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Order Josh Hammer’s new book, Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West: HERE.
For decades, the House of Saud played a rather duplicitous game on credulous Westerners.
Officially, Riyadh was a longstanding linchpin of America’s geopolitical strategy in the ever-volatile Middle East—condemnatory of Islamist excess and vocally critical of the revolutionary Shiite regime in Tehran. Unofficially, the regime still spread Islamism—primarily through Salafist and Wahhabi clerics and madrasas, which the House of Saud funded and exported far beyond its petroleum-rich shores. Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers, to take but one particularly macabre example, were Saudi nationals. The kingdom mostly talked the talk, and it certainly was preferable to the monstrous Khomeinist regime—but it didn’t exactly walk the walk, either.
It took the rise of a ruthlessly ambitious and Western-curious young crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), to crack down on the radical clerics and straighten out Saudi Arabia’s image.
In 2014, the kingdom declared the Muslim Brotherhood, the organizational mother’s milk of Sunni Islamism, as a terrorist organization. For nearly four years, beginning in 2017, MBS oversaw a Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar due to the emirate’s infamous support of the Brotherhood and its dissemination of Islamist propaganda via its state-sponsored Al Jazeera network. It is also commonly accepted that Riyadh gave its imprimatur of legitimacy when fellow Gulf monarchies Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed the Abraham Accords in 2020—the first normalization agreements between Israel and the Arab world since Jordan made peace in 1994.
All seemed to be going mostly well. But in recent months, the House of Saudi has been rebranding itself—and not for the better.
In state-sanctioned sermons in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, Saudi imams recently called on Allah to support “our downtrodden brothers in Palestine,” to “reverse their weakness into strength,” and to grant them “victory against the Zionist aggressors.” In case it was missed, the same message was broadcast from the kingdom’s airwaves. A few weeks ago, Israeli journalist Amit Segal observed: “Over the past month, Al Arabiya has been worse than Al Jazeera in the texts broadcast against any normalization with Israel.” The House of Saud has also turned on its long-time moderate Sunni ally, the UAE—bombing Emirati-backed forces in Yemen on December 30 and now opposing Abu Dhabi everywhere from Somalia to Libya to Syria. In each theater, the House of Saud has taken the side of Islamists, in contrast to UAE-backed non-Islamists. Riyadh mouthpieces now condemn Abu Dhabi as Zionist-controlled.
What the heck is going on here—and most important, what does it all mean for the United States and our very real interests in the Middle East?
First, the much-desired goal of Riyadh joining Abu Dhabi and Manama in the Abraham Accords circle of peace with Jerusalem is, at least for the time being, totally unachievable. A friend of mine who had been involved in the first Trump administration’s Abraham Accords diplomacy efforts once told me that, by the end of the first Trump term, a deal to bring Riyadh into the accords was “on the five-yard line.” This same official believed that, if Trump had been re-elected for a second term beginning in January 2021, Saudi Arabia would have joined the accords within a few months. Now, five years later, the notion of Israel normalizing relations with the state custodian of Islam’s holy sites is, sadly, a pipe dream.
Second, it seems that Riyadh’s recent shift in posturing is motivated less by a sincere ideological cottoning to Islamism—the Brotherhood remains officially banned throughout the kingdom, for example—and motivated more by MBS’s unseemly personal petulance and immaturity. It’s worth remembering that MBS, a nepo baby if there ever were one, has behaved like a spoiled child before. He initiated a high-profile mass arrest of prominent Saudi elites at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton in November 2017. In October 2018, Islamist “journalist” Jamal Khashoggi was butchered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul; a CIA report the following month concluded that MBS had ordered the hit. Whatever one might say (and I have nothing nice to say about Khashoggi), these incidents were unnecessarily provocative—perhaps even gratuitous.
