Category: Saudi Arabia

Struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for reputation in Islamic world

Gulnara Inanch,

Head of Representative Office of Lev Gumilev Center of Russia in Azerbaijan.

Director of Information and Analytical Center Etnoglobus (ethnoglobus.az), editor of Russian section of Turkishnews American-Turkish Resource websitewww.turkishnews.com

Spread and activity of Islam within the last 20 years is the result of globalization policy of the West, particularly the U.S. Its first phase started in the late 80’s of previous century following the collapse of the Soviet Union and activity of Islam in the region.

Different faith and trends of Islam which came to the territories of the Soviet Union from the Middle East and Persian Gulf became power acting against Russia during the Second Chechen War.

After withdrawal of Russian troops from Afghanistan, Taliban regime took the control of most part of Afghanistan as a result of which Islam started to be spread in Middle Asia.

At the same time of opening of the geography of the Former Soviet Union to Islam, big area where the Muslims are settled have traditionally confronted with non-traditional Islam trends.

Later, as a result of events called as «Arab spring» and by intervention of the US and coalition forces, governments in power in Tunis, Yemen, Egypt and Libya were overthrown and Islamic forces seized the power.

In reality, when the U.S made a decision regarding government overthrow in the Middle East, it also caused the processes to be out of control in the region. After military intervention in Iraq, Iraqi regions mostly populated by Shias neighboring with Iran fell under the control of Iran.

Since national consciousness in Arab countries is as the same as religious, tribal consciousness, government overthrow in Arab countries through revolution by the West increased the religious senses of people as a result of which Islamic political parties found a way to the government. Arab countries with limited freedom, living in regimes with closed doors to democracy, linked the freedom with Islam and found it reasonable that political Islam seized the power.

Islamic forces, seizing the power following «Arab spring», contrary to all expectations, at least for the present moment, pursue moderate policy. The fact that new Egyptian government fights against Al-Qaida militants together with official Tel-Aviv in the borders with Israel is another proof of it. However, claims of Egypt’s new government regarding forming “Pan-Arab” empire with capital Quds by evaluating the country as influential state of the region allow us to think that all the processes are about to change towards radicalism.

US military operations in Iraq and governmental overthrow in the Middle East contributed to new phase of Islamic formation. Along with hardline Islam demonstrated by “Hamas” in Palestine and “Hezbollah” in Lebanon, victory of moderate pro–Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey brought changes to world’s political order. In 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran demonstrated the world specific management order formed by unity of secular and religious laws. Another country in the region claimed to be Islamic center is Saudi Arabia. Thus, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia joined in struggle to distribute their reputation sphere in Islamic world.

Besides, “Arab Spring” has turned the stable competitiveness into armed conflict between the Shia and Sunni Islam. Another reason is the increase of reputation of Iran in the areas settled by the Shias as a result of events that happened in the Middle East.

Location of the main parts of carbohydrates from Persian Gulf to Caspian Sea in the areas where the Shias live densely makes brain centers of Israel and USA to draw attention to this factor. As a result, the projects such as “the Shia Line”, “Combination of resources of Persian and CaspianBasins” has been made. This factor is one of the reasons of political processes in the Middle East caused by conflicts between the Shia and the Sunnis.

On another hand, the processes in the Middle East, especially the destiny of Syria, made reconsider the relations of Islam countries among them. It should be noted that, the effort to eliminate tension of recent years and the observance of warmness in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Non-Aligned Movement Summit held in autumn of the past year in Tehran are one of the factors certifying this thought. But, this obligatory attitude should not be considered as a break from struggle against the reputation in two regional powers in Persian Gulf and Islam world.

As there possibility of “Arab Spring”, which is now in Syria, is still remained for other Arab countries, to avoid it, Saudi Arabia demonstrates its desire to give to Iran its confidence breaking the coldness ice that continues for a long time.

From another hand, coming into power of Islam Parties instead of overthrown powers in Arab countries and increase of salafi trends’ influence strengthens the Saudi Arabia in the region and demonstrates its twofaced game against Iran. Clear threats are stated by Salafi leaders against the Shiism.

It should be stated that, “Arab Spring” caused protests by Alavis in Turkey and increase of inter-trends conflicts and allowed Al-Qaida to penetrate into this country.

