DAESH hit a place of prayer again in the holy land. This time it chose a Sunni mosque in a Salafi region. Instead of their preferred day, Friday, they opted for the afternoon prayer, last Thursday. The attack resulted in the deaths and injuries of over 20 worshipers, mostly young cadets. This is another redline crossed. Daesh, who draws much of its legitimacy from being the “Protector of Sunnis,” had never attacked Sunni mosques before. This begs the questions: Who is really behind them? And what is their real purpose? Iran's fingerprints are all over the guns and hands of ‘Daesh' — probably in retaliation to Saudi victory, in Yemen. Before the bombing campaign started, Iran's stooge, Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, had announced what was coming — exactly. Iran's Head of Security Council, Ali Shamakhani, echoed similar threats. Other Iranian officials have warned Saudi Arabia, recently, of security consequences for its military campaign in Yemen and its support of Syrian opposition. Shortly afterwards, the Interior Ministry netted hundreds of Daesh operatives, planning to do exactly what Iran and Hezbollah said they would. Still, they managed to attack two Shiite mosques and a security checkpoint … and now this! Some of the explosive materials found with the terrorists are of the same substance in shipments smuggled by Iran via Bahrain to Saudi Eastern Region and to Bahrain itself. Daesh, ladies and gentlemen, is an Iranian creation. The first 1,500 strong who formed the organization were Al-Qaeda members released from the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad on the orders of Iran's agent Nuri Al Malki, Iraq's former prime minister. They easily passed the Syrian border, found a base in northern Syria with enough arms and cash to fight the Syrian Free Army and reframe the regime war on its people as a war on terror. It worked, for a while, and many Western countries, including the US, hesitated in its support for the Syrian resistance and the regime change. Interestingly enough, while Al-Qaeda and Daesh terrorist operations reached as far as the US, Europe and North Africa, they never came close to neighboring Iran or its embassies and interests. Let's not forget that Iran is the logistics corridor between Afghanistan and Iraq for Al-Qaeda and Daesh, and many Qaeda leaders and their families found in it safe haven after US war on Taliban, in response to 9/11. As for bombing holy places, Iran's Revolutionary Guards had started this trend in Iraq and against Shiite mosques, like Al-Eskri holy site, and Sunni mosques to start sectarian wars. Therefore, they gave themselves an excuse to enter the scene as protectors of Shiites and in support of Iraqi security forces against Salafi “terrorists.” So why is Daesh attacking Saudi Arabia. Many reasons: 1. In retaliation to the Kingdom's participation in the international coalition fighting them in Syria and Iraq. 2. Saudi hosts Islam's holiest lands. To get the ultimate legitimacy for their Islamic caliphate they dream of ruling the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. 3. Saudi Arabia is a safe and prosperous oasis in a fire-stricken region. To destroy and reconstruct the Middle East, they need to strike at the strongest and most secured structure. 4. To relieve the pressure on their stooges and agents in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain and Lebanon, Iran is trying to engage Saudi in an internal war with Daesh. The international community must act against the Iranian exportation of revolution and terrorism. They did it before when the UN punished Iran for its terror business with economic sanctions. After the nuclear agreement, those sanctions are about to be lifted, altogether, whether related to nuclear or terrorism activities. It is not the first time that Daesh has tried to attack security and religious targets. However, the Interior Ministry's pre-emptive strikes had foiled many of these schemes. In the month of Ramadan alone, seven attempts were thwarted, including the bombing of the Special Forces mosque in Riyadh during Friday prayer, on the ninth of the holy month. The strategy is not new, the tactic is! The war against Daesh will be won, eventually. The sacred lines they crossed make their acts increasingly indefensible. We should build on that. This war is not going to be won with security campaigns alone, as strong as they are. We must, also, win hearts and souls. Behind every maniac terrorist there are lots of religious literature and references, used by legions of educators and preachers. We need to revisit, clarify and cleanse the school of thoughts that produced this literature. Ministries of education, religious affairs, information and culture and youth affairs should work hand in hand with the Interior Ministry to fight religious extremism and cut it at the roots. Our media, academic and research institutions are very much needed in such effort. Only with such focus and cooperation we may hope to dry up the springs of support for religious extremism. — Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him at Twitter:@kbatarfi
