Before reading this article, I sincerely invite you to click the "Follow" button, so that you can continue to push such articles in the future, and it is also convenient for you to discuss and share, your support is the driving force for us to insist on creating~
文|Severn
In the early 90s of the 20th century, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union ended, the bipolar pattern disintegrated, and the shadow of war hanging over mankind dissipated.
However, a series of new problems have gradually accumulated and surfaced, becoming new factors affecting the stability of human society.
Terrorism, ecological degradation and resource depletion all pose potential threats to the future of humankind.
Among them, the rise of Islamic extremism is particularly worrisome, and terrorism affects the security of all countries at all times.
After the repeated terrorist acts of Islamic extremism, its future development has become the focus of the world's attention.
In 2013, Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, made a judgment in his book: "The future of Islamic extremism depends on Saudi Arabia." ”
So, did Lee Kuan Yew's prediction come true? and on what basis did he make such an assertion?
The fate of Islamic extremism
Islamic extremism refers to the radical and extremist ideological views of contemporary Islamism, which deviate from and distort the peaceful nature of the Quran and carry out terrorist and violent activities in the name of religion.
Over the past half century or so, the differences between Islamic extremist terrorists and the United States, Israel and their minions, and the contradictions between extremism and non-extremist and moderate Islamism, have become one of the main factors affecting the stability of all mankind.
There is no problem with Islam, but Islamic extremism is a cancer, and the factors that induced the birth of Islamic extremism are largely due to the accelerating process of globalization and the intensification of mistakes in the Western world, led by the United States.
In the process of globalization, the ethnic groups in the Middle East, which have lagged behind in development, have become more and more marginalized, and the people of all ethnic groups, who lack a sense of security and feel alienated from the world, have shifted their inner imbalance to the United States, the biggest promoter of globalization.
In addition, the unconditional support of the United States for Israel is another major incentive for Islamic extremism.
Ever since Israel was established in the Arab world, Arabs in the Middle East have developed a hatred of Jews and Americans.
In schools, in seminaries, in mosques, there is a resentment of Arabs against the Western world.
Israeli aggression against Palestine was repeated on the radio, and school textbooks even featured the crimes of Israelis in the Arab wars.
Under the influence of day after day, the hatred of the United States and Israel in Arab countries has grown rapidly and evolved into extreme Islamic extremism.
In the second half of the 20 th century, the economic development of the Arab countries can be described as twists and turns, and repeated setbacks, which further intensified the dissatisfaction of the people of various countries against the Western world.
They believe that it is the Western world, dominated by the United States, that has weakened the once glorious Islamic civilization.
Driven by this radical sentiment, more and more Islamic people in the Arab world are turning to extremes and becoming part of the "holy war".
Horrifyingly, this is not only happening in the Islam-dominated Arab world, but also spreading to all parts of the world, such as Southeast Asia.
During the first oil crisis, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries generously sent large quantities of oil resources to Southeast Asian countries.
But along with the oil came to Southeast Asia, with mosques, madrasas, and missionaries.
After the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, total Islamization swept through every corner of Iran, greatly emboldening fervent Islamic extremists in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
In the following decade or so, a large number of Southeast Asian Muslims left the Middle East to participate in the "jihad" struggle in Afghanistan, and most of these people embarked on the path of extremism.
In addition to waging war against Western forces in the Middle East, Islamic extremists have also targeted the United States and innocent people, leading to one terrorist attack after another.
In order to completely expel the Western forces from the Islamic world and curb the erosion of the Islamic world by the industrialized countries, the extremists did not hesitate to create turmoil and strife in the Middle East for more than half a century, and countless ordinary people lost their lives and were displaced.
Fanatical Islamic extremists have become a major cancer affecting global stability and peace.
How to defuse Islamic extremism has become a major problem for governments around the world.
In 2013, Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew's judgment in his new book pointed out the maze for the people of the world.
He believes that the bell must be tied to the bell, and the future of Islamic extremism depends on Saudi Arabia, the center and holy place of Islam.
The significance of Saudi Arabia to Islam
Looking at the Middle East as a whole, Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly one of the countries most closely associated with Islam.
As we all know, Saudi Arabia is a theocratic and traditional monarchy established through the combination of the Saudi royal family and the Wahhabi sect.
The Wahhabi sect, which was born in the 18th century, is a branch of the Sunni sect of Islam.
The Saudi ruling class used the religious influence of the Wahhabis to unify the Arabian Peninsula through "jihad".
Although Saudi rule on the peninsula did not last, the theocratic form of government has survived to the present day.
In 1926, the modern Saudi kingdom was established, and at the suggestion of the first king Ibn the Arabs established the "World Muslim Congress" in Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, and Ibn himself was enshrined as the "patron saint of the holy land".
Since then, Saudi Arabia has established itself as the spiritual leader of the Islamic world.
After Saudi Arabia became fully independent in 1932, Ibn paid more and more attention to the importance of Islam in maintaining the rule of the country, believing that only by maintaining the characteristics of the Saudi political system could the loyalty of the people and the support of Muslims around the world be guaranteed.
Therefore, since the founding of the country, Ibn has practiced Islamism in the fields of national politics, diplomacy and culture, emphasizing the protection of the safety of holy places and advocating that Muslims all over the world maintain a unified position in international affairs, so as to live up to their obligations to Allah.
Ibn's teachings have been preached and propagated, which has virtually consolidated Saudi Arabia's position in the Middle East and the Arab world.
In the 50s of the 20th century, Saudi Arabia's theocratic regime encountered severe external challenges, and its leadership in the Islamic world was also in jeopardy.
