Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday admitted that Wahabism began as a result of Western countries asking Riyadh to help counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
This is first time someone from Al-Saud family has made an open confession regarding western and Saudi’s collaboration in the formation and propagation of extremist Islamic ideology. Speaking to the Washington Post , bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia’s Western allies urged the country to invest in mosques and madrassas overseas during the Cold War, in an effort to prevent encroachment in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union.
The surge in extremism, in the Muslim world is widely attributed to the Wahabi ideology, which is believed to be supremacist in nature and non-accommodative for non Muslims. 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.
The conflict has killed thousands, displaced many more, driven the country to the brink of famine, and led to a major cholera outbreak. 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.