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Times Op-Ed: Saudis Are ‘Father of ISIS’

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A French journalist, Kamel Daoud, has written a clear exposé of the dominant role of Saudi Arabia in fathering the Islamic State, and the hypocrisy of the West, which declares war on ISIS while embracing the Saudis as allies.  It was translated from French and re-published on Nov. 20 in the New York Times.

Daoud gives a brief history of the 18th century emergence of Wahhabism and the alliance between the Wahhabi clergy and the House of Saud, warning that it is the Saudi clergy, what he calls Fatwa Valley, that is the wellspring of ISIS and all future generations of jihadists. 

Daesh has a mother: the invasion of Iraq.  But it also has a father: Saudi Arabia and its religious-industrial complex. Until the point is understood, he warned, battles may be won, but the war will be lost.  Jihadists will be killed, only to be reborn again in future generations and raised on the same books.

Daoud also warned about the immense transformative influence of religious television channels on society, noting in addition that there are thousands of Wahhabi newspapers and clerics who spread the word. 

“The blindness of the West to this Saudi problem means their war [on ISIS] can only be myopic, for it targets the effect rather than the cause. Since ISIS is first and foremost a culture, not a militia, how do you prevent future generations from turning to jihadism when the influence of Fatwa Valley and its clerics and its culture and its immense editorial industry remains intact?”

Daoud concludes with a warning:  “The attacks in Paris have exposed this contradiction again, but as happened after 9/11, it risks being erased from our analysis and our consciences.” 

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