A break from double speak – Trump tells it like it is

Let’s talk axis of evil

The European/American Empires, Israel and Saudi Arabia constitute a powerful and deadly axis of evil. A convergence of imperialism, Zionism and Wahhabism, these powers are part of a diabolical scheme to re-shape the so-called Middle East and Africa. 

Prior to his murder, Jamal Khashoggi was not well known globally, and this is certainly not the first time the House of Saud has murdered critics of the regime. Even members of the so-called royal family have disappeared. Khashoggi’s death is being highlighted because, as Trump said, they handled the whole thing very badly – “a total fiasco”. Who better to talk about cover-ups than the president of the United States, whose security agencies have been involved in some of the most shameful cover-ups of all time, and have, from the establishment of what is known as the United States, murdered or imprisoned any serious opponents, both internal and external? 

The security apparatus of Rogue State USA, acting on orders from the top, murdered Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, members of the Black Panther Party and American Indian Movement to name just a few. Who they did not kill, they imprisoned on trumped up charges, including activists like Leonard Peltier, Russell Means, Dennis Banks, Sundiata Acoli, Jalil Abdul Muntaqim, Mumia Abu Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Jamal al Amin (formerly Rap Brown) and countless others. Externally, the US Central Intelligence Agency is infamous for assassinating leaders and toppling regimes that are perceived as posing a threat to the Euro-American hegemony. These are the people who drove around with the body of Patrice Lumumba in a car boot for three days, and who, in collaboration with the French, dissolved the body of Moroccan revolutionary, Mehdi Ben Barka, in a vat of acid. They know about cover-ups.

When we hear talking heads on the Cable News Network, Fox News, British Broadcasting Corporation and other imperialist media mouthpieces talking about the need for their governments to break ties with Saudi Arabia over the murder of Khashoggi, we are thinking, would it not be more pertinent to point out that it is murder and the shedding of blood that binds them together?

Khashoggi is now on a long list of literally millions of people that have been wiped out by members of this axis of evil. From the genocide of the indigenous peoples all over the earth, through the trade in captured Africans, the long period of colonisation and imperialism and their wars of terror, the brutal occupation of Palestine, the dropping of nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, right up to Islamic States of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)’s murderous rampage under the guise of Islam, and the genocidal war in Yemen, these entities are at the root of so much bloodshed, murder and genocide, that it becomes impossible to even list the atrocities, there are simply too many. It has literally been an unending killing spree. This time, the spotlight is on the House of Saud, simply because they bungled the cover-up.

Who and what is the House of Saud?

In 1932, the British provided political and military support to Abdal-Aziz Ibn Saud, the then Emir of Najd, so that he could destroy his political rivals and establish the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ever since, Britain has been a reliable ally of the murderous House of Saud. The Americans too, over decades, have worked closely with the Saudis, which means support for the Muslim Brotherhood, who they conveniently used to undermine nationalist regimes, such as that of Gamal Abdul Nasser in Egypt, and more recently Muammar Qaddafi in Libya and Bashar al Assad in Syria. The Americans, Israelis and Saudis worked hand-in-hand in the development, organisation, financing and training of Islamic deviants such as Al Qaeda and its various offshoots, including ISIS. 

Age-old battle

A careful examination of the history of Islam is imperative if we are to understand the happenings in 2018. This reactionary tendency in Islam, embodied in contemporary times by the Saudi Wahhabi regime, has always faced opposition. For example, during the reign of the third Caliph, Uthman (644-656) close members of his family and clan accumulated vast amounts of wealth, while the socio-economic inequalities of the majority of the people increased. At the time, Abu Dhar Ghifari, a revolutionary sahaba(companion of the Prophet) opposed Uthman, in much the same way as Muammar Qaddafi consistently opposed the anti-Islamic practices of the House of Saud. 

The Saudis hated Qaddafi with a vengeance. At the Arab Summit in Doha, 2009, Qaddafi told Saudi King Abdullah, in a hall packed with Arab leaders, “the lie stands behind you and the grave stands before you, you were created by Britain and you are protected by America...”  Qaddafi opposed the very nature of the Saudi regime, pointing out that monarchies have no place in Islam. He exposed their puritanical posturing, while at the same time using Islam as a cover for their racist, reactionary and opportunistic politics.

The struggle between revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces among Muslims is age old– that is why, as historians, we can quickly identify the counter-revolutionaries among us. Revolutionary Islamic scholar, Ali Shariati, in his brilliant work, Religion versus Religion, referred to this struggle as “the battle between true religion and false religion”. 

Islam can only be revolutionary

Islam, as conveyed by Prophet Muhammad, is indisputably a revolutionary doctrine and way of life. When the earliest Islamic community was established at Medina, land was held in common and ground rent was abolished, as was usury and exploitation. It was a community based on justice and a radical egalitarianism, that demanded from each and every citizen, that they want for others what they wanted for themselves. Prophet Muhammad was not primarily a ruler, but rather a moral conscience and a guide to his people. After the Prophet’s death, under the leadership of the second Caliph, Umar (584-644) poverty was eradicated, public officials were servants of the people who lived on meagre incomes, capital accumulation of wealth by individuals was discouraged and restricted, and what today would be referred to as the public sector, played a dynamic role in the redistribution of wealth to benefit all.  It is related that during this period, when the time came to collect and distribute zakat(the compulsory giving of a set proportion of one’s wealth to charity) no one was in need of charity. This is the extent of the economic justice that prevailed in the early revolutionary Islamic state.

