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SPEAKING FREELY
Leave revolution to the
Saudis
By Amir Butler
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online
feature that allows guest writers to have their say.
Please click here if you
are interested in contributing.
In
November 2003, George W Bush described what he termed
the third pillar of America's security - "global
democratic revolution". If Iraq and Afghanistan were the
first "beneficiaries" of this revolution, then it seems
almost certain that Saudi Arabia will feature somewhere
in Bush's revolutionary plans.
The
post-September 11 story goes that Saudi Arabia is the
ideological and financial underpinning for global
terrorism and therefore the only way to secure America
is to liberalize and secularize Saudi Arabia.
That such an accusation should be made now –
nearly 80 years after the modern state of Saudi Arabia
was founded - is strange. Saudi Arabia has been run on
effectively the same ideological line since its
inception. Throughout that time, Americans have been
involved in almost all aspects of Saudi society –
including the education system – and no such claims were
ever made. In fact, the relationship between Saudi
Arabia and the US has been a mutually beneficial and
friendly one. Although most Americans wouldn't
necessarily agree with the practices or policies of the
kingdom, the fact remains that there has been little
criticism from those who have lived or worked in the
country.
However, Saudi Arabia is not America.
It was founded on the basis of Islam and Islam has
provided the guiding principles for the nation. The idea
that religion should be separated from the affairs of
the state is viewed as a heresy. In Islam secularism is
equated with apostasy – a fact that clearly shows the
fallacy and danger of Bush's messianic vision of
democratizing the region.
For the visitor to
Riyadh, the first thing you will see when exiting King
Khalid International Airport is the airport mosque. The
architecturally magnificent mosque, with its dome,
minarets and ornate structure, alongside a modern
airport, provides a powerful symbol of Saudi Arabia's
fusion of modern technology with religion.
Indeed, mosques are everywhere in the kingdom.
Literally. Stand in any Riyadh suburb and you can see,
dotting the skyline, at least four or five green lights
that identify the minarets. Wait for the time of prayer
and you can hear the call to prayer reverberating
through the air from not one, but perhaps dozens of
mosques. Travel outside the cities, and almost every
service station is accompanied by a mosque.
Alongside the roads are signs exhorting
travelers to "remember Allah," "give thanks to Allah"
and "glorify Allah". Board any Saudi airline and the
pilot will begin by reading the prayer for traveling.
When the plane lands at its destination, gratitude is
given to God for safe delivery.
Whereas we in
the West are accustomed to seeing the latest throwaway
pop star attract thousands of young people, in Saudi
Arabia the ones who draw big crowds and command the most
respect among the youth are the Islamic scholars and
speakers.
The Saudi people are religious even
though no one would identify himself as such. Praying
five times a day in a mosque; sending their children to
learn the Koran; believing absolutely in Islam and
living one's life according to the rules of Islam is
normal. It's part of their national identity. The
problem is that for many in the West, such devotion to
religion is seen as extreme and disturbing.
Despite these realities, the Saudi people are
being compared to the Iraqis, who are struggling under
the yoke of a hated oppressor. Saudi Arabia is not Iraq.
The criticism among ordinary Saudis for their government
exists only because they see their government as not
being sufficiently Islamic or not being assertive enough
in dealing with America.
The fundamental issue
for Saudis is not whether their government is a
democracy or a monarchy. Rather, the debate hinges on
the extent to which the Saudi government is implementing
Islamic law in both its domestic and foreign affairs.
Replacement the current Islamic government with a
secular government is not what Saudi critics hope for,
it's what they fear.
The fact that the US
president believes democracy and secularism should and
can be imposed on Saudi society points to a fundamental
disconnect between America's ambitions and the nature of
human societies. It also points to the hubris that has
overtaken American foreign policy. History shows that
entire societies cannot be changed by force or
revolution.
The Muslims who fight America do so
believing they are defending Islam. If America continues
to interfere in the affairs of Saudi Arabia, attempting
to bully the government towards secularism and
liberalism, it will have an opposite effect to what is
intended. America's security does not lie in proving
Osama bin Laden's claims of a war against Islam;
America's security lies in proving bin Laden wrong by
leaving the Muslim world to choose their own destiny -
in their own time and in their own way.
Amir Butler is executive director of
the Australian Muslim Public Affairs Committee (AMPAC).
He can be contacted at abutler@muslimaffairs.com.au
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online
feature that allows guest writers to have their say.
Please click here if you
are interested in contributing.
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