Al-Qaida, supported by Saudi Arabia, struggling for reputation in the region with Iran, having taken advantages of spread of salafism in the region as a result of “Arab spring”, began to increased it’s reputation. This struggle is still in its initial phase. In the future, competition of Islamic trends, in fact, regional countries supporting these trends, will step into new phase.

March 16, 2013
Turkey, Qatar, KSA behind increasing violence in Syria

The Hezbollah Secretary General says Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are responsible for fueling violence in Syria and the increase in casualties.

Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks in a televised speech in the southern Lebanese town of Baalbek on the occasion of Arbaeen, which marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH).

He said Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are arming and funding militants fighting the Damascus government.

Nasrollah said the crisis in Syria has a political solution and cautioned that the continuation of the Syrian conflict would have dire consequences.

“If Syria’s battle continues, it will be long, bloody and destructive,” the Hezbollah secretary general pointed out.

Nasrallah said Lebanon in the most affected country in the Middle East by the Syrian crisis, calling on Lebanese political factions to refrain from any moves which would throw the country into turmoil.

He went on to say that the influx of Syrian refugees in Lebanon indicates a major humanitarian crisis, which must not be politicized.

The Hezbollah secretary general stressed that division is the most dangerous threat the Muslim nations face, saying Takfiri extremists are the product of the US seeking to sow discord among Muslims.

He said Takfiris are behind countless massacres and bombings in Muslim countries and particularly Syria.

Nasrallah called on the incumbent Lebanese government to devise a strategy to safeguard the country’s oil and gas resources and said the Hezbollah Resistance Movement is ready to undertake the task of protecting such resources.

He concluded that despite US and Israeli efforts to “isolate, blacklist and demonize Hezbollah such efforts against the resistance movement will get nowhere.”

via Turkey, Qatar, KSA behind increasing violence in Syria.

January 5, 2013
Israel Matzav: Turkey dropping Greenwich in favor of Mecca

Turkey dropping Greenwich in favor of Mecca

In a further sign of its growing Islamization, Turkey is switching the meridian it uses to set its clocks from Greenwich Mean Time to Islamic Mean Time. It will be using the clock tower pictured above, which is located in Mecca (Hat Tip: Joshua I).

According to a law passed in 1925, Turkey uses the 30th meridian east of Greenwich to set its time. This meridian, which passes through Izmit, puts Turkey in the same time zone as many European countries and is identified as GMT+2. The meridian our ministry wants to use now is 40th, which passes through eastern Turkey. If we adopt that, then Turkey will be GMT+3, which will distance us from Europe one more hour.

As the 40th meridian also passes through Saudi Arabia, it will mean Turkey will be twinned with Riyadh instead of Athens, as it is now.

Then I noticed something else relevant. It was a news report about the Mecca Kingdom Clock that is being installed in Zem Zem Towers Building, close to the Kaaba. Six tons of gold were used in that impressive structure.

The Saudi Kingdom is now calling on Muslim countries to use Islamic Mean Time (IMT), which will based on this clock tower as a reference, and abandon Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). According to reports, many Arab media outlets, led by Al-Jazeera, are now arranging their programs according to the new time reference.

Our ministry said it postponed the ending of winter time for “technical reasons.” We have not been told why, and the proposed dropping of winter time will take place in 2014 instead.

We hear that the ministry is determined to use the 40th meridian. This will mean we will have to set our time according to IMT — that is, the Islamic time — from now on. Remember when the idea was first floated, and how international traders and financial concerns in this country had risen against it on grounds it would negatively affect Turkey’s foreign trade?

So when will they be adding ‘Islamic’ to the name Republic of Turkey? What could go wrong?

via Israel Matzav: Turkey dropping Greenwich in favor of Mecca.

December 26, 2012
Turkey approves military deal with Qatar, Saudi Arabia amid Syrian conflict

Parliament recently approved two separate agreements with Qatar and Saudi Arabia — two of the staunchest states seeking the fall of the Syrian regime, along with Turkey — regarding cooperation in the training of military personnel among the three states, Today’s Zaman reported.

The approval of the two agreements, which have been obtained by Today’s Zaman, came on the heels of ongoing tensions along the Turkish-Syrian border and escalating military strikes between Turkey and Syria.

