These days Saudi Arabia is getting a lot of coverage by the media due to Hajj stampede and Yemen conflict, mainly. The Saudis have been actively involved in the occupation of Yemen which continues to claim more and more lives day by day. Yet Saudis are still ignoring worldwide demand to end the occupation (after a shockingly long period of world indifference). Saudi Arabia is, by far, leading a coalition of nine Arab states to bring Yemeni Houthis to their knees. As reported by Amnesty international, this Saudi-led intervention is accused of committing crimes against innocent civilians in Yemen by carrying out large-scale airstrikes and indiscriminate bombings of civilians in that country. Amnesty international also asked UK and US to “suspend” selling of weapons to their ally Saudi Arabia while warning for the “appalling disregard” for civilians.
At this time, Saudis have turned their eyes to human dignity not only in Yemen but also in Mecca! Long involved in occupation, it was a shocking crane accident on September 12, 2015 that made headlines. This accident has claimed 107 innocent hajj pilgrims whose only guilt was to fulfill their rounds of circling in Mecca.
Although Saudi Arabia has evidently “blamed strong winds and safety standards” and imposed penalties on Bin Laden (The name alone scares you off) group for the crash and immediately tried to close the case, but many experts believe authorities in Saudi Arabia could have prevented this massacre before the hajj festival.
Only 12 days later another incredibly horrendous “murder” that sent shock waves to the Muslim communities all over the world happened, the hajj stampede. It, which took place in the plain of Mina, a desert near Makah to which pilgrims go in the morning of Eid al-Adha[1], had over two thousand hajj pilgrims suffocated to death in their way to fulfilling the final rites of hajj in what can only be described as Saudi Arabia’s “worst mistake ever”.
One Pakistani cleric was quoted saying “These are the benefits in traveling with Salafi packages for umrah and hajj”. Mean while, in similar remarks many analysts along with famous Muslim leaders also thrashed Saudi Arabia for “mismanaging” the Hajj festival and called for an end to Al Saud’s custodianship over Islam’s holy cities before it’s too late.
According to a video clip which went online very recently, it was quoted from New York Times that Al Saud’s control of the annual hajj festival, which was basically established for Muslims to forget the differences of race, sect, opinion, nationality and to prove integrity and harmony in the Muslim community, has proven to be catastrophic. By looking at the records since 1975, over 7,932 innocent pilgrims have been the victims of Al Saud policies in Mecca. These numbers are extremely conservative considering several deadly stampedes in Mecca in 1990, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006 and the latest tragedy in the year 2015.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has also tried spending as much petrodollar as possible to foment extremism in the region by spreading its literally-interpreted version of Islam called “Salafism”. Recently, one of Foxnews senior correspondents actually exposed Saudi’s role of extremism in the region on his twitter page by saying “Saudi Arabia is the bankroller of Sunni Jihad” and so there is no doubt that such a country is working to provide logistic and financial support for all the vicious enemies of United States of America.
What is really going on the House of Saud?
Despite all the controversy, it is certain that media cannot and would not show the reality beyond this Monarchy. It is on each and every one of us to keep reading, struggling, pushing until all houses based on despotism, nepotism and corruption finally disappear.
[1] http://en.wikishia.net/view/Eid_al-Adha
Links:
1: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-islamic-states-saudi-chess-match-2015-6
2- http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/10/who-is-steering-house-of-saud-saudi-arabia-islamic-state-yemen-iran/
3- https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/27/is-the-house-of-saud-teetering-on-the-edge-of-collapse/
