Quote:
Originally Posted by rubecube
Not really. I was actually genuinely curious what you thought. I see a brutal dictatorship like KSA being propped up by the West and see no chance for reformation and a concerted effort to stamp out dissent, which would seem like an obvious reason as to why wahhabism has such a stronghold there. So yeah, I can accept that the religious element is at the root of the problem but that the West has also had a hand in the developments there.
You could also look at the rise of the ayatollahs as a response to the Shah and the fallout from that as to why Iran is in the shape it's in. Most of the reformists and moderates were either killed or fled the country.
I'm all ears for alternative explanations.
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But this type of thing should be consistent in other places if it weren't really the religion. Colonialism, resource robbing and dictator prop up was just as bad or worse in other regions. We should at least have a couple examples of consistent international terrorism against the west if these were significant factors.
They just aren't. A factor, sure, but not significant.
As for why Wahhabism is so supported ... I'm not sure. Perhaps it's just as simple as "it was born there". The house of Saud supported it long before we were there.