Salman al-Ouda’s shameful words

Salman al-Ouda has published what he calls an open letter, in which he claims to be speaking on behalf of the Saudis and their affairs. Yet the letter is full of contradictions and evidence of his inflated ego, as if he was posting it on twitter, where everything is a matter of opinion! The first and most important point at which to pause is the first line of the letter, which Ouda begins by saying: “A true friend is an honest one, and a wise man values the truth from wherever it comes.” These are eloquent words, but in the case of Salman Ouda, here we should recall his stance in the 1990s, during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. Had we listened to his “true words” then, Saddam’s forces would have entered Saudi Arabia with dire consequences. Or let us consider that Ouda used to warn against satellite television channels, but now he embraces the new media? Or what about his previous positions on terrorism, after which Al-Qaeda revealed its ugly face not in America but in Saudi Arabia? At the time, Al-Qaeda was drawing on some of Ouda’s own literature and ideas, which he had promoted in the 1990s and before. Finally, what about when Ouda used to refer to Osama Bin Laden as “sheikh” or “Abu Abdallah”, even after he was exposed as a terrorist, and only stopped using these terms a few years ago? Is this the honest friend that we are supposed to believe today? This is the man who referred to the conflict in Iraq as a jihad, with video clips on YouTube to prove it. This is the man who witnessed regimes that he once championed fall during the so-called Arab Spring, such as in Tunisia for example, only to then return and criticize those former regimes after the tables were turned, revealing his blatant Muslim Brotherhood agenda. This is the Salman Ouda that we should now believe? How puzzling. Ouda wants the Saudis to change their mind and positions whenever he does; to be hardline at certain points and tolerant at others, all within the context of his tireless search for fame and notoriety. This is Ouda’s primary concern, and instead of him addressing those recently arrested on terrorism charges, and issuing a statement revising his ideas that have misled these young people and many others in the past, we see this shameless inflammatory rhetoric today. It is strange that Ouda speaks about Saudi Arabia as if the country is a volatile powder keg, whereas the truth is that his open letter is shameful, almost like blackmail, and full of his bloated ego. Ouda says, “With mounting anger, Saudi Arabia’s social, political, and legal symbols are losing their value, and leadership is falling into the hands of the street.” He adds, “Amid such anger, calls for calm are replaced by accusations of treason or weakness, and this will only lead to a more aggressive and divisive scene, given the current conditions.” Simply put, Ouda is calling on the Saudi state to consecrate him as a ‘symbol’ or a ‘guardian’ in order to calm the anger on the street and placate the masses. Yet this is contrary to the very concept of institutions, systems, and reform that the Saudis are demanding. The Saudis themselves refuse to revive those harmful symbols that have damaged Saudi society since the 1980s, one of whom is Salman Ouda. He has forgotten that Saudi Arabia will not be led by a guide! --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.