tombs and shrines. The goal was to create a "pure" Islam.

The Wahhabi movement allied with the House of Saud, which eventually established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

From the 1960s onward, Saudi and Arab Gulf oil wealth helped fuel the global expansion of Wahhabism ideology, which is often associated with hardline Salafism.

Salafist jihadists have repeatedly targeted Sufis, deeming them heretics. They have also targeted Christians, Shiites and others they deem apostates.

Al-Qaeda linked militants in 2012 destroyed ancient Sufi shrines in Timbuktu, Mali, drawing international condemnation. But IS that has taken the jihadist violent ideology further.

Earlier this year, an IS suicide bomber killed more than 70 people at a Sufi shrine in Pakistan.


WTF, why are we backing these guys?

Wahhabism vs everything else

For centuries, most of the Muslim world has accepted Sufism, a stance that has been supported by leading mainstream Sunni Muslim scholars and centers of learning.

"The current disputes in the Middle East are not really between 'Sufism' and 'extremism,' but between Wahhabism and everything else," said Winter, adding that mainstream Sunni Islam advocates tolerance and peace.

As Sheikh Esref Efendi explains, IS only sees perceived violations within Islam and "not the people and the light in the people, and therefore call Sufis traitors of Islam."

"IS thinks that any wrong must be punished. They think and commit even the greatest sin of Islam: They declare themselves Gods who can decide on life and death and use violence to kill."

As they say, "lest we forget." Let's remember a few things. The terrorists behind the "embassy bombings" were Sunni Islamist radicals, Wahhabists. The gang that bombed the USS Cole, the same bunch. al Qaeda, al Nusra, Isis, Boko Haram and whatever bunch next crops up, yeah Wahhabists. The 9/11 bombings, of course. Every major terrorist attack across Europe these past several years, radical Sunni Islamists.



So why haven't we gone for the head of the snake and laid waste to the Saudi princes and the Gulf State sheikhs and emirs? We might also ask why our other ally, Israel, is siding with these guys. We might ask but I'm damned sure we won't.


10 comments:

Toby said...

It's a deal, oil for arms, petrodollars and establishment of Israel. The US has reneged on so may deals I don't know why they stick with these. Most likely it has something to do with votes. As to Canada, the US (formerly England) insists. Canada is a good colony.

Northern PoV said...

Last week I saw a headline to the effect that Freeland was the best cabinet minister today. (cause its the Harper policy with slightly better optics, I'd guess). The media are mostly gov't stenographers at this point.

Canada's Foreign Policy:
Russian baiting, Chinese pandering and in the M.East, arms sales and ignorant acquiescence.

the salamander said...

.. I have yet to hear or read.. or see, a coherent 'explanation' of Canada's Foreign Policy, or alliances.. from one of our wonderful elected or unelected politicians.. or back room operators or economic geniuses.. - coherent !

We seem to keep colliding with reality or insanity - in foreign 'factional' (deep religious shite) outbreaks. And then there's Israel.. always a surefire vote base for some reason. I used to believe in their 'cause'.. but lost track of their new mythology or fables a long way back. Yes yes.. I get it, Israel is beset on all sides by the Arab infidels, Russia and China & the entire planet.. Even having vague or (the horror) dark thoughts about the validity of such matters is anti-semetic & deep doo doo.. Don't ever go there (ie with an opinion) if you're journalist or politician.. you will be sorry.. you may be scarred. There aint no upside in other words, to bucking the immediate & inevitable anti-sematic accusations..

Its the one thing essentially all political animals can agree on.. bucking Israel is stupid.. you can't make a dent in that topic without suffering astonishing & punishing backlash. Its an oddity, for sure. But if we think we have a shred of 'underststanding' re Israel, we have not a hope of understanding Daesh, or Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Africa, Asia, Russia, Ukraine, South America.. you name it.. Factional violence or strife wrapped up with 'religion' is everywhere these days.. easy to find, impossible to resolve, old as the hills.. great for arms & weaponry sales !

Why Canada can't get some focus & solutions happening re our own issues instead.. is a complete mystery

Anonymous said...

