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Saudi Arabia, Stability, and International Islamic Terror

(Jerusalem Viewpoints) Mordechai Abir - One key problem of the Saudi populace is the extraordinary degree of contempt for manual labor. Even an engineer who works with machines is considered inferior for marriage purposes because his occupation is related to manual labor. The Saudis look down on all foreigners and especially Westerners who hold most of the skilled positions in the country. This haughty attitude stems from the Saudi belief that they are chosen by God, and that all others are inferior. Saudi Wahhabism, an Islamic trend that developed in the mid-17th century, even considers all non-Wahhabi Muslims as infidels. The oil era has brought revolutionary changes to the formerly nomadic Bedouin. Some still maintain camels but transport them in padded GMC trucks. The new upper crust of Saudi technocrats is purchasing camels as a status symbol at exorbitant prices. The legendary wealth and indulgence in luxuries of the corrupt Saudi royal princes further skews the gap between rich and poor. Much of this wealth was amassed through the "commission system" which required foreign businessmen to use the services of well-connected members of the Saudi ruling class as patrons for their business dealings. In 1990, suddenly half a million American soldiers were on Saudi soil, among them "amazons" wearing pants and carrying guns who were seen walking into supermarkets as if they owned the place. Over 70 percent of the curriculum in the four "secular" universities involves religious studies and Arab and Islamic history, whereas only about 25 percent is devoted to other subjects. The Saudi state closed its eyes, if it did not contribute directly, to the flow of Saudi funds that enabled Wahhabi influence to reach into every corner of the world including Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, central Asia, Chechnya, southern Sudan, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia -- all locations which have suffered from the rise of fundamentalist Islam.
2002-08-06 00:00:00
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