It seems that MBS is now up to his old tricks. By all accounts, MBS has come to loathe Mohamed bin Zayed, rule of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE. I’ve heard speculation that MBS now harbors an even deeper hatred of MBZ, and by extension the entire UAE, than he held for Qatar and its ruling House of Thani during the 2017-2021 GCC crisis. Given that the UAE under MBZ has been perhaps the most moderate of all the oil-rich Sunni Gulf states in its general approach to Islam and the most publicly embracing of Israel of all the Abraham Accords’ Arab signees, there is no clear reason why MBS has adopted such a hostile posture—given his years of anti-Islamist crackdowns and purges—other than pure pettiness and jealousy.
It’s juvenile—blatantly, insanely, and disgustingly so. But as Riyadh cozies up to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strongman Islamist regime in Ankara, Ahmed al-Sharaa’s al Qaeda-lite regime in Damascus, and sides against Israel and the UAE on Somaliland’s push for national autonomy, MBS’s spoiled outbursts nonetheless have real consequences for the region.
The broader saga is also a reminder of the bitter and inherently tribal nature of Arab society. As I explained for Tablet in 2021, in an essay about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
One intriguing idea is what Bar Ilan University Professor Mordechai Kedar calls the “emirates plan,” modeled after the eponymous Gulf state. Just as the UAE is a loose confederation of disparate Arab tribes, each overseeing its own tribal land, so too could the deeply fractious Palestinians of Judea and Samaria confederate into a series of non-contiguous, Palestinian “emirates” based around the relevant tribes’ home cities. That kind of plan is “based on the sociology of the Middle East, which has the tribe as the major cornerstone of society,” as Kedar has explained.
The tribal nature of Arab society explains how nominally similar inbred monarchies like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar can end up hating each other’s guts, boycotting and at times even bombing one another. Seemingly, it’s just built into the very fabric of who they are as Arabs.
For better or for worse, the Trump administration has done serious, big-bucks business with the House of Saud. Accordingly, Washington has plenty of leverage when it comes to the kingdom. Trump should use that leverage to bring America’s putative ally back in line—it should act aggressively, and posthaste. But Riyadh’s recent moves are also a reminder that even “moderate” Arab Muslim regimes are, at the end of the day, still Arab Muslim regimes. They can never, ever be truly trusted—certainly not when it comes to advancing America’s core interests in the Middle East of containing the Islamic Republic of Iran, containing non-state Islamism, and ensuring that crucial international waterways remain open and navigable.
There is precisely one American ally in the Middle East that can be relied upon to consistently secure and advance our core national interest in the region: the Jewish state of Israel. As President Trump gets closer and closer to making a final decision as to whether or not he will enforce his own red line on the murderous mullahs of Iran, that is something he ought to bear in mind.
The weakness of Iran has freed the Saudis from at least some of their dependence on American protection. The future of Gaza without the removal of Hamas and others terrorist has created more opportunity for the Saudis to increase their influence along with the revisionist Turks. It is essential that F-35s are not provided to either.
The slipping of Saudi Arabia’s mask in that lately they have been
calling for Allah to reverse Palestinian weakness against Zionist
aggression is particularly egregious – because Saudi Arabia is
part of the Board of Peace in Gaza “to support a cease fire and
advocate for a lasting peace”.
The bottom line which propels Saudi hatred for Israel is Islam
as it is for Qatar, Turkey, Syria, ‘moderate’ UAE and all the rest.
I get the power-happy petulance of the Saudi crown prince, MBS.
The gazillion dollar boondoggle of Neom City ‘The Line’ is a grandiose
example. I get the tribalism and therefore primitive perspectives of
Arabs who have emerged only recently in history from living in tents.
Israel is indeed America’s most reliable ally in the region. But it is the
uniting force of Islam that is both America’s and Israel’s deadly enemy.
The Board of Peace is a complete farce.
Eff the Saudis and Eff Islam.
How many of the 9-11 hijackers were Saudi? Religion of peace my ass
Fifteen of the nineteen according to Mr. Hammer.
“Accordingly, Washington has plenty of leverage when it comes to the kingdom. Trump should use that leverage to bring America’s putative ally back in line—it should act aggressively, and posthaste.”