What's in it for Canada? Mainly oil and weapons sales. At 87,000 barrels per day, Saudi Arabia is our top non-US oil supplier. And at $142 million worth arms in 2016, SA is our top non-US arms client, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of all Canadian munitions exports. Keeping oil and death money flowing shapes our foreign policy.

Cap

Northern PoV said...

"bucking Israel is stupid.. you can't make a dent in that topic without suffering astonishing & punishing backlash"

Salamander is so right... new math:

The effect of critical-comment-on-Israel in Canadian politics, on the speaker here, is inversely proportional to the effect it has on the situation in the middle east.

Trailblazer said...

Charle De Gaulle started the international arms trade ,fiasco, after WWII as to bolster the failing French economy.
It took a while but the idea caught on particularly within the USA.
Oddly the UK was a late comer to the and by extension , Canada.
Nowadays a countries economy can succeed or fail on the quantity of death it can export.

Canada rolled out the carpet,not just literally, in the 1970's for this character!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adnan_Khashoggi
In an event not dissimilar to a Royal visit..

Our economies are based upon falsehoods ( arms trade included)
We once pilfered from the 'undeveloped' world and as we move forward we now pilfer from our own!

At the end of the day we are the beast; for it is us the 'West' that have made it possible.

TB

Anonymous said...

Islam is a totalitarian cult, like Medieval Christianity. Interesting how, back then, Islam was building on the civilization of secular Rome while Europe was a barbarian nightmare. Of course, when Europe stumbled upon calculus, it conquered and colonized the world as barbarians - unlike secular Rome which brought civilization to conquered territories.

The West is still barbarian. Its most egregious geopolitical corruption occurring post war. Iran was secular and democratic before the Anglo Deep State overthrew its government in 1953. (They hunkered down in religious fundamentalism to throw off their evil oppressors.)

My guess: the Western Deep State wants the Sunnis to win because they're totalitarian. They're using "1984" as an operations manual. The "three sheaves" philosophy: divide the world up into totalitarian oligarchies that are perpetually at war, but also allies. Instead of the government lobbing V2s on its citizens, they import jihadists. Same effect.

Looks like Twinkle Toes is eager to pop Canada's terrorism cherry. Importing ISIS fighters directly, plus a big surge in immigration. Sunni ways!

The Mound of Sound said...

Anon 6:24, I can't tell which is worse, your ignorance or your stupidity. "Islam" is a totalitarian cult? You treat it as some amorphous entity. I expect you've acquired your insubstantial knowledge of Islam from a particular segment of the media. I would argue with you but what's the point? You're stupid as shit.

Anonymous said...

I would say you're naïve. History is polluted with societies that had aggressive empire-building ambitions. I just outlined these corrupt empire-like behaviors – post war! – by various Western Deep States for nothing more than money.

Unlike Christianity and Buddhism, Islam was founded on empire building. An entity does emerge when evoked in the name of "Allah is the greatest" and Mohammed is his prophet. Islam has expanded to over 50 nations and they are getting more radical and aggressive.

You accuse Trump supporters, and Trump himself, of being carried to fascist excess by a similar patriotic instinct, which is nothing more than absurd rhetoric if you know anything about the history of real fascists like Mussolini, Hitler and Pinochet. (The last one inflicted on Chile, along with other Southern Cone nations, by the American Deep State. Again, for nothing more than plutocratic greed.)

Isn't that hypocritical and ass-backwards? A functioning democratic government is a fascist dictatorship and an aggressive empire-building fanatical religion guilty of all manner of anti-progressive human rights abuses: sweet, pure and innocent? (Perhaps you believe Russian lizard people have secretly overthrown the American government.)

I hope you enjoyed looking the other way on the various crises in Europe caused by a flood of Muslim refugees. (Thanks to Obomba tearing up the Middle East for military-industrial-complex kickbacks to be paid in speaking fees.) Because they're coming here now. Going to be harder to look the other way now.

Is this the price a nation has to pay for adopting a flaky birdbrain ideology that does absolutely nothing but signal fake virtue? Less taxing on the establishment than real virtue, I imagine.

Anonymous said...

"Sunni, Shia, Salafi, Wahhabi, Sufi - to a Westerner it can be so confusing." No more confusing than all the Protestant religions. Had to make the comparison and I know that is not the point of your blog.