Ranbir Singh writes
With the Indian elections looming the western media is full of hysteria and paranoia reminiscent out of some science fiction novel depicting a dystopian future where human civilisation has all but collapsed. Led by the anti-Hindu rag known as the Guardian, we are repeatedly fed a constant feed of dire warnings should Narendra Modi win: massacres, ethnic cleansing, poverty increase and an end of basic liberty under a fascist dictatorship. But how far does this accord with the reality?
Why do these outdated colonial stereotypes from the age which saw the extermination of the Tasmanian aborigines as essential to progress persist with regard to Hindus? Is there something dark and nasty in the elements of western civilisation which it make it fear and hate Hinduism to the point of insanity? In his 2007 book A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900, self-styled ‘reactionary’ conservative British historian Andrew Roberts speaks of “Islamist” terrorism” as the fourth major assault on the Anglosphere, following that of Wilhelmine Germany, Nazism and communism. On page 601:
George Bush Jr spoke tough after the attacks of 9/11. This gung-ho all guns blazing mentality was manifest most devastatingly in the invasion of Iraq, a debacle which has caused untold suffering to millions who have become refugees or casualties to unending sectarian violence as that state collapses. In Afghanistan the picture is also bleak. But most poignant of all is that Bush ‘Dubya’ never actually attacked the source of the 9/11 attacks itself; Saudi Arabia. Indeed Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan, was warmly embraced by Bush in his war on terror.
In 1938 FDR had gained the agreement of King Abdul Aziz to grant Aramco exclusive oil rights in the kingdom.Since 1945 the Saudi monarchy had become very rich as American expertise helped in the exploration and manufacture of the kingdom’s vast reserves of crude oil. The Bush family, perhaps the nearest thing America has to an aristocracy, invested heavily in the private equity firm known as the Carlyle Group. By this Bush was not only linked the Saudis, but also that theocracy’s most prestigious family, the Bin Ladens.
The Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman, was seen by the CIA as essential to its anti-Soviet operations. But as the USSR withdrew in 1989, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan warned Bush that America had created a “Frankenstein”. That was to manifest itself in al-Qaeda. However the President was close to Prince Bandar, who visited the White House for Thanksgiving in 1990.
The irony is not lost. While Obama’s right-wing detractors accuse him of everything from backing terrorism to lying about his religious beliefs and even birth right, the Saudis were essential in getting Bush elected, according to Norquist. Hence his soft line to the terrorist state even after 9/11. He pointedly ignored the Saudi role in the terrorist attack even while Abu Zulaydah, al-Qaeda operative caught in Peshawar on 28 March 2002, broke under interrogation to reveal links to Prince Sultan and Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Saud al-Kabir.
With the Indian elections looming the western media is full of hysteria and paranoia reminiscent out of some science fiction novel depicting a dystopian future where human civilisation has all but collapsed. Led by the anti-Hindu rag known as the Guardian, we are repeatedly fed a constant feed of dire warnings should Narendra Modi win: massacres, ethnic cleansing, poverty increase and an end of basic liberty under a fascist dictatorship. But how far does this accord with the reality?
The Guardian prides itself on its liberal views. Yet as far as Hindus are concerned they might as well be reading Dr Goebbels’ Nazi mouthpiece Der Angriff with its spew of racist venom and crude racial stereotypes. The issue goes beyond just Modi. It extends to Hindus generally in a manner not found when referring to other communities and indigenous peoples threatened with extinction in many parts of the world. I single out the Guardian but it could be any western newspaper. Left, liberal, Marxist, conservative, neo-fascist, even the ironically entitled Independent are all united in their denigration of anything Hindu.
In this they are joined by major media outlets, notably the BBC. Why is this? Why do these outdated colonial stereotypes from the age which saw the extermination of the Tasmanian aborigines as essential to progress persist with regard to Hindus? Is there something dark and nasty in the elements of western civilisation which it make it fear and hate Hinduism to the point of insanity?