It should, but I wouldn’t count on it. Trump has exhibited an unhealthy respect for the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, all aligning along with fellow Sunni (and nuclear power) Pakistan. That he wants them involved in his Gaza project is just nuts, as all of them side with Hamas over Israel.
Islam is Not the Religion of Peace the liberal screwballs claim it is
When two civilizations, with fundamentally different value systems, deal with each other, I guess the best one can hope for will be occasional transactional cooperation on specific issues, but hoping for more will just yield more disappointment.
Could it be that the softening of the idea to COMPLETELY DESTROY the ham asses has encouraged the Saudis? I realize that PRESIDENT TRUMP seeks to establish “Peace” in Gaza, but he should face REALITY – it’s NOT going to happen as long as there is ONE ham ass present! It’s really that simple! The PLAN should be to disperse the ham asses to all the other ‘islam’ nations and let THEM deal with their creation! Clear the land, salvage the rubble, rebuild with Israeli leadership and ownership, and have Security to prevent ‘islam’ from touching the soil ever again! THAT is the only way there will be Peace in Gaza!
The Saudis should be thankful for the US and what WE have done for them – without the oil they would be driving camel herds in search of waterholes! The sooner we can remove ourselves from any dependence on Saudi oil the better! Let them deal with the other ‘islamists’ without our assistance!
The Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia in no friend of any Western nation, Saudi Arabia is best defined as a kingdom of Islamic hate.
As one Arab scholar who had lived in a Middle Eastern country, for many years revealed “Saudi madrassa notably teach hatred and condemnation of the West and non-Muslims” and “The Saudi Government also provides free textbooks to Islamic schools throughout the world. many of the Saudi- Issued textbooks contain wording that encourages hatred and intolerance for non-Muslims.” [1]
Saudi Arabia in many ways is no better than Iran.
[1] THEY MUST BE STOPPED by Brigitte Gabriel, page 106
The Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia has not and will not spare any of its vast oil wealth as to use its financial resources to fund and promote the advancement of Islam by and through the jihad. By this it means both the stealth jihad and even the subtle support violent jihad.
As explained, for example in the book HOW ISLAM PLANS TO CHANGE THE WORLD by William Wagner. For on pages 109, 110. The reader is informed that “The Wall Street journal on April 15, 2003 published an article titled ‘In law Seminars, A Saudi Group Spreads Extremism.’ The article began by saying ‘In late February more than 300 young men from across Europe gathered for a weekend seminar on Islamic Law put on by Al-Waqf al-Islaami Foundation.’ The article went on to explain that the most famous graduates from the seminar were half a dozen members of the group of young men from Hamburg, Germany, who plotted the September 11, attacks. The language of the was Dutch, but ‘the message was imported from Saudi Arabia, via Saudi books and lecturers who taught a strict orthodox interpretation of Islam.’ “
Further on the very same page of 110 the information is given that “TIME MAGAZINE , in an article on Saudi Arabia: Inside the Kingdom,’ stated ‘Apart from channeling money to foundations that have assisted terrorist groups, Saudis have for years supported institutions abroad the propagate Wahhabism.’”
In addition to all this, in the book of the title of THE HISTORY OF JIHAD FROM MUHAMMAD TO ISIS, by Robert Spencer on pages 333 through 337.Mr Spencer provides valid information of the subject of “ The Saudi involvement in September 11.”
So with that Islamic regime of Saudi Arabia and its oil money support the different type of the jihad, both stealth and the violent kind, with its Islamic agenda advancement and spread , influence and infiltration of the Western nations ,this kingdom of Saudi Arabia is no friend at all of the United Kingdom or America or any other country of the West.
the Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia many times funds construction and reading material of many madrassas which are are Muslim mind control and mind programming places where Muslim males are thoroughly indoctrinated into the strong but blind and unquestioning faith in Koran with all non-watered down; hard core Islam with its militant jihad. Those places, “schools,” are called madrasas. In those Islamic mind programming centers young Muslim male are ingrain in the mindset Koranic dogma of the use of violence and killing for the advancement of Islam. As the Koran instructs.
