“SO is Iran's criticism of Saudi management of Haj and its demand of a share in Haj administration politically motivated?” wondered the host of a BBC Persian TV program. I said: Yes, it is politics at its worst! Since the Islamic Republic of Iran' spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini (1902-1989), called for revolution and religious exportation, Saudi Arabia has faced a challenge every year. Iranians, who were the model of peaceful, generous, disciplined and educated Hajis, became revolutionary, disruptive and riotous. They insist on breaking rules, crowding in the most unsuitable places, and politicizing the religious event. Calls like: Death to America and death to Israel, raising pictures of their spiritual leaders, and fighting with security forces, were to be expected. In 1987, such disturbance caused bloody riots with hundreds died from all sides. And, in 1989, bombs planted near the Holy Haram went off, causing death and destruction. The Game of Power has always been cold-hearted. Nations compete for national interests, using all available means — politics, economics, propaganda and even wars. But humanity has evolved and reached certain agreements on acceptable limits in such games — including protecting human rights, preserving world environment and heritage, and avoiding total destruction and annihilation of nations and peoples. On top of the redline list is hate speech, racism and sectarianism. The world has paid dearly for the use of such tools. After centuries of crusades, two centuries of religious wars in Europe, and two World Wars, the human civilization decided that no more use of religion should be tolerated. Today, the world is witnessing again how ideology is being used by a rogue nation in igniting religious and ethnic strife. It began in Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and now Yemen. Since the affected region is part of the Muslim and Arab world, the West seems to be encouraging, or, at least allowing Iran to do what Westerners have started to do with Iraq's invasion, in 2003 — Creative Destruction. The region, they hoped, would be devastated, dissected along sectarian and racial lines, and weakened enough for neo-colonizers to divide and rule its mineral-rich and strategically located lands. Not that Iran does care for religion! Not a bit! Their ultimate goal is to restore their pagan Sassanian Empire (226-651) that included at its highest expansion, Afghanistan, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, south and eastern Arabia and Egypt. Arab-led Islamic caliphate had brought that empire under its rule, and Persians were unhappy about it since then. To achieve their goals, Iranians have been pushing Shiite minorities in Arab countries to overrule Sunni majorities. Arab stooges, like Hezbollah and the Houthis, were armed, financed and supported to rebel against democratically-elected governments. The rogue Alawite regime in Syria has been similarly bolstered against its own people. In Iraq, the Shiite government has been encouraged to marginalize the rest, especially the Sunnis and Kurds. Terrorist Shiite groups were created or supported to further oppress other sects. All these policies created a strong resentment and a security vacuum used by Daesh (so-called IS), Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, representing marginalized and abused parts of Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqis and Yemeni societies. Even Haj, one of the most sacred religious rituals in Islam, has not been spared. Iran would not hesitate to use any possible means to disturb the peaceful procession of millions of Muslims in the most sacred places on earth, for the most earthly political ends. All world leaders sent their condolences to the King following the stampede in Mina, but the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not. Instead it preceded the findings of the investigation and jumped to conclusions, blaming it on Saudi authority, without a single proof. It seems that the Iranian leaders were expecting this to happen, and couldn't afford waiting a single day to use the event for their political advantage. Instantly, they demanded to be represented in the investigation committee, but they wouldn't hear of it when tens of Saudi tourists were poisoned in Iran, earlier this year. They called for shared administration of Haj, but they didn't think so when over 1,500 Shiite pilgrims were killed in stampede, in 2005, crossing Al-Aema Bridge in Baghdad on their way to attend a religious ceremony. Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasraallah, whose party failed, with all the help from Iran to solve the garbage problem in his city of Beirut for months, is demanding that his masters in Tehran should administer the Haj. He seems to forget or ignore the fact that Haj demands formidable logistics to serve the needs of millions, within smaller area than his southern district of Beirut, in few days. What Iran is up to next, dear readers? Do you expect that it had a hand in what happened? Why the rush to accusations and then jumping to conclusions? Lets share thoughts and comments.
— Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him at Twitter:@kbatarfi