During this period, the United States tried to expand its influence in the Middle East by promoting the "Truman Doctrine", while the Soviet Union actively exported ideology to Syria, Iraq, Egypt and other countries.
Against this background, Saudi Arabia, unable to stand alone, can only accept US aid and military cooperation on the one hand, and secretly launch a boycott of the ideology of the United States and the Soviet Union on the other.
After this wave of "peaceful evolution", monarchies such as Egypt and Iraq fell one after another, and only Saudi Arabia escaped with its strong influence on the Islamic world and maintained its position as the center of the Islamic world.
Ibn
For a long time after that, Islam became the "shield" of Saudi Arabia against various external challenges.
The struggle against Jewish Zionism and the resistance to the expansion of Arab nationalism are inseparable from the weapon of Islam.
In the course of the ideological struggle with the outside world, Saudi Arabia's leadership in the Islamic world has become more and more solid, and it has taken advantage of the situation to establish a series of Islamic organizations.
The Muslim World League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Supreme Council of Mosques and other organizations are dominated by Saudis.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia has also made full use of this oil trump card in its hands to spread the teachings of Islam through the export of resources, and continue to establish and consolidate its leading position.
Today, Saudi Arabia is closely associated with Islam and has become a holy place for hundreds of millions of Muslims, even fanatical Islamic extremists.
It was on the basis of Saudi Arabia's strong influence on Islam that Lee Kuan Yew made the judgment that "the future of Islamic extremism depends on Saudi Arabia".
And from a realistic point of view, Lee Kuan Yew's prediction is not unreasonable.
De-radicalization of Islam
The dangers of Islamic extremism are evident to the whole world.
So when King Salman ascended the throne in 2015, he began to actively promote Saudi Arabia's transformation to modernization, and the key to the transformation was to abandon radical Islam and return to moderate Islam.
Since 2017, Salman has repeatedly stated in public that "extremist Islam is a wrong path, and Saudi Arabia needs to return to moderate Islam now." ”
Since then, a religious revolution centered on deradicalization has swept across Saudi Arabia and even the Islamic world.
Politically, Salman boldly abolished the royal succession system in Saudi Arabia and strengthened the governance of corruption, which greatly improved the level of national governance in Saudi Arabia.
Diplomatically, Salman pursued a diversified and autonomous diplomatic strategy, no longer limited to exchanges with Islamic countries, and tried to further improve his diplomatic status by reducing external dependence.
Militarily, Salman emphasized the development of the defense industry and taking national security into his own hands.
Economically, we should change the traditional single energy economic structure, vigorously develop the non-oil industry, expand the opening up to the outside world, and actively attract foreign investment.
Culturally, emancipate the mind, empower women, enhance the openness and inclusiveness of the whole society, and promote the rise of Saudi Arabia's cultural and tourism industry.
Salman's reforms, which have swept all walks of life, are not only aimed at modernizing the country, but also to complete the elimination of Islamic extremism after enhancing national strength and improving people's lives.
Salman's move is not a change in doctrine and law in the traditional sense, but a change in the political, economic, social, cultural and other fields as a means to give full play to the role of education and the rule of law in eradicating extremism, and finally realize the "moderation" and "modernization" of Islam.
Salman Jr
The essence of Salman's reform is to strengthen the governance of Islam, clarify the relationship between politics, religion and society, and promote the development of the country in the direction of modernization and pluralism, so as to adapt to the process of modernization and globalization.
Considering Saudi Arabia's theocratic political system, this reform not only has obvious national governance attributes, but also highlights a series of social governance and ideological shaping contents, which invisibly strengthens the leadership of the Saudi royal family over the country, and at the same time tries to create a religious discourse and power system that adapts to modern society.
As a result, many Saudis have elevated Salaman's movement for change to the point of an "Islamic awakening."
As a result, Salman's efforts are beginning to bear fruit.
After several years of reform, Saudi Arabia's originally ultra-conservative social outlook has undergone a new look.
With a large number of religious bans and social restrictions outlawed, a increasingly relaxed social environment, and an unprecedented boom in the field of culture and art, some scholars have described Saudi Arabia's rapid changes as "quiet revolution."
Of course, the most striking change in this reform has been the decline in Islamic extremist activity.
What's even more gratifying is that this is just the beginning.
Considering Saudi Arabia's leadership in the Middle East and the Islamic world, Salman's vigorous reform is bound to sweep the entire Islamic world and bring profound changes to Islam.
With Saudi Arabia as an "orthodox model", it is only a matter of time before other Islamic countries in the world launch de-radicalization reforms and bring Islam back to moderation.
A wave of global reform seems to be blowing from the Gulf to the rest of the world.
From this point of view, Lee Kuan Yew's prediction has indeed come true.
epilogue
Over the past half century or so, Islamic extremism has caused many disasters around the world, and countless countries have been troubled by this.
However, as the so-called bell is still needed, Lee Kuan Yew hit the nail on the head to point out the crux of the problem of Islamic extremism.
The current Saudi Arabia, under Salman's leadership, is undergoing the most profound transformation since its founding.
Once Saudi Arabia's deradicalization reform is completed, Islamic extremism will also come to an end.
Resources
- The Historical Evolution of Islamic Extremism in Saudi Arabia[J].International Research Reference,2019(12):30-38.)
- From Extreme to Moderate: Saudi Religious Reform and Its Impact[J].World Religions Studies,2023(04):110-125.)
- Religion and Saudi Diplomacy: Strategy, Mechanism and Action[J].Arab World Studies,2013(04):44-57.)