As, for example, in 2:191. 9:5, 123. 47:4. Many of those who of such center are so much damaged that they are literally dangerous to self and others. As seen many times in jihad suicide, homicide bombing/attacks. For the Koran instructs in 9:111. “The believers fight in Allah’s Cause, they slay and are slain, they kill and are killed.”
Furthermore, those mind programming places also ingrain the outlandish absurd Koranic doctrine of a ex-filled paradise with many virgins, houris, in it for the Muslim male who dies fighting for the cause of Islam in the jihad. Such a strange doctrine of a houris filled- place in found in the Koran in 44:54. 55:56. 78:31. Moreover, such Islamic mind programming centers are further explained about by the scholar Don Richardson in his book SECRETS OF THE KORAN which on pages 69,70. Informs the reader that “The world needs to be warned. At least forty million Muslim youth in the Muslim worlds’ religious schools, called madrasa, are avidly memorizing the entire Koran … These schools become breeding grounds for potential terrorists. When male students, isolated from family and friends in madrasa, reach puberty and their hormones are active, there are no girls to date. Instead, Muslim clerics easily shift to focusing the male student’s attention on Koranic verse that promises sex in heaven with dark-eyed houris. Students can only fantasize about martyrdom followed by the sexual release Muhammad promised. This is an unspeakably cruel brainwashing technique , and the Koran is its perfect guidebook.”
In short, Saudi Arabia is very guilty of promoting Islamic terrorism as Iran
It should be known and not forgotten that the Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia has not and will not spare any of its vast oil wealth as to use its financial resources to fund and promote the advancement of Islam by and through the jihad. By this it means both the stealth jihad and even the subtle support violent jihad.
As explained, for example in the book HOW ISLAM PLANS TO CHANGE THE WORLD by William Wagner. For on pages 109, 110. The reader is informed that “The Wall Street journal on April 15, 2003 published an article titled ‘In law Seminars, A Saudi Group Spreads Extremism.’ The article began by saying ‘In late February more than 300 young men from across Europe gathered for a weekend seminar on Islamic Law put on by Al-Waqf al-Islaami Foundation.’ The article went on to explain that the most famous graduates from the seminar were half a dozen members of the group of young men from Hamburg, Germany, who plotted the September 11, attacks. The language of the was Dutch, but ‘the message was imported from Saudi Arabia, via Saudi books and lecturers who taught a strict orthodox interpretation of Islam.’ “
Further on the very same page of 110 the information is given that “TIME MAGAZINE , in an article on Saudi Arabia: Inside the Kingdom,’ stated ‘Apart from channeling money to foundations that have assisted terrorist groups, Saudis have for years supported institutions abroad the propagate Wahhabism.’”
In addition to all this, in the book of the title of THE HISTORY OF JIHAD FROM MUHAMMAD TO ISIS, by Robert Spencer on pages 333 through 337.Mr Spencer provides valid information of the subject of “ The Saudi involvement in September 11.”
So with that Islamic regime of Saudi Arabia and its oil money support the different type of the jihad, both stealth and the violent kind, with its Islamic agenda advancement and spread , influence and infiltration of the Western nations ,this kingdom of Saudi Arabia is no friend at all of the United Kingdom or America or any other country of the West.
Thanks for mentioning Will Wagner.
You are overcomplicating! Israel and anyone/any country supporting it are seen by the world as criminal state and a sin that must to avoided.
I was in Saudi Arabia on 9/11, getting ready to leave the villa my company was renting, for a night shift. Exiting the villa, the Saudi owner was on site; the smug air of “Victory” on his face was disgusting. Every Saudi I met on the way to work, had an extra “bounce” in their step, they were mentally “celebrating”! A totally worthless people.
We are being hoodwinked by Qatar. Additionally, Trump bows to the soft-power finagling by the gullible tapdancing duo, Witkoff and Kushner. The Board of War is extremely dangerous for Israel and its need for intensive security. The foolish Board should be abandoned to allow Gaza to be restored to Israel.