Saudi Arabia Carries Out Largest Mass Execution In 25 Years After Beheadings Soar In 2015
While we wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s possible to find a “silver lining” in the San Bernardino massacre, the fact that Tashfeen Malik’s connection to Saudi Arabia has focused the world’s attention on Riyadh’s role in promoting Sunni extremism means the tragedy will at least serve a kind of utilitarian purpose.
As we and others have documented extensively, Saudi Arabia’s promotion of Wahhabism makes the kingdom the number one state sponsor of terror almost by default (Erdogan’s support for ISIS notwithstanding). Despite the best efforts of quite a few commentators and analysts who this year have drawn attention to the fact that the ideology espoused and promulgated by the Saudis is really no different than that promoted by ISIS, the Western public is still largely in the dark - we know this because if the US electorate were truly in tune to what’s going on, voters would stage a popular revolt before they’d allow King Salman to parade into Washington in a fleet of Mercedes on the way to commandeering the entire Four Seasons for a two day stay.
As Kamel Daoud, a columnist for Quotidien d’Oran, and the author of “The Meursault Investigation” put it in a New York Times op-ed in November, Saudi Arabia is simply “an ISIS that made it.” Here’s an excerpt from that piece:
Black Daesh, white Daesh. The former slits throats, kills, stones, cuts off hands, destroys humanity’s common heritage and despises archaeology, women and non-Muslims. The latter is better dressed and neater but does the same things. The Islamic State; Saudi Arabia. In its struggle against terrorism, the West wages war on one, but shakes hands with the other. This is a mechanism of denial, and denial has a price: preserving the famous strategic alliance with Saudi Arabia at the risk of forgetting that the kingdom also relies on an alliance with a religious clergy that produces, legitimizes, spreads, preaches and defends Wahhabism, the ultra-puritanical form of Islam that Daesh feeds on.
Of course the kingdom’s support for radical Islam isn’t confined to the promotion of a poisonous ideology. The Saudis have a history of arming and funding Sunni extremist groups when those groups are thought to be advancing Riyadh’s geopolitical interests. Syria is the latest example but there are others including, for instance, the Saudis’ support for the mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan war. At the risk of generalizing, those fighters went on to become al-Qaeda.
We bring that up because today, Saudi Arabia (that bastion of human rights) executed 47 people, many of whom were al-Qaeda members. “Most of the 47 executed in the kingdom's biggest mass execution for decades were Sunnis convicted of al Qaeda attacks in Saudi Arabia a decade ago,” Reuters reports, adding that “the executions took place in 12 cities in Saudi Arabia, four prisons using firing squads and the others beheading.” Here’s more:
The simultaneous execution of 47 people - 45 saudis, one Egytian and a man from Chad - was the biggest mass execution for security offences in Saudi Arabia since the 1980 killing of 63 jihadist rebels who seized Mecca's Grand Mosque in 1979.
The 43 Sunni jihadists executed on Saturday included several prominent al Qaeda figures, including those convicted for attacks on Western compounds, government buildings and diplomatic missions that killed hundreds from 2003-06.
Obviously, there's something terribly absurd about this. The Saudis are executing Sunni extremists with one hand, and promoting Sunni extremism with the other. While they're busy beheading al-Qaeda members in Saudi Arabia, they're effectively creating a Hydra by funneling arms and funds to al-Nusra in Syria and promulgating the "dark" (to quote Bashar al-Assad) ideology that inspires the group.
But that's not all. Among those executed on Saturday was prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. As BBC notes, "Sheikh Nimr was a vocal supporter of the mass anti-government protests that erupted in Eastern Province in 2011, where a Shia majority have long complained of marginalisation."
