Based on a declaration made by a constellation of Muslim scholars, mostly from Al-Azhar, Islam’s oldest intellectual center, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (CDHR) hosted a conference titled "Echoing Muslim Scholars' Warning against Wahhabism: Should the U.S. Listen?" The well attended conference was held on Capitol Hill on July 20, 2010
As an educational and democracy promoting organization, CDHR deemed it necessary to echo the voices of prominent Muslim scholars’ warnings against radical Islam, specifically the notorious Saudi government’s doctrine of Wahhabism. The goal of the conference on July 20 was to reiterate CDHR’s calls for the transformation of the Saudi religious and educational institutions that teach rejection of modernity, democratic reforms, and knowledge-based education. Wahhabism also indoctrinates the oppression of women and minorities and the condemnation of other religions, as stated by the participants in the Al-Azhar conference: "Wahhabism is a Mortal Enemy of and Threat to Islam and the World."
Dr. Ali Alyami, Founder and Executive Director of CDHR, hosted the event and addressed the impact of Saudi Arabia’s religiously based policies on human development. He said the state doctrine is designed to deny people the opportunities to challenge themselves and explore their full potentials. He argued that people can only develop if social, scientific, political, and economic activities and challenges are not only prevalent, but encouraged and demanded by society. This translates to freedom of speech and expression, gender mingling, scientifically-based education, and competitiveness in all fields.
Based on its close alliance with and support for the Saudi ruling family, the West, especially the US, is in a position to peacefully influence events in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Alyami encouraged the West to understand the nature of the Saudi system and its reliance on religious extremism and its byproduct, terrorism, as declared by the Al-Azhar conference participants. Alyami called on the US to publicly and unabashedly support Saudi men and women who push for democratic reforms because they are the key to stabilizing the country and undermining religious extremists who are bent on oppressing their people and spreading their lethal ideology.
U.S. Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN., 5th District) discussed his experience with the plight of American women in Saudi Arabia and how Wahhabism has spread to the U.S. and Europe. He said he would oppose the wearing of the burqa in public when asked what he would do if he was presented with a similar challenge to that facing France and other European countries.
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Director of the Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that the West does not understand the influence of ideologies, especially Wahhabism, on daily life. His recommendation for the U.S. was to take the Wahhabi ideology seriously and confront its expansion throughout the U.S.
Jack Pearce, the former Assistant Chief Justice of the Antitrust Division for the Reagan Administration, spoke on how the spread of Wahhabism has come to represent a new clash of civilizations. He suggested that the U.S. should use any available leverage to push the Saudi-Wahhabi establishment to promote human rights and institute modern forms of governance.
Members of the audience asked formidable questions about Wahhabism’s impact on the U.S. and the West. One man asked why patriotism would not work to prevent U.S. bureaucrats and former officials from taking money from the Saudis. Mr. Gartenstein-Ross replied that those individuals should be ashamed of themselves, and Dr. Alyami added that the acceptance of Saudi money should be made public. Other questions included how energy independence would impact the spread of Wahhabism and whether there are any reform movements within Saudi Arabia. The debates continued during the post-conference reception as guests mingled with speakers in order to learn more about Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia, and CDHR.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
CDHR Conference July 20, 2010
Center for Democracy & Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, CDHR
Invites You to a Timely Conference
“Echoing Muslim Scholars’ Warning against Wahhabism: Should the US Listen?”
July 20, 2010 on Capitol Hill, 4:30pm - 7:00pm
Food and Drinks will be served according to House Rules
Rayburn House Office Building Room B-369
(Metro Orange Line or Blue Line to Capitol South)
On April 25, prominent Muslim scholars and experts at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, held a conference entitled, “Wahhabism: Mortal Enemy of and a Threat to Muslims and the World,”. The participants consisted of highly respected Muslim scholars and experts in Muslim movements, many of whom hailed from Islam’s oldest intellectual institution, Al-Azhar University. The Al-Azhar scholars are not the first to call on the international community to counter and defeat Wahhabism. A former Saudi Salafi cleric identified Wahhabism as a threat; the extremism of the ideology convinced him that Islam must be reformed. Even though prominent Muslim individuals, such as former President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia, the nation with the largest Muslim population, have called on the international community to “unite and defeat Wahhabism,” the Cairo conference is the first of its kind and caliber.
