Backing both sides
From Mr Stephen Schwartz Sir: Michael Rice (Letters, 29 September) argues that British involvement in Arab politics against the Ottoman Empire did not comprise support for Wahhabism.
The historical record shows that, regardless of occasional shifts, Britain supported the Wahhabi uprisings from the end of the 18th century to the time of Ibn Saud, whom Britain recognised as ruler of Nejd. Ibn Saud took British money but then refrained from aggressively fighting the Turks, a harbinger of Saudi policy today. Britain also pursued the policy of funding both Wahhabis and anti-Wahhabis, as should be widely remembered. No serious Islamic authority would challenge the relationship between Wahhabi ideology and terrorism inflicted on noncombatants.
Stephen Schwartz
Washington DC, USA
Previous page