Here are some fast facts about the Sheikh, again, courtesy of BBC:
- In his 50s when he was executed, he has been a persistent critic of Saudi Arabia's Sunni royal family
- Arrested several times over the past decade, alleging he was beaten by Saudi secret police during one detention
- Met US officials in 2008, Wikileaks revealed, seeking to distance himself from anti-American and pro-Iranian statements
- Emerged as a figurehead in the protests that began in 2011 inspired by the Arab Spring
- Said to have a particularly strong following among Saudi Shia youth
Ultimately, the Saudis killed (literally) two birds with one stone here: they silenced a dissident political voice and they dealt a slap in the face to Iran by killing a prominent member of the Shiite community.
The Sheikh's death sparked protests in the Eastern Province, the site of the 2011 uprising in which Nimr played a key role. "Scores of Shi'ite Muslims marched through the Qatif district of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province in protest at the execution of cleric Nimr al-Nimra," Reuters says, citing an eyewitness. "They chanted 'down with the Al Saud', the name of the ruling Saudi royal family." Here's more, from al-Jazeera:
Scores of Shias in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province marched through Nimr's home district of Qatif to protest against the execution. Dozens of protesters also took to the streets in neighbouring Bahrain, where police fired tear gas to disperse them.
Nimr had called for the oil-rich Eastern Province, where about two million Shia live, to be separated from the rest of Saudi Arabia.
He also criticised the government for what he said was the marginalisation of the Shia minority in the country.
Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah movement condemned the execution, calling it an "assassination".
The "real reason" for the execution was "that Sheikh Nimr ... demanded the squandered rights of an oppressed people," the group said in a statement.
They're also protesting at the Saudi embassy in Tehran:
protest at Saudi embassy in Tehran over al-Nimr execution
Bigger protest planned for tomorrow
pic.twitter.com/UG2lSnzufv
— Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) January 2, 2016
Officially, Nimr's crime was sedition, disobedience and bearing arms. Oh, and "foreign meddling." Speaking of "foreigners," Iran isn't happy, and neither is Hezbollah. "Saudi Arabia is executing the opponents of terrorism," Tehran said. Even the Houthis jumped into the fray. Here's Reuters again:
Riyadh's main regional rival Iran and its Shi'ite allies immediately reacted with vigorous condemnation of the execution of Nimr, and Saudi police raised security in a district where the sect is a majority in case of protests, residents said.
But a top Iranian cleric said the kingdom's Al Saud ruling family would be "wiped from the pages of history", Yemen's Houthi group described Nimr as a "holy warrior" and Lebanese militia Hezbollah said Riyadh had made "a grave mistake".
"The (royal) Al Saud family executed today the holy warrior, the grand cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr after a mock trial ... a flagrant violation of human rights," an obituary on the Houthis' official Al Maseera website said.
This comes on the heels of a banner year for beheadings in the kingdom. As AP reports, "Saudi Arabia carried out at least 157 executions in 2015, with beheadings reaching their highest level in the kingdom in two decades, according to several advocacy groups that monitor the death penalty worldwide."
The Saudis would be wise to exercise caution in 2016. Now that Riyadh has been forced to rollback subsidies and overhaul the welfare state in order to buy itself some budget breathing room, the conditions are ripe for social unrest. Inflaming sectarian tensions by killing prominent Shiite opposition leaders isn't exactly conducive to the promotion of stability.
Additionally, it's not clear that this is an opportune time to poke Iran in the eye. Between Yemen and Iraq, Tehran's influence is expanding and thanks to Russia, it doesn't appear likely that Damascus will fall to Saudi-backed rebels. In short, Iran's Shiite cresent is waxing while the House of Saud is waning. Throw in the fact that Iran is set to shed the "pariah state" label with the lifting of international sanctions and the fact that Islamic State's meteoric rise has served to increase public awareness of just how dangerous the ideology espoused by the Saudis truly is, and you have a truly precarious situation for Washington's favorite oil-rich monarchy.
(15 votes)
»
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
I honestly don't know what you're doing and neither do several others. Maybe rethink your post - it might not be coming across with what you're thinking
the ghost of smedley butler may not get it, but the former smedley butler would...
I didn't down you -but reiterate that the obligation to communicate your thoughts is in the main your obligation.
did you listen to the lyrics in the "fight the power" RATM video i linked?
if not, then i over-estimated you.
if you did, then what do you not still understand about this fight?
