Sunday, March 02, 2014

Wallterstein on Saudi Arabia

I was happy to see Wallterstein write on Saudi Arabia for Aljazeera America (and this is a sign of the worsening relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar). But there are certain problems here: 1) his characterization of Wahhabiyyah as a "version" of Sunni Islam is not quite accurate. 2) his characterization of the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Brotherhood is not accurate at all and the two enjoyed excellent relations for years, if not decades. 3) his reference to the reluctance of Saudi regime to support groups linked to Al-Qa`idah is not true in the case of Syria and the recent changes in Saudi policies were brought in by US pressures.