Abstract
The Syrian conflict has strongly exacerbated regional sectarianism. This chapter examines the rhetoric of Saudi ‘ulama (clerics) against Shi’ism and Syria’s minority Alawite regime. Potentially influential as a conservative force against Islamist radicalism, ‘ulama of different persuasions (establishment, non-establishment, traditionalist, or progressive) are caught between opposition to regime oppression of Syria’s Sunnis and the politically motivated desire not to be seen supporting radical anti-regime groups like ISIS. Difficult questions thus arise, especially regarding the permissibility of jihad in Syria. Overall, some ‘ulama may have indirectly encouraged donations to radical groups, and as militants defect, Saudi money may even have ended up with ISIS. But this chapter finds no evidence of direct clerical support and argues that this would not be in their interests.
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Notes
- 1.
Guido Steinberg, Jihadi-Salafism and the Shi’is: Remarks about the Intellectual Roots of Anti-Shi’ism. London: Hurst and Company, p. 116.
- 2.
Madawi al-Rasheed identifies them as official Wahhabi ‘ulama and opponents to these ‘ulama have also described them as hizb al-wulat (loyalist). For more nuanced analysis, see Madawi al-Rasheed, Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New Generation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, p. 75.
- 3.
For an excellent account on this movement, see Stéphane Lacroix, Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in Contemporary Saudi Arabia, trans. George Holoch. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011.
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- 40.
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- 46.
Ibid.
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Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Fawzan, Al-Shaykh ‘Abd al- ‘Aziz al-Fawzan‘an Jabhat al-Nusrah (accessed September 2, 2014).
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Shaykh ‘Umar al-Zayd, Talbisat Da‘ish, accessed September 2, 2014.
- 52.
Ibid.
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Shaykh ‘Umar al-Zayd, ‘Isabah Da‘ish haddaduni bil-Qatl (accessed September 2, 2014).
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Ismail, R. (2016). The Saudi ‘ulama and the Syrian Civil War. In: Saikal, A. (eds) The Arab World and Iran. Middle East Today. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55966-1_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55966-1_6
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