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For much of its history most of the region has been controlled by a patchwork of tribal rulers. The Al Saud (the Saudi royal family), were originally minor tribal rulers in Nejd in central Arabia. From the mid-18th century, imbued with the religious zeal of the Wahabbi Islamic movement, they became aggressively expansionist. Over the following 150 years the extent of the Al Saud territory fluctuated. However, between 1902 and 1927, the Al Saud leader, Abdul Aziz, carried out a series of wars of conquest which resulted in his creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
After the conquest of the Hejaz, the Ikhwan leaders wanted to continue the expansion of the Wahhabist realm into the British protectorates of Transjordan, Iraq and Kuwait. Abdul-Aziz, however, refused to agree to this, recognizing the danger of a direct conflict with the British. The Ikhwan therefore revolted but were defeated in the Battle of Sabilla in 1930,and the Ikhwan leadership were massacred.[18]
Originally posted by jibeho
You should also detail the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood (after 60 years of banishment) and their return to the country in which they were founded in 1928. Saudi Arabia has lost its strongest Arab Ally, Egypt. Quite the contrast with Wahhabi. Eh?
North Africa is poised to become a powerful Sunni Bloc within a year. How will the Shia in Iran react to that.?
The extremist groups are doing just fine and will continue to fester and grow even if Western Nations finally decide to ignore them. Not going to happen...
What I have seen in MSM is an effort to brand extremists as a 3rd state, a group that doesn't identify with any particular country, but rather an idea.
What most westerners don't understand about Arabs - and you can correct me where I'm wrong - this is based on my experiences living in the middle east -
Is that those borders don't mean much to Arabs, in general. The lines on the map were drawn by the British, mainly. Arabs care about FAMILY, TRIBE, and FAITH. Not their political leaders.
If you're an American, it's easy to look at the news & say, "well, those terrorists were all Egyptian!" and have a bad feeling about Egyptians (as an example) - without realizing that those extremists didn't identify that strongly with Egypt. They followed their spiritual leaders and the influence of their family & tribe.
Originally posted by mideast
reply to post by Schkeptick
(snip)
Somewhere in Iraq , south west of Iran are the places where I know people are still living in tribes.
In the middle east , you can study conspiracies from the moment you are born until the day you die.
And you will miss most conspiracies.edit on 18-1-2013 by mideast because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by Schkeptick
Originally posted by mideast
reply to post by Schkeptick
(snip)
Somewhere in Iraq , south west of Iran are the places where I know people are still living in tribes.
In the middle east , you can study conspiracies from the moment you are born until the day you die.
And you will miss most conspiracies.edit on 18-1-2013 by mideast because: (no reason given)
I live in Oman. Though many people live in urban areas now, their tribal affiliations are paramount. I listened to a 9-year-old, whose family is western-educated, give me a complete rundown of which tribes she is related to, which ones she can & cannot marry into as an adult, etc. I don't mean that they are "living in tribes" - I mean that these are very important familial ties that trump all other loyalties.
Will you elaborate on your last comment "you will miss most conspiracies" - I am not sure if I understand what you mean.