In this they are joined by major media outlets, notably the BBC. Why is this? Why do these outdated colonial stereotypes from the age which saw the extermination of the Tasmanian aborigines as essential to progress persist with regard to Hindus? Is there something dark and nasty in the elements of western civilisation which it make it fear and hate Hinduism to the point of insanity?
These are important questions for citizens to ask in western countries having been misled by politicians who enjoy lavish lifestyles at the expense of the very people they have been elected to serve. By use of focus groups the political parties use clever spin and camouflaged euphemisms to deflect away from direct and embarrassing questions. The decline of civil society and the clamour for ‘rights’ over responsibilities has debased citizens into mere subjects who kow-tow to a nouveau patrician elite.
Think of how the Western public was hoodwinked into believing in the necessity of a war in Iraq. How many lives have been lost in a conflict which was based on the false accusation that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction? This is merely the tip of the iceberg. The political elite defends its own interests with a financial militancy against the proletariat masses that is sickening to behold.
Why do these outdated colonial stereotypes from the age which saw the extermination of the Tasmanian aborigines as essential to progress persist with regard to Hindus? Is there something dark and nasty in the elements of western civilisation which it make it fear and hate Hinduism to the point of insanity? In his 2007 book A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900, self-styled ‘reactionary’ conservative British historian Andrew Roberts speaks of “Islamist” terrorism” as the fourth major assault on the Anglosphere, following that of Wilhelmine Germany, Nazism and communism. On page 601:
For over a decade since the fall of the Berlin Wall, successive presidents and CIA directors had treated the threat of Islamo-fascist fundamentalist terrorism with too little appreciation of the true threat it posed.
Hence US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were justifiable responses to 9/11, and indeed much else. Unsurprisingly Roberts bemoans anti-Americanism and Saddam apologists such as George Galloway MP. But in doing so he has found himself in an unenviable cul-de-sac because it was his favourite nations of Britain and America, who dominate the ‘Anglosphere’ and form the core of the English-speaking nations, which are actually responsible for creating not just the conditions, but the actual ideological manifestation of this threat, whether we call it Islamofascism, Islamic fundamentalism or Islamicist terrorism. This unfortunately includes some of Roberts’ very own heroes, notably Churchill.
Patriots or Collaborators?
On 4 June President Obama gave a landmark speech at Cairo University. Entitled “A New Beginning”, the event was co-hosted by Al-Azhar University, that most prestigious of institutions in the Muslims world which includes the propagation of Islam. Associated with Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, the university’s scholars issue fatwas end edicts, as well as being active in missionary work. In his speech Obama sought to build bridges with the Islamic world and rectify any misunderstandings that were created during the premiership of his predecessor, George W Bush.
The speech elicited much criticism from Obama’s conservative opponents who said that he was being soft on terrorism and secretly harboured sympathy for radical Islam. Indeed it is common for the President to be accused of being a crypto-Muslim himself.
In many ways this is a replay of the election campaign of 1980, when President Carter was accused by Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. of being soft on Iran and the taking of hostages from the American embassy by Khomeini’s thugs. The bitter irony in this reductionist argument was revealed in November 1986 when the Lebanese newspaper Al-Shirra leaked that the Reagan administration had been selling arms to Iran in order to finances armed opposition in Nicaragua; in what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal.
George Bush Jr spoke tough after the attacks of 9/11. This gung-ho all guns blazing mentality was manifest most devastatingly in the invasion of Iraq, a debacle which has caused untold suffering to millions who have become refugees or casualties to unending sectarian violence as that state collapses. In Afghanistan the picture is also bleak. But most poignant of all is that Bush ‘Dubya’ never actually attacked the source of the 9/11 attacks itself; Saudi Arabia. Indeed Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan, was warmly embraced by Bush in his war on terror.
In his 2005 book House of Bush, House of Saud, Craig Unger (former editor-in-chief of Boston Magazine) open with the startling revelation that while all flights were grounded after 9/11, Saudis in America were exempt from this. This was part of a bizarre relationship in which Islamic radicalism and America, especially its business interests, turned a blind eye to each due to temporary and shaky common interests:
America, the beacon of democracy, was to arm and protect a brutal theocratic monarchy. The United States, sworn defender of Israel, was also the guarantor of security to the guardians of Wahhabi Islam, the fundamentalist religious sect that was one of Israel’s and America’s mortal enemies.
