CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 39

ARAKS PASHAYAN
Accusations against Iran
Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to modernize and reform Saudi
Arabia became a subject of extensive discussions beyond the borders of
Saudi Arabia — both in academic and political circles. During this period,
several questions were raised as to what extent such assurances were sincere
and realistic, and, ultimately, to what extent Saudi Arabia was more open
and moderate throughout its entire history; that is, the period of time until
1979 that Mohammed bin Salman was speaking about. Let us note once
more that he believed that until the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Islamic
interpretations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not come from radical
positions. It was noted that the Saudis were living in the same way as in the
other Arab countries, they were going to movie theaters, and the women
were driving cars.
It should be noted that after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, the
situation somewhat destabilized in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf
area. The political awakening of Islam entered a new international phase.
The religious regime of Iran had the objective of “exporting” the Khomeini
interpretation of political Shi’ism to the outside world. Political Shi’ism
created an opposition, even a competition, with Sunni Islam’s conservative
directions that were rooted in the Gulf region, including in Saudi Arabia.
This caused serious concern, first and foremost, in the Gulf’s Sunni
monarchies, where there were Shi’ite confessional communities, as well as
in Iraq, where more than 60 percent of the population was Shi’ite. Besides
the fact that the Sunni regimes of the Gulf were concerned that the wave of
revolution would also spread in their countries and make the local Shi’ite
communities become active, there was another important fact which was
making what occurred in Iran more unacceptable: Wahhabism’s traditionally
intolerant approach toward Shi’ite Islam. This created a completely new
tension and distrust in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Some time after the Islamic revolution in Iran, the situation became
extremely destabilized in Saudi Arabia. On November 20, 1979, under the
influence of the Islamic revolution in Iran, the Great Mosque of Mecca was
seized by a group of revolutionaries, whose leader was Juhayman al-Utaybi
(1936-1980). The seizure lasted for two weeks and caused a great shock,
both in the Kingdom and in the region. The crisis was overcome by French
Special Forces. 17 However, the more religious and conservative circles of
society protested against foreign intervention just as they did in August
1990, during the days of the second Gulf crisis, when the US-led coalition
17
Stephen Rakowski, “How the 1979 siege of Mecca haunts the House of Saud,” Stratfor, July
2, 2017, https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/how-1979-siege-mecca-haunts-house-saud
(accessed March 27, 2019).
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