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The Saudi family has, historically, been acutely aware of the potential danger to it from uncontrolled religious movements if they got involved in politics.  Part of the family's history involves a alliance between Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab and  Muhammad bin Saud, ruler of Diriyah, just west of modern Riyadh, in the mid 18th century. Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab supported Muhammad bin Saud in matters of religion and al-Wahhab supported al Saud politically. The Wahabi reformers gave the Saudi a political-religious mission that led, eventually, to the modern Saudi State.

The alliance with the Wahabi continues and that family dominates the ulema. During the unification Abdulaziz also used the Ikhwan, or Brotherhood, composed of traditional tribal warriors, to help him unite the peninsula into its current form. But Brotherhood leaders criticized Abdulaziz for modern innovationa and did not respect treaties negotiated by Abdulaziz, attacking Jordan and Kuwait. Abdulaziz employed modern weapons  obtained from the British, including two airplanes flown by British pilots, to defeat the Ikhwan. The leaders were killed and the remainder were incorporated into the Saudi military.

I don't think it is reasonable to conclude that any of the Gulf States have any particular view of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, but that all of them have good reason to be cautions about empowering such groups. I would expect them to relate to them on a tactical basis, depending on the needs of each state at any given time.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Jul 13th, 2013 at 11:16:30 PM EST
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