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From al Sa'ud to al Thani

Reader comment on item: Arabia's Civil War

Submitted by Avraham (United States), May 14, 2003 at 20:43

Today marks a major turning point in the history of the modern Middle East. Qatar announced that it will become the first Arab country to unconditionally recognize Israel. The other Arab regimes that have recognized Israel-Egpyt, Jordan and the PLO-demanded land or other concessions in return. The al Thani family that rules Qatar, however, said that unconditionally recognizing the Jewish democracy was "in our national interest." If the Saudi Wahhabis are to truly defeat the Ikhwan, they too will have to realize that recognizing Israel and enacting major socioeconomic and political reforms are in their national interest. Job opportunities and a sense of purpose and worth will provide the basis for a pluralist and peaceful ideology to counter the Ikhwan.

Indeed, the Ikhwan dominate modern Saudi Arabia because they have gone unchallenged in their quest to radicalize those segments of the Arabian population that are most vulnerable to militant utopian ideologies: the educated but unemployed upper middle class. When someone like Osama bin Laden is given millions of dollars and a first-class education in a society that abhors material possesion as "the Great Satan" and that does not allow for sociopolitical mobility, Ikhwan school teachers like Hassan al Banna, Abdullah Azzam and Umar Abdel Rahman have little difficulty in sailing accross the Red Sea from Cairo to Jiddah and into the hearts and minds of students at Arab universities and mosques.

The al Saud family must recognize his phenomenon and realize what Qatari Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani professed to CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "We can tell our people to hate America, but at the end of the day, they will see the [US military] planes flying from our airports, so what is the point...?"
Submitting....

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Reader comments (32) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Response to comments [180 words]Faisal AlotaibiDec 26, 2005 19:5530599
There is a great need for this kind of information (education) [115 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Attilio Capponi, Ph.D.Aug 29, 2004 20:2116575
Islamic Emirate of Arabia? [507 words]John PowerAug 5, 2004 19:4716249
Let them be what they are! [98 words]Glenn KlotzMay 28, 2003 15:339270
"Cosmopolitan" [61 words]S.C.PandaMay 26, 2003 07:019240
Origin of Violence [106 words]A.A.May 22, 2003 11:179179
How the US is supporting dictatorship and terrorism [277 words]Alain Jean-MairetMay 20, 2003 06:019129
Make a deal with the devil? [25 words]AviMay 19, 2003 18:479126
Bad News? [122 words]Alain Jean-MairetMay 16, 2003 09:439104
The complexity of Saudi Arabia's internal situation [425 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Carool KerstenMay 15, 2003 22:499095
Long Over-Due Explanation [76 words]Jacob BurkeyMay 15, 2003 17:589092
Saudi Dilemma [92 words]Irma RochlinMay 15, 2003 15:119090
Women in Islamism [126 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Johanna MarkindMay 15, 2003 13:109088
Saudi Arabia [18 words]Joah MarderMay 15, 2003 10:499086
A better choice [135 words]Tom PensylMay 15, 2003 09:019084
On what basis? [41 words]John GridleyMay 15, 2003 07:309082
The U.S. should stay out of it [197 words]DiannaMay 15, 2003 07:159081
Another Alternative [11 words]Paul M. NevilleMay 15, 2003 06:019080
Oh man oh man................. [78 words]Devon HillMay 15, 2003 01:559079
Sponsorship of Wahhabi organizations abroad [54 words]William KinneyMay 14, 2003 22:219073
USA and the west should stop the war in Arab land. [98 words]Humphrey W.WalelaNov 19, 2008 03:249073
From al Sa'ud to al Thani [286 words]AvrahamMay 14, 2003 20:439072
Confrontation [55 words]Gene BehlMay 14, 2003 20:089071
Thanks [156 words]Annabel FrostMay 14, 2003 18:309070
The end game [373 words]jmsMay 14, 2003 16:599067
Support the royal family again? [54 words]Edmund JamesMay 14, 2003 16:519066
Your article "Arabia's Civil War" [105 words]M.DunskyMay 14, 2003 16:279065
Incredibly good [143 words]Ilona MelstradsMay 14, 2003 15:119062
Hydrogen is the answer [64 words]Lucas J. MeyerMay 14, 2003 15:079061
Neither good [83 words]George El MasriMay 14, 2003 14:439060
The Ikhwan-inspired enemy [38 words]Hank ArtzeMay 14, 2003 13:519058
By What Saudi Acts is the Regime Distinguished from Al Qaeda? [98 words]Brad ClovenMay 14, 2003 12:389055

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