Wahhabi clergy got more power after an extremist faction occupied Al Kaabat in 1978
Posted on: March 31, 2018
Spread of Wahhabism was done at request of West during Cold War – Saudi Kingdom crown prince Mohammed bin Salman
Speaking to the paper, bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia’s Western allies urged the country to invest in mosques and madrassas (religious schools) overseas during the Cold War, in an effort to prevent encroachment in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union.
(Saudi kingdom invested about $70 bn on mosques and appointed their brand of Wahhabi Sheikhs to preach in these mosques. Pakistan got infested with these madrassats)
He added that successive Saudi governments had lost track of that effort, saying “we have to get it all back.” Bin Salman said that funding now comes mostly from Saudi-based “foundations,“ rather than from the government.
The crown prince’s 75-minute interview with the Washington Post took place on March 22.
Another topic of discussion included a previous claim by US media that bin Salman had said that he had White House senior adviser Jared Kushner “in his pocket.” (Kushner is “investing” heavily in Saudi Kingdom)
Bin Salman denied reports that when he and Kushner – who is also Donald Trump’s son-in-law – met in Riyadh in October, he had sought or received a greenlight from Kushner for the massive crackdown on alleged corruption which led to widespread arrests in the kingdom shortly afterwards. (Saudi Kingdom claimed it generated $177 bn from these princes, held hostage for months)
(Not to mention the pronouncement of Trump on Jerusalem as Capital of Israel)
According to bin Salman, the arrests were a domestic issue and had been in the works for years.
He said it would be “really insane” for him to trade classified information with Kushner, or to try to use him to advance Saudi interests within the Trump administration.
He stated that their relationship was within a normal governmental context, but did acknowledge that he and Kushner “work together as friends, more than partners.” He stated that he had good relationships with Vice President Mike Pence and others within the White House. (Mostly with those extremist Evangelical Zionists within the administration)
The crown prince also spoke about the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition continues to launch a bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in an attempt to reinstate ousted Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi as president (Whom Saudi Kingdom doesn’t want him anymore).
The conflict has killed thousands, displaced many more, driven the country to the brink of famine, and led to a major cholera outbreak. (Most of the casualties are consequences of infested drinking water and malnutrition, cholera and diphtheria epidemics, due to bombing all Yemen infrastructure, hospitals and lack of medicines)
Although the coalition has been accused of a large number of civilian deaths and disregard for civilian lives – an accusation which Riyadh denies – the crown prince said his country has not passed up “any opportunity” to improve the humanitarian situation in the country. “There are not good options and bad options. The options are between bad and worse,” he said.
The interview with the crown prince was initially held off the record.
However, the Saudi embassy later agreed to led the Washington Post publish specific portions of the meeting.
Adonis Diaries 
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