Damascus accuses foreign powers — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and neighboring Turkey — of supporting Syrian opposition forces struggling to topple embattled President Bashar al-Assad, and of destroying the stability of Syria and meddling in its internal affairs.

Turkey and the two Sunni Arab states have adopted a similar stance regarding the Syrian conflict in the diplomatic sphere. However, the approval of the two agreements amid the ongoing Syrian conflict is a development that could add a new dimension to the 19-month-old crisis.

The Military Training Cooperation agreement between Turkey and Qatar was signed in the Turkish capital of Ankara on July 2 and published in the Official Gazette on Nov. 7, with Law No. 3849.

According to Article 1 of the agreement with Qatar, the purpose of the agreement is to establish cooperation mechanisms between Turkey and Qatar in the field of military training.

The agreement, which was signed by Qatari Army Chief Gen. Hamad Bin Ali Al Attiyah, and his Turkish counterpart Gen. Necdet Özel, aims to enhance and consolidate friendly relations existing between the two countries.

Article 4 of the agreement specifies areas of military cooperation at War Colleges, the Gülhane Military Medical Academy and the Mapping General Command.

According to the same article, training areas and the education of personnel will also include the gendarmerie, the coast guard and border security.

Article 4 states the main areas of cooperation as follows: “Participation in joint exercises, exchange of delegations, visiting harbors and docking, exchange of information regarding improvement of training, exchange of information on military history, military archives and military publications, cooperation in logistics training, cooperation on peace support, counterterrorism, humanitarian relief, countering sea robbery and piracy and exchange of personnel.”

According to Article 3 of the agreement, the General Staffs of both countries are responsible for the training of personnel, which should be provided in accordance with the criteria set by the states.

In line with this agreement, ahead of any request to send personnel for training, notification will be given to the receiving state in March of the year prior to the beginning of the training program at the latest.

The agreement emphasizes that cooperation should occur within the framework of respect for the laws of the countries, and on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit.

According to Article 6, the training of guest personnel should be provided in conformity with the programs of the military institutions or units where the training is provided. However, the article specifies, “If the subjects cover certain issues related to national security, some restrictions may be imposed.”

Turkey’s Military Training Cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia was signed in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on May 29, and was published in the Official Gazette on Oct. 10, with Law No. 3634.

The agreement with Saudi Arabia underlines the importance of enhancing friendly relations existing between the two nations and of cooperation in the field of military training, confirming that cooperation between the two countries promotes international peace and stability.

The agreement, which was signed by Saudi Brig. Gen. Abdulaziz Marzouq Al Johani and his Turkish counterpart, Brig. Gen. Salih Sevil, chief of the training division, says Turkey and Saudi Arabia should set out the specialist and technical courses (operations, logistics, intelligence, etc.) to be held annually at their military centers.

via Turkey approves military deal with Qatar, Saudi Arabia amid Syrian conflict – Trend.Az.

November 12, 2012
Saudi Arabia to raze Prophet Mohammed’s tomb to build larger mosque

Courtyard of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Medina (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams)

The key Islamic heritage site, including Prophet Mohammed’s shrine,is to be bulldozed, as Saudi Arabia plans a $ 6 billion expansion of Medina’s holy Masjid an-Nabawi Mosque. However, Muslims remain silent on the possible destruction.

Work on the Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, is planned to start as soon as the annual Hajj pilgrimage comes to a close at the end of November.

After the reconstruction, the mosque is expected to become the world’s largest building, with a capacity for 1.6 million people.

And while the need to expand does exist as more pilgrims are flocking to holy sites every year, nothing has been said on how the project will affect the surroundings of the mosque, also historic sites.

Concerns are growing that the expansion of Masjid an-Nabawi will come at the price of three of the world’s oldest mosques nearby, which hold the tombs of Prophet Mohammed and two of his closest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar. The expansion project which will cost 25 billion SAR (more than US $6 billion) reportedly requires razing holy sites, as old as the seventh century.

The Saudis insist that colossal expansion of both Mecca and Medina is essential to make a way for the growing numbers of pilgrims. Both Mecca and Medina host 12 million visiting pilgrims each year and this number is expected to increase to 17 million by 2025.