Too soon???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFQG6OOQmh8
The forthcoming revenge is going to make the ME even hotter than it is now.
We can only hope that a few of the Saudi Royals get toasted.
A few??
Toast the fucking lot.
Hezbollah easily has resources to take out some Saudi oil sites...
Those 46 other executions were window dressing so the Saudi butchers could behead Nimr. Thanks to Merkel and Obummer, Western Europe and the United States are crawling with Saudi moles.
time for a good war to wipe out Saudi and petrodollar
that would violate the terms of the Great Bitter Lake Contract agreed between USA Inc. and the Saudafia...
Actually, the point of the imminent "good war" will be to hide the true causes of the collapse of the House of Saud and the end of the U.S. petrodollar system.
The founding principles of the U.S. Constitution have been abandoned in the name of concentrated political power and maximum corporate profitability. Abroad, this means a policy of arbitrary regime change and alliances with terrorists (Wahabis, ISIS, Erdogan, among others). At home, it means the growing surveillance state, illegal searches, asset forfeitures, indefinite detention without trial, the persecution of whistleblowers, greater police impunity, etc. etc.
This is what's at the root of all the absurdities in today's headlines. "Turkey promoted to Human Rights Commission", "Five Moderate Islamic soldiers created at a cost of $500 million", "Advanced Weapons Air-dropped to ISIS" etc.
Without moral/ethical/political principles, the U.S. has no compass to show the way out of this mess.
only Amish Hackers can save us now
60% of the US of A has a compass, the others are either elite globalist protecting their rice bowl with their genetically deficient gimme gimme slavgotstogitmycheck.
We should let ISIS go ahead and overthrow the House of Saud. That's an Arab Spring I could get behind.
They only executed 47 people???? The American police execute that many people in a little over two weeks, without a trial. The Saudis are amateurs at this game.
You meant the American ghetto rats didn't you.
I thought "Trashfiend" Malik was Pakistani ?
Yet these butchers are still wholeheartedly supported by the "Land of the Thick"...
Well at least our cia and O are supporting the other butchers. Tit for Tat.
Being a Mulatto, then .... Obama plays both sides of the dune .... He's Back and White Daesh .... pro-Iran, pro-Turkey, pro-ISIS, pro-Sauidi .... WTF ?
that fateful deal made between FDR and King Abdulaziz on the Great Bitter Lake in 1945.
loving the downvoter who is scared of truth getting out
The US should do something. We know whats best for the Middle East.
I agree, we should follow the Saudis lead.
Ah, Muslim women .... they cover their faces .... but don't wear panties .... the debris wicks down their legs .... to a sandy grave .... goat twat is cleaner ?
And just how many millions of dollars has this terrorist country donated to Bill and Hillary Clinton?
You're talking Iran, right?
"Iran set to execute 27 Sunni clerics and preachers according to human rights group "
tit for tat
I'm wondering do those "human rights groups" publish when the islamic cultists execute their used up women slaves, throw queers off 5 story roof tops or burn them alive or have a tailgate party before, durning and after a mass beheading or concert hall/christmas party massacre?
here is an interesting article about political correctness protects muslim rape culture in europe...
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/01/02/political-correctness...
Bacon chastity belts. Problem solved.
Religion brings death and despair throughout the world as usual. Whenever all the idiots stop fighting over who has the best mystical man in the sky, shit might get back to normal.
Marxism is a religion and so is Climate Change. Mankind needs to believe in something. That is human nature. And like GK Chesterton said, "people who don't believe in God will believe in just about anything else.". Explains why the generally atheist Left is comprised of such gullible guppies. They'll believe anything Obama and the NY Times says.
"people who don't believe in God will believe in just about anything else."
Ahh... projection. How predictictable.
You seem to be unable to grok the idea that others may not be quite as weak-minded as you are.
Chesterton was making an observation. So am I.
