The Saudi-led coalition: Taking back the soul of Sunni Islam?

The recent Republican presidential debate emphasized the belief that the only way to defeat the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) is by an Arab ground force drawn from the region. Enter the 34-member coalition made up of Sunni states from both inside and outside the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia taking a leading role in the coalition and spearheading its creation.

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman asserted that the coalition’s purpose is to eradicate terrorism while not providing specifics on what exactly this coalition would do to achieve this goal. Whether this coalition will provide an effective counter weight against IS on the ground is yet to be seen, but the military aspect of this conflict is only one side of a more nuanced situation.

{mosads}The fight against IS’s ideology, which has mobilized thousands of people worldwide to embrace extremism, is the much more critical aspect of the current Middle East crisis. However, fighting an ideology is much more difficult than any military campaign and a battle this coalition will and must fight. Yet can this group of self-proclaimed moderate Sunni states be truly effective under the leadership of Saudi Arabia?

Their hard-liner version of Islam is as integral to the Saudi state as the al-Saud monarchy has been at the nexus of every Jihadist movement spanning the Mujahidin in Afghanistan to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. After September 11th, Wahhabism became synonymous with Osama Bin-Laden and puritanical conservatism emanating out from Saudi Arabia.

The form militant Wahhabism takes on today is displayed in the Islamic State. They’re known for their absolutist interpretation of Sharia Law and the extreme, brutal violence used to implement it; from stoning to death men for homosexuality to sexual slavery and forced marriages of Yazidi women.

Overtly tying themselves to Wahhabism, a strand of Sunni fundamentalism unique to Saudi Arabia, the Islamic State circulates literature from Saudi-funded madrasas (religious schools). It is estimated, as exact numbers are not known, that Saudi Arabia has spent approximately $100 billion exporting Wahhabism to date. Hence the origin of fundamentalist interpretations of Islam we see proliferating the region and the direct tie we see to Saudi Arabia.

For this reason, the Saudi-led coalition against the Islamic State may signal an astute, symbolic confrontation to the marring of Sunni Islam under the banner of Wahhabism. Yet to be truly effective, would it not make more sense to let some of the more moderate regional players take the front lines in this battle of the soul of Sunni Islam?

For example, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with King Abdullah at the helm has long been a champion of moderation with a track record to match. Not only has the Kingdom bore the brunt of the refugee crisis with more than 937,830 Syrians making 1 out of 5 people within Jordan a Syrian refugee, but they have also played a leading role in the fight against IS with their involvement in the American-led coalition. King Abdullah himself has mirrored our argument in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in which he described the fight against IS as a military and ideological third world war that requires all of Islam to act against these bandits. This moderate Islam promoted by both the Royal Court and Jordanian
civil society can be attributed to their authentic desire to promote peace in a region long marred by conflict.

So what can the U.S. do to aid this coalition is defeating IS on an ideological level? Well to start with it can empower the more moderate state within the region, while also calling for more collective engagement on the part of regional powers. The withdraw of their unwavering support of the Saudi’s to more moderate states like Jordan could trigger a true reckoning between Saudi Arabia and itself. Will they moderate and stop the export of an ideology that has long fueled terrorism or risk losing their mantle as the regional Sunni power? This is a necessary soul searching journey the Saudi’s must undertake and one the U.S. could be pivotal in starting.

Martin is a masters candidate at American University’s School of International Service, and specializes in Middle Eastern politics with particular focus on Jordan, Egypt, and hydropolitics. Cabrejas is a candidate for a Master of Arts at American University’s School of International Service. She specializes in Middle East politics and United States foreign policy as it relates to nationalism, identity, and ideology.