As early as 1943 President Franklin D Roosevelt had declared:
…the defense of Saudi Arabia is vital to the defense of the United States.
In 1938 FDR had gained the agreement of King Abdul Aziz to grant Aramco exclusive oil rights in the kingdom.Since 1945 the Saudi monarchy had become very rich as American expertise helped in the exploration and manufacture of the kingdom’s vast reserves of crude oil. The Bush family, perhaps the nearest thing America has to an aristocracy, invested heavily in the private equity firm known as the Carlyle Group. By this Bush was not only linked the Saudis, but also that theocracy’s most prestigious family, the Bin Ladens.
Reagan sold AWAC jets and Stinger missiles to Saudi, and overlooked human rights abuses in that state. Women could not drive or go out unveiled or even unescorted by a male relative. Slavery was only abolished in 1962. The dirty work was done by legions of dark-skinned Third World guest workers who had even less rights than the Saudi masses. Jews and Sikhs are banned from the state. Practice of religions other than Islam is forbidden.
Yet all this was irrelevant as America vaunted Saudi as its close ally. In the 1980s Saudi helped furnish American arms to the Afghan mujahadeen fighting the Soviets and encouraged jihad against the atheist USSR. Vice-President Bush supported sending money to the Saudi-backed Mahtab al-Khidamant which was later linked to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, who has served as Saudi ambassador to the USA, met a charismatic young man who had left a life of luxury to fight on this frontline in Afghanistan. This twentysomething told Bandar of his gratitude to the Americans for their help in fighting the Soviet infidels. This man was Osama bin Laden. Bush Sr. himself visited the region and praised the jihadis.
The Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman, was seen by the CIA as essential to its anti-Soviet operations. But as the USSR withdrew in 1989, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan warned Bush that America had created a “Frankenstein”. That was to manifest itself in al-Qaeda. However the President was close to Prince Bandar, who visited the White House for Thanksgiving in 1990.
It was actually his successor Bill Clinton who took more direct action against Saudis, for example sending FBI agents to investigate the 1995 attack on the Military Cooperation Program in Riyadh and the 1996 bombing in Dhahran. Lack of Saudi cooperation was compounded by accusations against Clinton by the kingdom’s Republican allies who accused him on being totalitarian in probing too much. When the El Hifa plant in Khartoum, closely linked to al-Qaeda, was bombed by the Americans, Rush Limbaugh accused the President of bombing an “aspirin factory”. Clinton was ridiculed for his counter terrorist efforts, which included pressurising the Saudis to deport Osama.
During the elections which followed Clinton’s presidency the Saudi links of Bush Jr. were scarcely mentioned. Yet Saudi Arabia gave $2.5 million to Bush’s charities. American Muslim commentator Stephen Sulayman Schwarz further revealed a powerful Wahhabi lobby at work with Saudis giving money to CAIR, AMC and MPAC, while the Bush campaign strategist Grover Norquist actively courted the support of radical Islam in electing Bush. Norquist himself was a founding member of the Islamic Institute which became a bridge between the Republican Party and the forces of radical Islam, the adherents of which he believes share American conservative and family values. It was Norquist who brought President Bush together with Wahhabi leaders at the Washington mosque in the aftermath of 9/11.
Far from being a patriot he has been an active lobbyist for the Wahhabi state of Qatar. Vice-President Dick Cheney acted as a pro-Saudi quisling blaming attacks on Israel on the Iranian backed Shia Hezbollah, but ignoring the Saudi role in the funding terrorism against the only democracy in the Middle East as part of Riyadh’s eternal war against the Jews.