Science is also a religion. Like other religions, these are all belief systems and, as you say, "mankind needs to believe in something" it makes us feel grounded and secure and gives us the false impression that we actually "know" something when, in fact, we know nothing.
"Science is also a religion"
No. Science is not a religion.
Now get back on the short bus.
Actually science is a religion, a belief system, a means of justifying our childish need to pretend we know something. Science is our newest religion, the official religion of the 21st century full of false premisses, assumption, justifications, suppositions, and dogma just like all religions that came before it.
Need proof? Sure. Three words, "anthropomorphic global warming", accepted as absolute "scientific" fact in spite of the many credible scientists who question it but who are silenced by means of threat or blackmail. Today we teach AGW to our young in schools when we might just as well teach that 2 + 2 = 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHAuGA7gqFU
Bullshit.
Science is a process of inquiry. It is not a belief system but rather a system of evaluating beliefs.
Nice little strawman with the AGW thing... not only are you unable to understand the difference between religion and science, you also seem to be unable to differentiate between science and politics.
Well, yes and no but mostly no. Actually, science is SUPPOSED to be a "process of inquiry" and a "system of evaluating beliefs" but in actual practice, because scientists are human too and therefore vulnerable to all the human weakesses and frailties such as greed, personal bias, political bias, etc., the prevailing science of the day is often distorted by, and a product of, the times we live in and the politics we live with. Little or nothing in life is as black and white as many of those who put their FAITH in science seem to believe it is. Even one of science's main gods, called "The Scientific Method" is fallible and can screw up.
Exactly.
$cience is a religion.
It is well established fact.
Much of it is also a well established fraud.
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.list/tagNo/2642/tags/scientific-f...
http://www.albany.edu/~scifraud/
https://reactionarythinker.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/science-is-a-religion/
http://www.naturalnews.com/041592_scientific_fraud_research_papers_junk_...
http://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2013/sep/19/science-rel...
http://www.icr.org/article/evolution-religion-not-science/
http://theconversation.com/scientific-fraud-sloppy-science-yes-they-happ...
http://creation.com/science-fraud-epidemic
Atheism is also a religion:
http://debunkingatheists.blogspot.com/2010/07/atheism-is-religion.html
http://www.strangenotions.com/is-atheism-a-religion/
Oh, The Stupid.
It burns bright in far too many places.
sci·encenoun: science
The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
You are a primary example of confirmation bias.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9fOd7wi7_H4/VU62TF4gI4I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/j68JTnZCTx...
Too bought into the $cience paradigm to see the truth.
You think you are open minded, yet you don't see the long history of so-called "science'.
Not that true science hasn't been a boon to mankind- but most of what passes for "science" these days is more acurately referred to as $cience.
Physics is very useful, and perhaps the truest science (easily observable and replicable,- mostly).
On the other hand, macro-evolution, biology, astronomy, AGW, and many, many other "sciences" are more accurately described as $cience.
Yet more projection. Hilariously ironic link though. Did Kent Hovind make that?
And right back to my original point.
Science is not an ideology. It's a tool.
Just why in the fuck is that simple concept so hard for some people to understand?
Pro tip:
Sky Guy is just a handy excuse to behave badly.
Iran certainly isn't a bastion of freedom and openness...but compared to the House of Saud-ruled Arabian Pensinsula, Iran is lightyears ahead in terms of respecting human rights and civic freedoms.
And Iran doesn't export terrorism like the House of Saud.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend--to hell with the House of Saud. I hope Iran and it's proxies kick all ass across the near east.
We must remember that Islam is NOT just another religion and should not be recognized as such. First and foremost, it is a totalitarian political agenda and a cult that is diametrically opposed to Democracy, human rights, and our own Constitution. We must ignore and reject the "progressive" invention of political correctness in dealing with Islam and in treating it like just another religion to be tollerated and accepted because it is not.
Maybe...
But they have a killer argument for joining up.
"Our Mohammed or your head."
Keeps things uncomplicated.
"Give me liberty or give me death".
Patrick Henry