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International Cuisine Conference on Traditional Asian Diet Panaji, Goa, September 2-5, 2007 - http://www.indologygoa.in Online Media Partner: http://www.goanet.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Actually not Mr Bhandare. In this case and in many others, Selma does indeed know what she is talking about. The ruling family of the Ibn Sa'oud, are survivors and to survive they know they must do two things: Please the USA on whom they totally depend for their survival as a ruling, even though corrupt, elite. Keep the fanatical Islamists in the country in check in a balancing act, for their rule depends on the majority moderate Imams many of whom can be swayed easily through blackmail or threats to the fanatical side. Their ideology is Wah'habi but their motivation is pure money. They will give to the zealots only when they must but not in a way that the extremists will have the means to overthrow them. What they give to the zealots, they pretend to give to Islam even though they know it is not so and that their giving will be misused. To understand why they must give, one must understand the genesis of the modern kingdom. The founding of the Kingdom of Sa'udi Arabia is owed to the brave, fearless and idealistic Ibn Sa'oud who drove away the rulers of the Nejd, a corrupt lot, the Hashemites of Trans-Jordan and various hostile Bedouin tribes whom Ibn Saud needed to turn into his allies. He could not have done this with without the swords of the followers of the Wah'abi Imam who was his greatest ally in the formation of the kingdom and who exacted from him a pact that when the Kingdom of Ibn Saud was formed, the Wah'habis would hold first place. Ibn Saud a devoutly religious Moslem himself needed to convert to the strict Wah'habi-ism of his Imam, in order to achieve his objectiive to fight the corrupt regimes of the Nejd, the Rub al Khali and the Hashemites who controlled Mecca in those days and used the tax on pilgrims as a revenue for their debaucherous lifestyle. Never mind that the progeny of the Ibn Sa'oud became ten times more debaucherous and corrupt then the men their founder-ancestor despised and was driven to overthrow. Never mind that the Saudi Wah'habis propagate their brand of Islam to all Moslems who will take their money. On no account will they advocate the terrorism of the Al Quaeda, for they know they will be it's eventual victims. Wah'habism is to anyone who makes an effort to understand it, a strict but not virulent practice of Islam which requires the devout to conform to a strict interpretation of the Qu'ran and the Sharia but not to violence against the non-Moslem except those violating those laws who live in Moslem jurisdictions. If you want to make a connection with the fundamentalism of the Wah'habi and the extremism of the Al Quaeda and their Moslem terrorists then one must blame the Deobandi School of Uttar Pradesh in India through which all extremists pass, who have somehow equated terrorism (equally against Moslem and non-Moslems) with their own convenient interpretation of Wah'habism. Roland. On 7/3/07, Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Selma's statement about the wahhabis in saudi is pure > baloney. The saudi elite including the royal family is > the biggest sponsor of wahabbi/salafi ideolgy, one of > the most virulent forms of islam ------------------------------------------------------- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim & internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------