The Al-Azhar conference participants delivered the most forceful denunciation of the Saudi state’s doctrine. They accused it of being at the epicenter of turning Islam and many Muslims into a lethal threat to Islam, Muslims and the international community. In addition, they blamed Wahhabism for terrorism, rejection of the “Other,” oppression of women and religious minorities, as well as destabilization of Muslims States and their regimes.
Given the Al-Azhar University scholars’ dire warning and its implication for Muslims and non-Muslims, CDHR deems it necessary to hold this conference in which a diverse and qualified panel will address the impact of the Wahhabi ideology on the Saudi people, their attitude toward each other, and their perceptions of the world.
The intent of this conference is to discuss the root causes of deeply entrenched Wahhabi doctrine and to explore possible alternatives and recommend steps to prevent East-West cultural clashes: Religious totalitarianism versus the rule of law and freedom of choice.
Featured Speakers include:
Dr. Ali Alyami, Founder and Executive Director of CDHR
Congressman Dan Burton (Indiana)
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Jack Pearce, CDHR board member, Anti Trust Lawyer and Businessman
Read More on Abdurrahman Wahid
Thursday, July 1, 2010
“Saudi justice system”: Fair?"
By Ali Alyami
The attached article states that Mohammed Al-Eissa, the Saudi minister of justice, recently proclaimed at a conference in the Saudi capital of Riyadh that his country’s judicial system is just and accessible to all citizens and residents of the country in a fair and equal manner. He said, “The right to litigation is granted equally to all citizens and residents in the Kingdom.” It’s hard to understand such a claim because the Saudi judicial system is based on the state brand of Islam, Wahhabism, that does not recognize other beliefs or sects of Islam as legitimate. All Saudi courts are staffed by zealot judges who have no training in non-religious rule of law; they denounce civil rule of law and civil society as antitheses to God’s will and Islamic teachings. Women, religious minorities and non-Muslims are condemned before they even enter Saudi courts. In most cases, people are denied legal counsels and can spend months or years in prisons without charges or an appearance in court. Court hearings are closed and standard procedures are non-existent. Sentences are determined on the spot and up to the judge’s mode and religious training. Saudi officials have to stop assuming that their citizens cannot distinguish between facts and fictions.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
A Prince's Stern Warning
By Ali Alyami
Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud recently warned the Saudi royal family to flee the country before an internal uprising overthrows the monarchy. While this advice may seem premature, it cannot be ignored. A Saudi uprising is inevitable unless the government undertakes drastic reforms of Saudi institutions to pave the way for measurable and transparent democratic processes. Prince Turki is a member of a defunct group of Saudi princes, the Free Princes, who called for a constitution in the early 1960s that would have reformed the relationship between the monarchy and its repressed subjects (ra-e-yah, or herd).
The princes, considered a threat to their family’s domain and denounced as Communists by the West, had to flee for their lives to Cairo, Egypt. They were joined by political activists like Naser al-Saeed, a former Aramco employee hunted by the Saudi government’s intelligence branch until he was ultimately gunned down in Lebanon some years ago. Some of these princes are still advocating for a constitutional monarchy, which remains the best and safest solution for this important but unstable country. The Saudi royal family should heed Prince Turki’s advice to “leave this country to its people, whose dislike for us is increasing.” Prince Turki is correct in that the majority of Saudi people and the international community do not want to see Saudi Arabia continued to be ruled by aging men and religious extremists whose institutions and fortunes produce and finance suicide bombers and extremist groups around the world.
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Al-Qaeda’s Woman Speaks for Many
By Ali Alyami
Saudi women are forced to disguise themselves in disfiguring black garments. They are not allowed to drive, work, travel, receive equal education or get medicine without male permission. This maltreatment of half of Saudi society because of their gender is pushing Saudi women to get back at those responsible for their misfortunes. Recent surveys conducted by Saudi professionals show that women are resorting to violence at home, against the government’s religious police and joining violent groups like Al-Qaeda.
