The Saudi Execution Of Al-Nimr
Was A Smart Move?
By Moon
Of Alabama
January 03, 2015 "Information
Clearing House" - "Moon
Of Alabama"
- The Saudi government executed 47 longtime
prisoners who had be sentenced to death over
terrorism and general revolting against the
government.
From its
viewpoint it was a smart political move.
The Saudis
are in trouble over their war on Yemen. After nine
month of bombing the hell out of the country there
is no chance that the aim of their war, reinstalling
their proxy government in Sanaa, will be reached
anytime soon. Meanwhile Yemeni forces
raid (vid) one Saudi town after another. The
Saudi regime change projects via Salafi jihadists in
Iraq and Syria are also faltering. The low oil price
make it necessary for the Saudi government to
introduce taxes on its people. New taxes are hardly
ever popular.
To divert
from these problems the Saudis decided to get rid of
a bunch of prisoners and to use the event to regain
some legitimacy. Many of the 47 killed were truly
al-Qaida types who a decade ago had killed and blown
up buildings in Saudi Arabia and wanted to violently
overthrow the Saudi government. With the recent
anti-Saudi calls of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda a
jailbreak or some hostage taking to free the
prisoners were a real possibility. Only four of the
killed were of Shia believe. One of those was the
prominent rabble rousing Shia preacher Nimr Baqr al-Nimr
from the majority Shia eastern Saudi province Qatif.
Al-Nimr had
called for the youth in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to
raise up against the government. He called for the
overthrow of all tyrants not only in Saudi Arabia
and Bahrain but also of the Assad government in
Syria. He was no Iranian stooge but defended its
form of government. Al-Nimr said he was against
violence but several of the demonstrations he called
for ended with dead policemen and protesters. It was
quite astonishing that the Saudi government let him
preach for so long. A Sunni cleric in Saudi Arabia
would have been put to jail or killed for much less
revolutionary talk.
Some dumb
people like Human Right Watch's Kenneth Roth say
that al-Nimr
wanted a democratic state:
Kenneth
Roth @KenRoth
Sheikh Nimr's real offense: leading peaceful
protests for Saudi democracy, equality for Shia
That is
nonsense. A U.S. diplomat talked with al-Nimr in
2008. A cable
available through Wikileaks summarizes:
Al-Nimr
described his and al-Mudarrasi's attitude
towards Islamic governance as being something
between "wilayet al-faqih," in which a country
is led by a single religious leader, and "shura
al-fuqaha," in which a council of religious
leaders should lead the state. Al-Nimr, who
conducted religious studies for approximately
ten years in Tehran and "a few" years in Syria,
stated that all governance should be done
through consultation, but the amount of official
power vested in the hands of a single official
should be determined based on the relative
quality of the religious leaders and the
political situation at the time.
A system
led solely by religious judges or clerics is not a
democracy. From that interview it also seems that
al-Nimr had no clear picture of what he really
wanted. His point was to always "side with the
people, never with the government" independent of
who or what was right or wrong.
The Saudi
government's patience ended when in June 2012 al-Nimr
disparaged the death of the interior minister
and crown prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud:
He stated
that "people must rejoice at [Nayef's] death"
and that "he will be eaten by worms and will
suffer the torments of Hell in his grave"
That did
him in. Al-Nimr was imprisoned and sentenced to
death.
There was
concern that actually killing al-Nimr would increase
Sunni-Shia tensions. Several governments and the
United Nations had warned that doing so would
increase sectarian strife.
Well, that
is the point!
The Saudi
government's legitimacy depends on financial largess
and on being a sectarian Wahhabi "defender of the
faith". Raising the sectarian bar by provoking a
Shia reaction only helps the Saudis to rally the
Wahhabi Sunni clerics and the people to their side.
The killing of a prominent Shia also gives cover for
executing the al-Qaeda types. These do have many
sympathizers within Saudi Arabia and killing them
without killing al-Nimr would have led to protests
or worse by Sunni radicals. Even with this cover
some al-Qaeda type entities outside of Saudi Arabia
are threatening revenge.
The Iranian
government and Shia organizations in Iraq fell for
the trick and protest against al-Nimr's execution.
It allowed some organized gangs in Tehran to storm
the Saudi embassy and to set it on fire. In Saudi
Arabia's eastern province young Shia protesters
violently attacked police forces (vid).
This was
exactly what the Saudis rulers wanted and need.
It may also
have been what some conservative Iranian circles
were looking forward to.
See also
Shiite cleric among 47 in
mass Saudi terrorism execution:
Four, including Nimr, were Shiites accused of
involvement in shooting policemen. But most of the
47 executed in the kingdom's biggest mass execution
for decades were Sunnis convicted of al-Qaeda
attacks in Saudi Arabia a decade ago.
Iran's top leader tweets
tribute to executed Saudi cleric:
Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted a
tribute to a prominent Shi'ite executed by Saudi
Arabia on Saturday, adding his voice to a chorus of
condemnation in Iran and beyond.
Iran, Saudis step up vitriol
over executed Shiite cleric:
Iran's top leader on Sunday warned Saudi Arabia of
"divine revenge" over the execution of an opposition
Shiite cleric while Riyadh accused Tehran of
supporting terrorism, escalating a war of words
hours after protesters stormed the Saudi Embassy in
Tehran.
Iran president says Saudi
embassy attack 'totally unjustifiable':
"The actions last night by a group of radicals in
Tehran and Mashhad leading to damage at the Saudi
embassy and consulate are totally unjustifiable, as
the buildings should be legally and religiously
protected in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Hassan
Rouhani said
Saudi executions put ball of
regional tension in Iran's court:
News Analysis - Unlike many of the Sunni Muslims
executed for alleged complicity in al-Qaida
terrorism, Nimr was an advocate of non-violent
resistance to the unelected Saudi regime. He was
arrested in 2012 for criticising the royal family.
Saudi Arabia using execution
to settle political scores: Amnesty:
"The execution of Sheikh Nimr suggests they are
using execution to settle political scores," Amnesty
International's Middle East and north Africa
director Philip Luther told AFP.
Former Iraq PM al-Maliki says
death will 'topple Saudi regime':
Elsewhere, demonstrators carrying pictures of the
Shi’ite cleric were involved in a clash with police
in the Bahraini village of Abu-Saiba
Execution of Shia cleric
sparks international outrage – as it happened:
Unrest predicted in Shia areas after execution of
cleric by Saudi Arabia. Profile: Shia cleric was a
thorn in Saudi regime’s sideargeted the Village
restaurant on Saturday morning.dly being shot last
month.The Taliban have made big advances, inflicting
heavy casualties on Afghan forces
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