Saudi Arabi A Forbidden Corruption And Destruction Essay

The current relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia is contentious and competitive, however it can be said that it has improved since the twentieth century when the two countries engaged in direct conflict. The two countries have a very similar political agenda, which they use religion and faith to fulfill. They use the rally around the flag concept in order to strengthen their political agendas through their religious beliefs. The idea of a Sunni/Shitte divide is not as immense within the country, but there is one. Saudi Arabia is more of a

For the United States, the Gulf region remains one of the most geo-strategically important locations in the world for diplomatic, intelligence cooperation, and business opportunities such as hydrocarbons and arms. This strategic cooperation has provided the region some stability, particularly with the rise of Iran and the Shi’a crescent and the chaotic outcome of the war in Iraq. The council members have also relied on the United State to fend off some of the domestic challenges to the existing regimes that are both internally and regionally rooted.

Saudi Arabia is a leader in the war against terrorism. My country brought the world together for an international conference in 2005 to align nations in the fight against terrorism. The kingdom contributed more than $100 million to create a global center for counterterrorism at the United Nations and established a 40-member Islamic Military Coalition to combat terrorism and extremism. It also is a member of the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Counter ISIL and is part of the coalition’s continuing military

After the death of Osama bin Laden, his immediate family is hit hard emotionally and attacks western culture, specifically partying and drinking, and uses their money to advertise their outrage with what drinking and partying did to their son and with a net worth of about $7 billion (Frank, 2009) the bin Ladens reach a large amount of people and since most people there respected their opinion, a significant number of Saudi Arabians follow and start to stray from western culture and the temptations it holds when trying to live a “traditional” Muslim lifestyle. A second short term effect of Osama bin Laden dying from alcohol poisoning is bin Laden’s future colleague forming an Islamic Extremist group without bin Laden’s assistance. Abu ‘Ubaidah al-Banshiri, was born in May of 1950 in Cairo, Egypt and had strong feelings against Americans interfering with the politics in the Arabian peninsula. Al-Banshiri formed the group al-Qaeda with other men who felt the same. Al-Qaeda tried to get people to join the group and, “issued a fatwa, or religious edict, holding that “to kill the Americans and their allies—civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim…” ( Funk &

After the events that took place in 2001, the idea that Western Countries declared “war on terror” was proposed and a new awareness of Islam emerged.

In the post Osama bin Laden era al-Qaedist ideology is flourishing across the Arab world. A significant development has been the rise of al-Qaeda offshoots in the Middle East. The Abdallah Azzam Brigades franchise has increasingly become a noteworthy actor in terrorism. On May 8th, 2012 Thomas Nides, Deputy Secretary of State designated Abdallah Azzam Brigades as a foreign terrorist organization (Nides, T.R. , 2012). Abdullah Azzam Brigades may have only recently been added as a foreign terrorist group; nevertheless the organization has deep roots, lethal capacity, and is capable of contributing to supplementary instability in the Middle East.

The contemporary world of Islam faces an uphill battle defending itself from modern day misconceptions and the forced involvement with geopolitics. Islam struggles with the western world’s perception of the religion and cultural understanding. Modern day Muslims will have to overcome insurmountable hurdles in an attempt to rebuild the diversity and complexity within the Islam faith. Islam is in a constant battle with Western Civilization and its forced power and ideology on the Middle East. The current religious struggle between the Middle East and the West derives from thousands of years of bloodshed and conflict between the worlds three major religions; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Blood that was shed during a period of holy wars and the ever expanding ruling powers such as Greece and Rome. The candle of hatred burns in modern times with the presences of radical extremist groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda that continue to ignite hatred towards the West by manipulating the Qur’an and preaching concepts that conflict with the laws of Islam.

The United States relationship with Saudi Arabia is one that begun on February 14, 1945 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met King Al-Saud at the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal. After World War II the United States became the most influential foreign power in Saudi Arabia. US’s main interest was focused in the direction of the oil industry. Then in 1960 Saudi Arabia was one of the main driving forces in the creation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). During the Cold War, Saudis favored the United States while the two also continued to but heads over the issue concerning the ever present Israeli-Arab conflict. Americas constant support for Israel has, and will continue to be an issue that brings about confrontation between the Saudis and the United States. Foreign relation ties never were as intense as they were during the Persian Gulf War. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait posed a potential threat to the Saudis provoking the United States to intervene. The Saudis allowed the United States to have access to their bases during this time. Since that time, our troops have remained there which is something that has led to much controversy because many Islamist believe that we our occupying their holy land. This has sparked many extremist to take action, most notably Osama Bin Laden who used this reasoning to justify the horrors of 9/11. Post 9/11 opened a new chapter to US-Saudi