Contrary to the Saudi government’s assertions and its apologists’ misinformation, Al-Qaeda continues to appeal to many Saudis and other Arabs, including women. This does not mean the majority of Al-Qaeda supporters or admirers are religious, poor or are in favor of an oppressive Islamist state like Saudi Arabia. People are forced into supporting and joining Al-Qaeda out of helplessness and desperation as many see this violent group as their last resort against their autocratic regime and those who support it. This is a reality that Western governments, institutions and businesses have to face, and they must re-evaluate their relations with the Saudi autocratic monarchy whose institutions produce more religious extremists and suicide bombers than any other country in the world.
It is worth remembering that the aim of Osama Bin Laden, the wealthy, highly educated and charismatic founder and financier of Al-Qaeda, from the very beginning was to oust the House of Saud. This is not because of the monarchy’s irreligious and corrupt behavior, an argument Bin Laden and his followers use as a recruiting tool. As an astute strategist and avid student of Muslim ideological violent movements and history, especially the Saudi-Wahhabi military expeditions, Bin Laden uses religion to discredit, denigrate and inflict fear and destruction on his opponents.
Bin Laden’s objectives and strategies are identical to those used by the Saudi-Wahhabi movement that began in 1744 and has continued to the present day. Like the Saudi-Wahhabi conquering alliance, Bin Laden indoctrinates, trains, feeds and arms his followers and empowers them to destroy and kill the enemies of God and Islam. Most of Al-Qaeda’s operatives in the Arabian Peninsula and elsewhere are usually men but the movement appeals to destitute women as well. One of Al-Qaeda’s most formidable indoctrinators, recruiters and fundraisers, Haylah Al-Qassir (nicknamed Mrs. Al-Qaeda), was arrested by the Saudi authorities on February 21, 2010. As the attached article explains, “Haylah Al Qassir is a dangerous woman with a strong personality, and was one of the most active and effective Al Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia. She is known to have recruited women and youth to Al Qaeda, as well as been responsible for financing.”
The continuation of the intolerable political, religious, social, educational and economic environment in Saudi Arabia will continue to push Saudi men and women into committing violent acts against each other, their neighbors and the international community. The U.S. and other Western countries can propel the Saudi monarchy to begin sharing power with Saudi citizens through local and national elections. The Saudi people, like all people, want and deserve better treatment from their government.
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Educated and Jobless Saudi Women: Ticking Bomb
By Ali Alyami
Even the people who proclaim Saudi Arabia’s stability and progress would admit that restless and frustrated Saudi youth, especially women, pose a real threat to the country’s stability and its shaky political structure. One of the major problems Saudis face is a lack of fulfilling and well-paying jobs, except for some government positions.. No segment in Saudi society suffers from this unnecessary and avoidable problem more than educated women. Millions of Saudi women are highly educated and have received advanced degrees, yet they are prevented from working, even if jobs are available. According to inconsistent Saudi statistics, between 6% and 14% of Saudi women are employed, even though the number of educated women exceeds that of men. Many women resent their dependence on men for economic survival among other things. They are forcefully demanding changes to labor and social laws that prevent them from working, becoming financially independent and contributing to the building of their lagging society
Given the fact that millions of Saudi women are educated, able and want to work, preventing them from working is mind-boggling, especially when there are about 10 million imported expatriates doing jobs that could be done by Saudi women. The reason given by the public and private sectors is that Saudis are selective and do not want to hold low paying jobs. This lame argument defies the fact that Saudi women are prevented from working in restaurants, cleaning homes, doing secretarial work or driving busses. Government officials consider these jobs as embodying decadent Western values or as s Prince Naif, the Saudi Interior Minister and a possible candidate to succeed King Abdullah, put it “He who permits his daughter or wife to work as a secretary for another man forfeit his manhood.”
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Resurgence of the Ottoman Empire?
By Ali Alyami
Like other Muslim regimes and groups, the Islamist leaning Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan are using the Palestinian issue as a tool to promote themselves as heroes and fatten their bank accounts. By challenging Israel’s Gaza blockade and defying the U.S. designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization, the Turks have achieved their intended objectives: money and fame among disenfranchised and marginalized Arabs and Muslims.
