{"id":94843,"date":"2017-07-03T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T11:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=94843"},"modified":"2017-07-02T11:46:15","modified_gmt":"2017-07-02T10:46:15","slug":"salafism-vs-wahhabism-qatar-and-saudi-arabias-proxy-war-rages-in-syria-thanks-to-us-militarism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/07\/salafism-vs-wahhabism-qatar-and-saudi-arabias-proxy-war-rages-in-syria-thanks-to-us-militarism\/","title":{"rendered":"Salafism vs. Wahhabism: Qatar and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Proxy War Rages in Syria Thanks to US Militarism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Salafi jihadist scholar Abdullah al-Muhaysini is one of many agents working on behalf of Qatar to combat Saudi Arabia\u2019s Wahhabist ideology. Their battleground is Syria, where a so-called \u201ccivil war\u201d is covering up a silent fight between competing political movements. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Members of al-Nusra Front gesture as they drive in a convoy touring villages in the southern countryside of Syria\u2019s Idlib province, Decembe, 2014.
(Photo: Khalil Ashawi\/Reuters)<\/p><\/div>\n

30 Jun 2017 – <\/em>Qatar\u2019s main man operating in Syria is Saudi Arabian Abdullah al-Muhaysini. He is a PhD, having received his doctorate in Islamic law<\/a> from the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.<\/p>\n

On June 16, 2017 al-Muhaysini survived an assassination attempt<\/a> while leaving the Abu Thar al-Ghafari Mosque<\/a> in Syria\u2019s Idlib Province, where he has lived since 2013<\/a>. \u00a0Idlib is known as al-Qaeda\u2019s global base, and its borders are controlled by the Turkish<\/a> government. A suicide bomber targeted him, but al-Muhaysini was not killed; however, approximately ten people were reportedly injured, some seriously.<\/p>\n

There is indeed a war going on in Syria, but not the civil war that the mainstream media has covered extensively. No, it is a regional proxy war being actively fought between Qatar and Saudi Arabia<\/a> on Syrian soil.<\/p>\n

So how is it that two closely aligned Gulf states are butting heads?<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia\u2019s state-approved ideology is Wahhabism<\/a>, a politically-motivated movement \u00a0that has its roots in the British colonialism that toppled the Ottoman Empire. It is not a sect of Islam \u2013 rather, it\u2019s radical Islam, a political ideology just like communism and capitalism.<\/p>\n

Qatar\u2019s state-approved ideology, on the other hand, is the Salafi brand<\/a> of radical Islam. \u00a0There are differences, though both distort Islam to suit their political and regional motivations. This political rift in how Islam should be followed has driven Saudi Arabia and Qatar to support competing groups in Syria at the cost of Syrian lives.<\/p>\n

Each party to the Syrian conflict backs a different horse. The U.S. government has sponsored the Free Syrian Army since 2011, when efforts to topple Bashar al-Assad\u2019s government began. \u00a0The Saudi King sponsored Zahran Alloush and the Islam Army<\/a>, while Qatar backed Jabhat al Nusra. The commonality being that all of them have used al-Qaeda troops as assets: in war, you use what you have available.<\/p>\n

Before long, Syria\u2019s al-Qaeda branch \u2013 the al-Nusra Front \u2013 became the fiercest and most successful of the various armed terrorist groups operating in the country. Turkey provided the logistics: the staging ground for various radical Islamic terrorists coming in from the four corners of the world. The U.S. provided the weapons, freshly seized from the Libyan government. Qatar and Saudi Arabia<\/a> provided cash to make the payrolls of the thousands of mercenaries fighting to topple the secular Syrian government in favor of their perverted, politically motivated versions of sharia<\/em> law.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the CIA<\/a> have all worked hand-in-hand to support the terrorists attacking Syria from the south. In the north, Qatar and Turkey<\/a> are working together to support terrorists attacking Syria as well. The Syrian \u201ccivil war\u201d is not between Syrians, but is a \u201cnorth versus south\u201d war waged inside Syria between Saudi Arabian allies (the U.S., Jordan<\/a> and the UAE) and Qatar with its ally Turkey.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Terrorist fundraising and war crimes \u2013 the many sins of Al-Muhaysini<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abdullah al-Muhaysini is a member of the sharia<\/em> council for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham<\/a>, an alliance of jihadist factions that includes the al-Nusra Front, a former al-Qaeda group remembered by its former name Jabhat Al Nusra<\/a> that Saudi Arabia and its allies have accused Qatar of funding.<\/p>\n

On June 9, 2017, Saudi Arabia published a list of terrorists, with al-Muhaysini himself making the list. In late 2013, Muhaysini posted his support for the then-active Madid Ahl al-Sham<\/a> campaign on Twitter while identifying one of the fundraiser\u2019s organizers, Sa\u2019d bin Sa\u2019d Muhammad Shariyan Al Ka\u2019bi, as well as the campaign\u2019s location in Qatar.<\/p>\n

Madid Ahl al-Sham was a Qatar-based fundraising campaign identified by Muhaysini and others for the financial assistance it provided to Jabhat al-Nusra. The U.S. Department of State identified Madid Ahl al-Sham as a \u201cfundraising campaign that was suspected of sending funds to violent extremist elements in Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. said in a sanctions listing in November 2016 that al-Muhaysini was part of the inner leadership circle of the al-Nusra Front, which they consider to be a terrorist group. \u00a0\u00a0He is an avid social media user<\/a> \u2013 his videos show him hugging suicide bombers before they leave for the frontlines, as well as training children to use weapons.<\/p>\n

