Saudi Arabia: The Source of Salafism1

The debate between Sunnism and Shi‘ism has provided a great wealth of polemical literature. Most of the Shi‘ite scholarship on the subject is characterized by a thorough scholarly approach. Most of the Sunni work, however, is characterized by a belligerent, intolerant attitude which is both divisive and destructive. In the best of cases, the authors are misinformed and misrepresent the teachings of Twelve Imam Shi‘ite Islam. In the worst of cases, they lance libelous allegations against Shi‘ites based on fanciful fabrications in order to accuse them of heresy. This pseudo-scholarly slander has been produced by the likes of Bilal Philips, Kanadi, Sayyed Husayn Nadvi, and others, with the full financial backing of Saudi Arabia which has been spewing out anti-Shi‘ite propaganda for centuries.

To accuse Shi‘ite Muslims of “heresy,” however, is to open up the gates of Hell, unleashing unspeakable evil. It is well-known among Muslims that Islamic Law prescribes the death penalty for heretics and apostates. Of course, not all authors are as subtle as to call Shi‘ites heretics and call it quits. There are those who call quite clearly for their killing stating that “Shi‘ites are worst than infidels. Their blood is halal.” Books like Talbees Iblees, [The Devil’s Deception of the Shi‘ites], are often all it takes to incite ignorant fanatics to vigilante violence. The massacres of Shi‘ite Muslims in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq are all the direct result of the hate propaganda produced by Saudi Arabia. In many Western nations, like Canada, there are laws against “hate literature.” It is high time for Shi‘ites and all supporters of human rights to demand their application, put a halt to anti-Shi‘i hate propaganda, prohibit its dissemination, press for the prosecution of those who produce it, distribute it and profit from it. If Canada and the United States can ban hitlerian hatemongers like Thomas Irving, the Holocaust revisionist, from entering their countries, then surely they can ban Saudi-supported Salafists, the brothers of Bin Laden and the zealots of Zarqawi.

Saudi Arabia, the Salafist Sanctuary, has indoctrinated millions of Muslims into the Wahhabi ideology through its Islamic universities at home and affiliated institutions abroad; through its publishing houses; and through its network of Islamic organizations, mosques and associations. The vast majority of mosques in North America are controlled by ISNA, the Islamic Society of North America, which is the official organ of Saudi Salafism in the Western World. Saudi oil money has spread Salafism to such an extent that, for many, Sunnism has morphed into Salafism. The Muslim fundamentalist menace has now hit home and Saudi Arabia, the Wahhabi Wonderland, is facing the return of their prodigal sons. The chickens have finally come home to roost. So long as they spread chaos and terror elsewhere, they were fully funded and viewed with fondness. But now, the tables have turned and Franken-Fahd, their Muslim Monster, has turned against them.

• 1. Originally conceived as an article, a modified version of this work was published as part of the “Translator’s Preface” in Luis Alberto Vittor’s Shi‘ite Islam: Orthodoxy or Heterodoxy (Ansariyan 2006, 2010).