Authorities and hotel developers are working hard to keep pace, however, the expansions have cost the oldest cities their historical surroundings as sky scrapers, luxury hotels and shopping malls are being erected amongst Islamic heritage.

A room in a hotel or apartment in a historic area may cost up to $ 500 per night. And that’s all in or near Mecca, a place where the Prophet Mohammed insisted all Muslims would be equal.

“They just want to make a lot of money from the super-rich elite pilgrims, but for the poor pilgrims it is getting very expensive and they cannot afford it,” Dr. Irfan Al Alawi of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, told RT.

Jabal Omar complex – a 40 tower ensemble – is being depicted as a new pearl of Mecca. When complete, it will consist of six five star hotels, seven 39 storey residential towers offering 520 restaurants, 4, 360 commercial and retail shops.

But to build this tourist attraction the Saudi authorities destroyed the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress and the hill it stood on.

The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimated that 95 percent of sacred sites and shrines in the two cities have been destroyed in the past twenty years.
The Prophet’s birthplace was turned into a library and the house of his first wife, Khadijah, was replaced with a public toilet block.

Also the expansion and development might threaten many locals homes, but so far most Muslims have remained silent on the issue.

“Mecca is a holy sanctuary as stated in the Quran it is no ordinary city. The Muslims remain silent against the Saudi Wahhabi destruction because they fear they will not be allowed to visit the Kingdom again,” said Dr. Al Alawi.

The fact that there is no reaction on possible destruction has raised talks about hypocrisy because Muslims are turning a blind eye to that their faith people are going to ruin sacred sites.

“Some of the Sunni channels based in the United Kingdom are influenced by Saudi petro dollars and dare not to speak against the destruction, but yet are one of the first to condemn the movie made by non Muslims,” Dr. Al Alawi said.

rt.com, 31 Oct 2012

October 31, 2012
Syrian Anti-Assad Rebel Groups Funded by Saudi Arabia, Qatar

Syrian rebels take position during clashes with regime forces in the northern city of Aleppo on Sept. 14, 2012

Vast swaths of northern Syria, especially in the province of Idlib, have slipped out of the hands of President Bashar Assad, if not quite out of his reach. The area is now a de facto liberated zone, though the daily attacks by Damascus’ air force and the shelling from the handful of checkpoints and bases regime forces have fallen back to are reminders that the rebel hold on the territory remains fluid and fragile.

What is remarkable is that this substantial strip of “free” Syria has been patched together in the past 18 months by military defectors, students, tradesmen, farmers and pharmacists who have not only withstood the Syrian army’s withering fire but in some instances repelled it using a hodgepodge of limited, light weaponry. The feat is even more amazing when one considers the disarray among the outside powers supplying arms to the loosely allied band of rebels.

(PHOTOS: Syria’s Year of Chaos and Photos of a Slow-Motion War)

As TIME reports here, disorder and distrust plague two of the rebels’ international patrons: Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The two Gulf powerhouses are no longer on the same page when it comes to determining who among the plethora of mushrooming Syrian rebel groups should be armed. The rift surfaced in August, with the alleged Saudi and Qatari representatives in charge of funneling free weaponry to the rebels clearly backing different factions among the groups — including various shades of secular and Islamist militias — under the broad umbrella that is the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The middlemen of the two countries operate out of Turkey, the regional military power. Ankara has been quite public with its denunciation of Assad even as it denies any involvement in shuffling weapons across the border to Syrian rebels. It claims its territory is not being used to do so. And yet, as TIME reported in June, a secretive group operates something like a command center in Istanbul, directing the distribution of vital military supplies believed to be provided by Saudi Arabia and Qatar and transported with the help of Turkish intelligence to the Syrian border and then to the rebels. Further reporting has revealed more details of the operation, the politics and favoritism that undermine the task of creating a unified rebel force out of the wide array of groups trying to topple the Assad regime.

(The FSA is nominally headed by Riad al-As’aad, who is based in Turkey. Neither As’aad nor his chief FSA rival General Mustafa Sheikh are party to the Istanbul control room that supplies and arms rebels who operate under the FSA banner. The two men each have their own sources of funding and are independently distributing money and weapons to selected FSA units.)

via Syrian Anti-Assad Rebel Groups Funded by Saudi Arabia, Qatar | World | TIME.com.

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September 20, 2012