The \u201cCubs of al Aqsa Camp\u201d<\/a> for Syrian child soldiers<\/a> was founded by al-Muhaysini. \u00a0On social media feeds, he uses the iconic raised forefinger, which is the universal jihadist salute. \u00a0\u201cYour brother is in a good state,\u201d Muhaysini wrote on Telegram, the cloud-based messaging service, after a bombing took place in Idlib.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Treasury blacklisted al-Muhaysini in 2016 for acting on behalf of and supporting the al-Nusra Front, saying he had raised millions of dollars for the group \u2013 not only from governments, but from private donors<\/a> in Riyadh, Kuwait City, Doha and elsewhere. \u00a0\u00a0Al-Muhaysini posted two statements of support for Qatar<\/a> on Telegram.<\/p>\n

Abdullah al-Muhaysini has also participated in war crimes. He praised and participated in the execution of 65 captured Syrian Arab Army soldiers at the Abu al-Dhuhur Airbase<\/a>. \u00a0The speech he delivered while standing with the blindfolded soldiers was filled with sectarian hatred<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He has made it clear that his war against the Syrian government is not about change or reform, but about making Syria an extremist Sunni utopia. But isn\u2019t that what ISIS (Daesh)is fighting for as well? This paints all the \u201crebels\u201d with the same brush: they are all fighting for \u201cSunnistan,\u201d not for Syria. But what about the thousands of Sunnis who were massacred and maimed in the \u201crevolution\u201d by these so-called Sunni rebels? They are considered collateral damage by al-Muhaysini.<\/p>\n

The Muslim Brotherhood and Daesh \u2013 two sides of the same coin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia and its allies are threatening Qatar for being aligned with the global group known as the Muslim Brotherhood<\/a>. The Muslim Brotherhood has offices and members in almost every major city in the U.S.<\/a>, UK<\/a>, France and Germany.<\/p>\n

The Obama administration<\/a> came under repeated attack for placing Muslim Brotherhood<\/a> members in even the highest positions<\/a> in sensitive departments. Hillary Clinton\u2019s right-hand assistant Huma Abedin\u2019s<\/a> parents and brother were all Muslim Brotherhood members. \u00a0The Muslim Brotherhood<\/a> is outlawed in many nations, but not in the U.S. or UK, where they officially flourish and hold sway over the political scene.<\/p>\n

Even though the U.S. Congress<\/a> did debate whether to ban the group in the U.S.<\/a>, they decided to allow it to continue. But Qatar is now under embargo from land, sea and air for its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Trump administration has exerted a policy of \u201cDo as I say, not as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Syrian National Coalition<\/a>, or SNC, was formed in Istanbul, Turkey in 2011 and became recognized as the sole and legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The founding members were all members of the Muslim Brotherhood<\/a> \u2013 this is why many Syrian opposition figures could not join or support that group, because of the radical Islamic ideology it follows.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army soldiers are seen at the border town of Azaz, some 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Aleppo, Syria.
(AP Photo\/Turkpix)<\/p><\/div>\n

People who wanted real change and reform in Syria were stuck with either following jihadists or forming their own internal or external opposition groups. The platform and goals of the Muslim Brotherhood are the same platform and goals of Daesh. But while most of the world recognizes Daesh as evil monsters, many modern Western nations consider the Muslim Brotherhood \u2013 a mirror image of Daesh \u2013 to be a legitimate global political party.<\/p>\n

The international community fell over itself while supporting the SNC under the banner of \u201cFriends of Syria.\u201d<\/a> The Americans, British<\/a>, French, Germans, Belgians and Australians were all too happy to lend their official support to the goals of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, only to later be targeted by jihadist attacks<\/a> on their own soil, directly tied to the jihad in Syria.<\/p>\n

Although Saudi Arabia, the Arab Gulf monarchies (UAE) and Egypt<\/a> are presently close U.S. allies, they differ from the U.S. in their disapproval of the Muslim Brotherhood<\/a>. They have drawn a line in the sand \u2013 and Qatar is on the other side. It is not unlike a playground fight, with the bullies (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt) accusing and threatening someone smaller (Qatar). The U.S. has come out on the side of the bullies, even while allowing their enemy, the Muslim Brotherhood<\/a>, to freely operate in America. \u00a0No wonder the average American is confused about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Syria is the staging ground for a clash of civilizations. This is not East versus West, however. Most of the carnage in Syria is carried out by Arabs killing fellow Arabs, while being supported politically by the West. This scenario is East killing East, while the West sits watching and applauding. The Syrian clash of civilizations pits a modern nation that has been raised on secular values against backward Arab Gulf monarchies<\/a> that still engage in modern-day slavery<\/a> and have never had an elected leader or any democratically elected governments.<\/p>\n

The Syrian population has been resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestine for over 60 years, and their capacity to resist their own occupation knows no bounds. Syria\u2019s core values are secularism and resistance. The millions of Syrians who have lived through almost 7 years of war are stubbornly hanging onto these values in the face of a global onslaught.<\/p>\n

_____________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Steven Sahouni is an independent Syrian political analyst and writer based out of Lebanon; he has been covering the Syrian crisis since it’s onset in 2011 and has published several articles in numerous media outlets. He is regularly interviewed by US, Canadian and German media.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 mintpressnews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Salafi jihadist scholar Abdullah al-Muhaysini is one of many agents working on behalf of Qatar to combat Saudi Arabia\u2019s Wahhabist ideology. Their battleground is Syria, where a so-called \u201ccivil war\u201d is covering up a silent fight between competing political movements. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-north-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94843\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}