Since the 1980s this Wahhabi lobby has been hard at work in America through with many mosques being built with Saudi money and pro-Saudi groups such as Hamas and Muslim Students Association (MSA) having disproportionate influence due to lavish Saudi funding. While they have concentrated on demonising Israel their efforts have also rested on marginalising Muslims who do not share Wahhabi doctrines and ultimately threatening the fabric of American democracy itself. Stephen Suleyman Schwarz is an American convert to Islam who has exposed the Wahhabi-Saudi strategy in his 2002 book The Two Faces of Islam (Random House, New York, 2002). Page 243:
For Wahhabis everywhere, the party line is laid down in Riyadh, which simultaneously foments terrorist teaching and disclaims any responsibility for Wahhabi atrocities, as in the case of Bin Ladin. Friday sermons in American mosques have been faxed directly from the kingdom. Saudis corrupt Muslims abroad in exactly the same way that the Soviet Union once brought the loyalty of foreign intellectuals, labor leaders, and guerrilla fighters, and for the same ends.
In 1999 the Saudis rejected the pathetic and meek American requests to conduct a full and transparent investigation of the Khobar Towers bombing, just as they would later reject demands to provide advance passenger lists on flights from Saudi Arabia to the USA in the aftermath of 9/11, and also ignored demands that bank accounts of terrorists and their contributors were investigated, frozen and seized.
Just as the Communist Party of America acted as an unofficial arm of the Soviet KGB, the Saudi funded radical Islamic groups such as CAIR, ISNA and AMC act as arms of the mutawwa using similar tactics as communists who denounced all their critics as ‘fascists’ while styling themselves as ‘progressives’. Through such methods Shaykh Hisham Kabbani of the Islamic Supreme Council of America 80% of mosques in 2002 were run by Wahhabis. But this extreme sect only accounted for 20% of American Muslims. Wahhabis have therefore denounced Kabbani as “marginal”.
The irony is not lost. While Obama’s right-wing detractors accuse him of everything from backing terrorism to lying about his religious beliefs and even birth right, the Saudis were essential in getting Bush elected, according to Norquist. Hence his soft line to the terrorist state even after 9/11. He pointedly ignored the Saudi role in the terrorist attack even while Abu Zulaydah, al-Qaeda operative caught in Peshawar on 28 March 2002, broke under interrogation to reveal links to Prince Sultan and Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Saud al-Kabir.
He also confessed that Prince Ahmed knew that 9/11 was going to take place. By attacking Iraq, Bush not only deflected attention from the real culprits, but also did Osama’s dirty work for him. Behind the image of an all-American patriot, the sad reality revealed by Unger is a president who as never before is dependant on a foreign power that is ideologically and theologically committed to the destruction of American and the American way of life:
Where is George Orwell when we need him? Because we Americans need him. We desperately need him. Consider: in August 2001, immediately after reading a memo entitled “Bin Ladin determined to strike the US”, President George Bush never called a meeting to discuss the issue. A poll just after the Republican convention in 2004 showed that 27% of the voters preferred Bush to his Democratic opponent when it came to national security. Yet the increasingly clear truth is that Bush is actually soft on terror and that he has repeatedly turned a blind eye, particularly on Saudi Arabia.
The ancient religion is rumoured to have been founded by an 11th century Ummayyad sheikh and uses ranging from Christian baptism, Islamic circumcision and the Zaroastrian reverence of fire.
Having at last come to the attention of the world, this obscure ancient community stands on the brink of extinction in its ancestral homeland. President Obama has authorised airdrops of humanitarian assistance to help Yazidis stranded on Mount Sinjar where they faced starvation and dehydration if they remain stranded on Mount Sinjar , and slaughter at the hands of the jihadis if they moved. The planes delivered 5,300 gallons of fresh drinking water and 8,000 prepackaged meals and were over the drop area for less than 15 minutes at a low altitude.
Warsi’s ‘freedom fighters’ have caused the rape, massacre and forcible conversion of the indigenous Hindu population of Kashmir . In 1989 the remainder were forced out at gunpoint by the very groups which the House of Lords peer so eloquently supports. As the Kashmiri Hindus eke out a miserable existence in refugee camps for the last quarter of a century, Warsi did not find this humanitarian crisis impact one iota on her conscience when with a straight face she defended such terrorism as being steeped in the traditions of Nelson Mandela and the fight against apartheid.
