Hamas is a Muslim Brotherhood (MB) offshoot. The MB is banned in Saudi Arabia as it is in Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.
Many may view the Saudi verdicts as positive, which they are, but Saudi Arabia has a mixed record. It is a global funder of jihad terror, despite talk of reform. It is known for cracking down on dissidents who support freedom of thought and human rights. The Sunni state has also “condemned the violation of the sanctity of Muslim holy sites and evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem,” and accused Israel of “flagrant violations” against Palestinians.
Along with the Hamas verdicts, Saudi Arabia also “announced the arrest of 207 employees across about a dozen government ministries in the latest sweep by an anti-corruption body empowered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman….Those detained were not named and it was unclear when the arrests were made.”
“69 Hamas members sentenced to prison in Saudi Arabia,” by Khaled Abu Toameh, Jerusalem Post, August 8, 2021:
Hamas has expressed “shock” at the ruling issued by a Saudi court against a large number of Palestinians and Jordanians residing in the Kingdom.
According to Hamas, 69 of its Palestinian and Jordanian members and supporters were sentenced by a Saudi court on Sunday to prison terms ranging from three to 21 years.The men were arrested three years ago and accused of affiliation with a terrorist organization and raising funds on its behalf.Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated by Saudi Arabia and a number of Gulf states as a terrorist organization.“These brothers did not commit what necessitated these harsh and unjustified sentences, as well as trial,” Hamas said in a statement. “All they did was support their cause and the people to whom they belong, without any offense to the Kingdom and its people.”Hamas welcomed the court’s decision to acquit some of the defendants, but said it “deplores the harsh and undeserved sentences against most of them.”…
“More than 200 arrested in latest Saudi anti-corruption purge,” Al Jazeera, August 10, 2021:
Saudi Arabia announced the arrest of 207 employees across about a dozen government ministries in the latest sweep by an anti-corruption body empowered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The kingdom’s National Anti-Corruption Commission, known as “Nazaha”, announced the arrests late on Monday. Those detained were not named and it was unclear when the arrests were made.
The crown prince’s anti-corruption purge began in late 2017. It has helped him consolidate power and netted the government $106bn in assets.
Saudi nationals have long complained of rampant corruption in government and of public funds being squandered or misused by those in power.
The commission said more than 460 people were investigated in this latest round, and that as a result, 207 Saudi citizens and residents were detained on allegations of corruption, abuse of authority and fraud.
Those accused will be referred to prosecution, the commission said. They hail from the national guard and a range of ministries, including defence, interior and health and justice, among others.
In April, the commission said 176 people from across the public sector had similarly been detained for alleged corruption…..
mortimer says
Hamas is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization according to many Muslim countries which have BANNED the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Hamas convicts might have had a death sentence in past including BEHEADING with a sword!
This is the new, improved, more moderate KSA … life sentences now, instead of decapitation.
Don’t you just luv ‘moderate’ Islam?
mortimer says
In the US, a number of board members of CAIR have also been sometime members of Hamas or Muslim Brotherhood … even at the same time. The connections between CAIR and Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are well-known, but the US has not done enough to distance the government from CAIR.
CAIR’s main purpose appears to be to silence criticism of jihadism … the canonical teaching of Islam that requires all Muslims to participate in warfare against the disbelievers.
CAIR exists to permit Islamic supremacism to advance in the United States without anyone discussing or objecting to it.
Infidel says
I do think that MbS is genuine about his desire to reform his country, but knows what an obstacle the quran alone is, let alone the sunnah. So it makes sense for him to first erode any organized opposition before he goes about this project
At least w/ Saudi Arabia, Hamas won’t try what it does w/ Israel, since the Saudis would have no compunctions about doing to them what they did to Khashoggi
Wellington says
But, Infidel, are you not worried that this is just another Muslim v. Muslim “project?” I am.
Indeed, one could argue that MBS is more dangerous than the Muslim Brotherhood, just as so-called moderate Muslims give cover to what Islam intends for all of the human race and are thus actually more of a menace than your most “devout” Muslims, because he is subtler about the imperative of eventual Muslim domination everywhere.
Can’t reform rot, you know. No Islam is a good Islam.
Infidel says
Well, there are no infidels there propping him up, so that’s indeed an intra-muslim affair, and beyond a point, none of our business. So much I agree
But there are things he has done internally in that country, like stopping the teaching of Judeophobic hatred, start including in Saudi schools lessons on other cultures (instead of simply calling them jahiliya), refusing to support Pakistan against India or Azerbaijan against Armenia or Hamas against Israel, which would normally fly in the face of muslim orthodoxy. Nor can he overnight outlaw islam the way it might be in, say, Burma. I think he falls more in the schools of a Mohammed Taha or Farad Foga – wannabe reformers who were executed. Except that so far, he has enough power to prevent the last from happening
I also have a theory that he does not want islam to spread beyond Arab populations, b’cos all that does is undermine Arab control of islam. During the Ottoman caliphate, the Arabs did not control islam, and that’s a part of their history they don’t like. He has noticed how non-Arab muslim countries, like Turkey, Malaysia, the -stans have rallied behind Turkey, so doens’t want more of that: if Turkey gains control of the ummah, that could well pave the way for the Saudis losing control of Mecca, Medina and Jeddah, which would be intolerable for them. Which is why he’s trying to consolidate an Arab coalition not against Israel, but against Turkey
Yeah, from outside, it’s a muslim on muslim conflict, so we can definitely watch popping the popcorn. But I don’t think he’s a taquiyya artist the way his uncles were all these decades, or the way Musharraf was in Pakistan, or the current rulers of Qatar and Kuwait are when they call themselves our allies
Raja says
Infidel,
I like your theory of “religious engineering” by the MSB. It appears to be more like the dog n the bone game. But for us who are on the other side, it should not matter who wins -both must lose in the long run, eradicating the most undesirable (longest surviving) fascist ideology from the face of the earth, a daunting task !
gravenimage says
Infidel, you are more of an optimist than I am. This looks like more of the same Muslim-on-Muslim violence and jockeying for power than any kind of actual reform.
Infidel says
Graven
I never thought that Saudi Arabia was our ally during the reigns of Kings Fahd or Abdullah. Even now, I wouldn’t quite call Saudi Arabia an ally as far as we are concerned
But I do think that there is a qualitative difference b/w MbS and any of his uncles. Right now, he’s just one step away from absolute power: his father does have a veto on some things, such as relations w/ Israel. But looking at the things he’s done in his country, some of which he was under no pressure to do and didn’t have to, I think that he’s more of a wanna-be reformer, but he knows the perils that come w/ trying to reform islam, so is going about it carefully in the areas he can, such as education
Of course, just b’cos he is a reformer doesn’t imply that his country is w/ him, so in that aspect, I tend to agree w/ you. However, I do think that Arabs are now wary about spreading islam beyond their group, since it undermines Arab leadership of the ummah and empowers challengers such as Turkey or Pakistan
gravenimage says
Time will tell, Infidel. Of course, if they only oppose the spread of Islam because it supposedly erodes Arab power (questionable, I’m afraid) this still does not constitute any sort of reform of Islam itself.
gravenimage says
Saudi Arabia sentences 69 Hamas jihadis to prison terms up to 21 years
……………..
Just Jihadist jockeying for power…
OLD GUY says
Saudi Arabia is not Americas friend, they just like the cash flow.