The Arab media, including the popular London-based Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, are lionizing Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan as “This phenomenal Ottoman Sultan …who sent his armada to break the Gaza blockade is a man of action not words and sentimental speeches.” In a visit to the Turkish capital, Ankara, on June 10, 2010, the Saudi Finance Minister, Mr. Ibrahim Abdul Aziz Al-Assaf, announced his government’s commitment to invest $400 billion in Turkey over the next four years. This is lucrative compensation for sending a few aid boats carrying goods and a horde of Turkish religious extremists, among others, who are driven by more than their love of Arab cultures and political systems, a sense of justice or protection of human rights.
Turkey has been a functioning democracy for the past seventy years, because its founder, Kamal Ataturk, separated the mosque from public policy and government operation. What he could not do was convince the Turks that Islam is a belief, not a way of life. Since men use Islam to control every aspect of Muslims’ lives and their perceptions towards both themselves and non-Muslims, Turkey remained culturally Muslim. Therefore, most Turks remain faithful to Islam and its teachings, which many Muslims and non-Muslims argue is incompatible with plural democracy governed by non-sectarian rule of law, as in Western societies.
Ataturk was aware of the threat sectarian Turks posed to his movement; consequently, he entrusted the military as a safeguard of the newly founded democracy under the rule of law. This unwieldy arrangement still holds, but has been steadily eroding due to regional and global developments and the Islamist-leaning party, AKP, currently in power.
Having failed to meet the democratic standards necessary to secure membership in the European Union and facing economic hardship, the revisionist Turkish President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan began to look for strategic and economic allies in the Arab East with an eye on the oil-rich Arab ruling families around the Persian Gulf. They found receptive partners, especially in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have been trying to convince the Turks to rejoin their Muslim brethren for years, but the relationship between the two historically bitter enemies remained strained until the Saudi King, Abdullah decided to fly to Ankara with a coterie of 400 business executives on August 8, 2006.
Despite King Abdullah’s poor reception when he arrived in Turkey, he and the business executives were able to make impressive progress with Turkish officials. They signed a variety of trade and cultural treaties with Turkish officials. Since then, Saudi-Turkish trade and cultural relations have accelerated momentously. These widening economic, cultural and religious ties the Turks intend to use to re-establish themselves as a regional Muslim power are interpreted to be the driving incentive that led the Turks to send their boats to Gaza. They want to convince the suspicious Gulf oilmen and their victory-starved populations that investments in Turkey will produce lucrative dividends. The Saudis are taking credit for the Turkish flotilla episode; consequently the West’s reaction to the incident is favorable towards Arabs. This is attributed to fear of a backlash, including an increase in terrorism against the West and its interests and security.
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Former Terrorists: Rehabilitation or Re-indoctrination
By Ali Alyami
The highly praised Saudi rehabilitation program for ex-prisoners and captured terrorists can be classified as re-programming, as opposed to deprogramming. Whether they are ex-Guantanamo prisoners or captured in Saudi Arabia, the deviants, as Saudi officials label them, are placed in lush villas and provided with a luxurious lifestyle that the majority of Saudis can only dream of having. After a few days of rest and relaxation, they must complete the government’s intense religious re-training instead of abandoning their violent inclinations and actions. The captured terrorists and religious extremists are instructed to fast certain days of the week, pray frequently and re-memorize the Quran. Not surprisingly, the trainers are the same religious clerics who originally indoctrinated terrorists in schools, mosques and summer camps.
Given the nature of the rehabilitative program, some of the terrorists return to their old profession as soon as they leave the villas. Othman Ahmed Al-Ghamdi was a prisoner in Guantanamo for four years and a participant in the rehabilitation program but returned to Al-Qaeda after his release in 2006. Today, he is on a list of the “85 most wanted people by Saudi Arabia.” As seen in Al-Ghamdi’s case, the rehabilitation program does not emphasize the complete avoidance of violence. During their re-education, the ex-terrorists are instructed not to commit crimes against their rulers and countrymen. Instead they are told that it is their duty to defend Islam against its sworn enemies, the infidels. As an ally of the Saudi government, the U.S. ought to investigate the Saudi rehabilitation program and evaluate it for what it is, as opposed to taking Saudi word for it and advice from people, including American witnesses, who lack deep understanding of Saudi religious and cultural backgrounds and methods of operation.
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