“Believers have every right to build their politics on basic religious ideals such as truth, justice and the welfare of all people,” (Viewpoint, 10). They take teachings from the Qur’an and alienate them into radicalized ideas. One of the main branches of Islam, that they use, is Wahhabism. “The faith that drives Osama bin Laden and his followers is a particularly austere and conservative brand of Islam known as Wahhabism, which was instrumental in creating the Saudi monarchy, and if sufficiently alienated, could tear it down,” (Middle East, paragraph 1). They change the lessons into a much stronger and harsher version of what they actually are. “Saudi rulers essentially owe their power to the Wahhabis,” (Middle East, paragraph 15). “Wahhabis believe their faith should spread, not giving ground in any place they have conquered. Thus Saudi Arabia was a main financial backer of the mujahedeen fighting,” (Middle East, paragraph 5). Wahhabism originated from Saudi Arabia and Saudis have very strong beliefs about their faith. They try to expand their religion into other areas in the

The countries present their ideologies to the outside world as holy nations. Recently there has been significant evidence on major shifts with increasing polarization and creation of new alliances. These strategic actions produce both risks and opportunities; however, in the Middle East, there has been growing sectarianism in the conflicts (El Fadl, 2005). The sectarianism plays a great role in the political conflicts within Saudi Arabia and Iran. While both Saudi Arabia and Iran claim to have theocracy model states based on Islam, Saudi Arabia is considered a Theo-monarchy with strong relations to Wahhabism, a branch of Sunni Islam, while Iran’s political system has democratic components and is based on Shiism (Al-Rasheed, 1996). The differences in religious practices and ethnicity between the two nations have contributed to the dilemma of instability in the Middle

In 2013 in an unprecedented act, Saudi Arabia turned down a seat at the most influential table in the world, the UN Security Council. Saudi officials cited the international community’s lack of action in Syria as one of the reasons why they felt the need to make a stand by not accepting the coveted seat. Largely, Saudi Arabia blames Russia and China for protecting Assad from UN sanctions with their veto power that they have because they are two of the five permanent security council members along with the U.S., the UK, and France (McDowall, 2013).

The Middle East has recently been the topic of many news sources as there is so much uncertainty in the region today. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria are all having problems and they continue to worry the outside world. Saudi Arabia has recently put King Salman in power, following the death of his half-brother, and with the current economy in the Middle East, a state that possess so much influence in an already unstable region, to become unstable in itself may cause significant catastrophes (Botelho). Yemen is also in turmoil with its own current problems. “[The United States] does not even know who is in charge right now. We know that rebels have moved in, they have exerted tremendous influence, and we can’t say exactly who will be in charge there in the future” (Botelho). With rebels moving in, the United States also fears of the fact that Yemen has been known as a source of terrorism (Botelho). Along with the other problems, in 2011, President Obama’s agenda was enforced and the United States pulled all troops

The congressional override of Obama’s veto has drawn a lot of speculation from different quarters in the public domain especially since the congress comprising of a majority of democrats and republican have overridden the veto unanimously. The veto was to ensure that the Saudi Arabian kingdom was not sued in any way or its citizens and especially sponsors who were suspected to have funded al-Qaida. The courts could thus not pass judgments against Saudi Arabia, which is a sovereign nation. The victims in this case wanted the congress to side with them and provide them a means of obtaining justice. The article further showed the congress override and the passing of a law that could spell disaster for either Saudi Arabia or the American economy since the Saudi kingdom has opted to remove its investments, which are in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Foreign relations against the United States and Saudi Arabia can be hampered in the process as the article notes. Therefore, the article focusses on the victims and families of the attacks and the delayed justice system, which has not been helped by the president especially since the Saudi kingdom, has been

“Muslims, Bin Laden argues, must reverse a series of humiliations that they’ve endured since the Ottoman Empire, the last Muslim great power, was dismantled after World War I. Al-Qaeda’s 1998 declaration of a jihad, or holy war, against ‘Jews and Crusaders’ urges Muslims to attack ‘the Americans and their allies, civilian and military,’ supposedly as a response to U.S. policies that al-Qaeda feels oppress Muslims: the stationing of troops in Saudi Arabia; the backing of U.N. sanctions against Iraq; support for repressive Arab regimes; support for Israel; alleged complicity in Russian attacks on Muslims in Chechnya; and interventions in Bosnia, Somalia, and other Muslim regions that bin Laden sees as attempts to spread America’s empire. These Western policies, according to al-Qaeda, add up to a ‘clear

     In the heart of the Middle East is a country known by many Westerners for its oil production and, often, extremist beliefs of groups within the country. The country is Saudi Arabia, and though it is thought of by many as a rather backward country, Saudi Arabia has a rich history and culture, and it is a country that revolves around Islam and the worship of Allah as the one true God.