08-04-2005, 06:14 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Future of Arabia </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
The shifting sands of Arabia will soon obliterate all traces of the unmarked grave of King Fahd who died on Monday. Hopefully, the House of Saud, no longer considered unshakeable, will not meet the same fate in the near future.
Ever since King Abdul Aziz bin Saud, a Bedouin chieftain, forged the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, there have been tectonic social, political and economic upheavals that have radically altered the perspective of Arabs not only in that country, but also in states across West Asia and North Africa.
The emergence of oil as a key denominator of world economics, the astonishing influence that the US has come to wield on both sides of the Suez Canal at least among the kings, emirs and presidents of dubious repute and questionable legitimacy and the continuous state of war at which Arabs have found themselves for decades, has had a telling impact in the form of resurgent Islamism.
King Fahd, known in his younger days as a liberal came to be recognised in his lifetime as one of the key instigators of Islamist fanaticism and a major investor in jihad as we know it today. He literally spent billions of dollars building an army of "holy warriors" to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
He lavished funds on the Saudi clergy to promote fundamentalist Wahabi Islam at home, arrogating to himself the remarkable title of "Custodian of Holy Mosques" and directing the harshest possible crackdown on dissent.
And all this merely because he did not want Ayatollah Khomeini, a Shia, to emerge as the popular face of Islam and pose a challenge to Sunni dominance. It was not only Saudi Arabia that he desired to dominate, but also all of Arabia.
He paid for his folly in his lifetime, too. Nothing could have highlighted the dangers of his misguided shift towards orthodoxy and fundamentalism more than the fact that 15 of the 19 suicide bombers who struck on 9/11 were Saudi men. In a sense, his was a life of missed opportunities, botched policies and amazing contradictions.
He could have used the unimaginable oil wealth of his kingdom to usher in a new, modern era for his people and influence rulers in the neighbourhood to part ways with the past. He could have forced an equitable Arab-Israeli rapprochement but he chose to feed old animosities.
Yet, to ensure the survival of the House of Saud, he unabashedly looked to the US for help. King Abdullah, who has now assumed the throne, is perceived as a moderniser who has been pushing for reforms at home; if he steps up the process of granting political freedom and ushering in social reform, he could greatly influence the rulers of the other 21 Arab states.
For starters, he could push the Arab League into accepting a deal on peace with Israel, an effort that has faltered in the past because he lacked full legitimacy. But those hopeful of seeing King Abdullah take his country into the 21st century must factor in his age. At 81, he is only three years younger than his predecessor; his designated successor is four years younger than him.
Also, it remains to be seen whether the palace plotters known as the "Sudairi Seven" will let him have his way in shaping Saudi Arabia's internal and external policies.
For the moment, it is important for the House of Saud to survive. If it falls, Osama bin Laden shall triumphantly return home to cheering Saudi Islamists.Â
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
The shifting sands of Arabia will soon obliterate all traces of the unmarked grave of King Fahd who died on Monday. Hopefully, the House of Saud, no longer considered unshakeable, will not meet the same fate in the near future.
Ever since King Abdul Aziz bin Saud, a Bedouin chieftain, forged the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, there have been tectonic social, political and economic upheavals that have radically altered the perspective of Arabs not only in that country, but also in states across West Asia and North Africa.
The emergence of oil as a key denominator of world economics, the astonishing influence that the US has come to wield on both sides of the Suez Canal at least among the kings, emirs and presidents of dubious repute and questionable legitimacy and the continuous state of war at which Arabs have found themselves for decades, has had a telling impact in the form of resurgent Islamism.
King Fahd, known in his younger days as a liberal came to be recognised in his lifetime as one of the key instigators of Islamist fanaticism and a major investor in jihad as we know it today. He literally spent billions of dollars building an army of "holy warriors" to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
He lavished funds on the Saudi clergy to promote fundamentalist Wahabi Islam at home, arrogating to himself the remarkable title of "Custodian of Holy Mosques" and directing the harshest possible crackdown on dissent.
And all this merely because he did not want Ayatollah Khomeini, a Shia, to emerge as the popular face of Islam and pose a challenge to Sunni dominance. It was not only Saudi Arabia that he desired to dominate, but also all of Arabia.
He paid for his folly in his lifetime, too. Nothing could have highlighted the dangers of his misguided shift towards orthodoxy and fundamentalism more than the fact that 15 of the 19 suicide bombers who struck on 9/11 were Saudi men. In a sense, his was a life of missed opportunities, botched policies and amazing contradictions.
He could have used the unimaginable oil wealth of his kingdom to usher in a new, modern era for his people and influence rulers in the neighbourhood to part ways with the past. He could have forced an equitable Arab-Israeli rapprochement but he chose to feed old animosities.
Yet, to ensure the survival of the House of Saud, he unabashedly looked to the US for help. King Abdullah, who has now assumed the throne, is perceived as a moderniser who has been pushing for reforms at home; if he steps up the process of granting political freedom and ushering in social reform, he could greatly influence the rulers of the other 21 Arab states.
For starters, he could push the Arab League into accepting a deal on peace with Israel, an effort that has faltered in the past because he lacked full legitimacy. But those hopeful of seeing King Abdullah take his country into the 21st century must factor in his age. At 81, he is only three years younger than his predecessor; his designated successor is four years younger than him.
Also, it remains to be seen whether the palace plotters known as the "Sudairi Seven" will let him have his way in shaping Saudi Arabia's internal and external policies.
For the moment, it is important for the House of Saud to survive. If it falls, Osama bin Laden shall triumphantly return home to cheering Saudi Islamists.Â
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