Qaddafi was known in Libya as “Qaid al Thawra” (Guide of the Revolution). Jamahiriya literally means “a state of the masses”, where the people exercised authority through a network of People’s Committees and Congresses. The Libyan Jamahiriya, under the guidance of Muammar Qaddafi, was based on popular sovereignty, a form of direct democracy, where the Islamic practice of shuraor consensus of the people, was the order of the day. When asked about the Constitution of Libya, Qaddafi replied, “The Quran is our Constitution”. In the modern day context, the Jamahiriya as a nation-state, was a society that emulated the example of the early Islamic communities. Qaddafi declared that the gross national product – the national patrimony – must benefit all citizens, and he insured that it did. Everyone by now is aware of the extraordinary standard of living and access to resources that every Libyan citizen enjoyed in the Jamahiriya.

The House of Saud is anti-Islamic

The Saudi ruling elite, the keepers of the Kaaba, have failed to understand and have deviated from the moral principles that were at the very heart of the community established in Medina, despite the fact that this historic community was under the direct guidance and leadership of the Prophet of Islam himself, Muhammad. If they understood, then it would be obvious to them, that their accumulation of tremendous wealth and privilege that is denied to the majority of their population is un-Islamic.  They would know that their disgraceful, racist treatment and exploitation of migrant workers from Africa and Asia is un-Islamic. They would know that one cannot profess Islam and capitalism in the same breath. They would also know that the very idea of a monarchy is antithetical to Islam, as is imperialism and Zionism.  But instead, they compete with their Gulf neighbours to see who can build the tallest buildings, and wallow in their ignorance. And if anyone dares to point out their failings, as Jamal Khashoggi did, well they murder him right in one of their embassies, dismember his body into parts and bury him in the garden of the Consulate’s home. 

Unholy alliance

And should anyone fall for their anti-Israeli rhetoric, be clear that the House of Saud is not interested in opposing Zionism, but rather in embracing it. Saudi Arabia is an integral part of a grand plan, in collaboration with the Zionists and the US-Euro Imperialists to reshape the so-called Middle East into a greater Zion, and to reshape and recolonise Africa. The Zionists and Saudis, along with their equally reactionary rivals, the Qatari ruling elite, have a strong presence throughout Africa. 

Robert Fisk, writing in the British newspaper, The Independent(10 August 2017) noted that, “when the wealthiest Saudis fall ill, they have been known to fly into Tel Aviv on their private jets for treatment in Israel’s finest hospitals.” And it is well documented that ISIS and Al Nusra so-called Jihadists are treated in Israeli hospitals and sent back onto the battlefield.

Neither the pseudo-Islamic ISIS nor Al Nusra have targeted a single Zionist entity. Like those who pull their strings, it is the Muslim world they are out to decimate. The sad thing is that many of the youth who have joined ISIS and Al Nusra are unaware of the bigger picture, and sincerely believe they are joining an Islamic Army that is fighting for a noble cause, although thankfully, the truth of the matter is now better understood. 

The global power elites are well aware of the fact that authentic Islam is counter-hegemonic. Like the revolutionary teachings of Isa (Jesus), as exemplified in the Christian liberation theology movement, these revolutionary theologies, if allowed to flourish, pose a very real threat to the unjust global status quo. 

Not too long ago, a respected Islamic scholar told me that he was asked for his comments regarding Saudi Arabia’s bombing of civilians in Yemen, but was reticent to comment because he might have to visit Saudi Arabia for Hajj or other reasons, pointing out that the Saudis are very vindictive. He is right, as we can see from the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, they are indeed brutal and vindictive. Using the power of independent reasoning – referred to in Islam as Ijtihad,it is my firm belief that given the present context, that is, the occupation of the Holy City of Mecca and the Kaababy allies of the Zionists and imperialists, it is no longer obligatory for revolutionary Muslims to make Hajj. Although Hajj is a pillar of Islam, if the price one has to pay is to remain silent on Saudi crimes against humanity, then I think the time has come to use the power of independent reasoning, not as a traditional juridical methodology which is seen as the reserve of Islamic scholars, but rather as a substantive moral value, able to be utilised by every thinking Muslim.   

In this October month, which marks the seventh anniversary of the murder of revolutionary Muslim, Muammar Qaddafi, I close with his last words: “Even if you don’t hear my voice, continue to resist”.

*Gerald A. Perreira is chairperson of the Guyanese organisations Black Consciousness Movement Guyana and Organisation for the Victory of the People. He is an executive member of the Caribbean Chapter of the Network for the Defence of Humanity. He can be reached at <[email protected]>.