Maximus Pontificus Islamicus

The rise of the Middle Eastern Pope.

As a declining Roman Empire is ceaselessly locked in civil wars, the Emperor Constantine is informed by Jesus in a vision to use the symbols Chi and Rho on the battle standards underneath which he places the words In hoc signio vinces (In this sign thou shalt conquer) [1], and thus is the birth of the Christian Maximus Pontificus also known as Pontifex Maximus [2]. This ancient pagan office holder shaped the structure of Christianity and the Western World before its rejection by the Reformation [3] in its political, religious, economic and cultural forms. The objective is to compare the theological and political role of the ancient Church in the West to the similar role played by the ascendant Khawariji Modernists of today in the Broader Middle East. The Maximus Pontificus was charged with bringing theological conformity into the broader very diverse marketplace in matters of theology; essentially pertaining to what was to be deemed sacred and the apocrypha? [4] Islam on the other hand, has been blessed over the millennia and half, with a lack of similar theological structure as a Church and has been better off for it too. The distinction is crucial when understanding why there was a need of a Reformation in Western Christianity, as opposed to the Broader Middle East also known as the Muslim World, therefore explaining the higher levels of religiosity in the Muslim World compared to the West. There was a distinct political ruler in the form of a Caliph or a Sultan, followed by a Grand Mufti [5] who was also restrained by theological heavy weights who were not in the employ of the state and could issue fatwa(pl) [6], and the believer is to follow even counter prevailing fatwa from other juristic positions if their heart desires based on their understanding of the Quran. This would explain the religious marketplace in the Broader Middle East was diverse and libertine, and essentially the rulers, who took guidance from the majority and weighty positions of the Ulema, and then formed law. When there is consensus in the marketplace, that certain opinions do not measure up to merits, then certain individuals and /or groups are deemed Khawariji[(7] (seceders). In Western Christianity, as has been the historic practice, it is the Pope that excommunicates individuals and groups as he is Gods representative on earth, and has the sole power and capacity to interpret the scripture alone. Thus the focus of this article will be to highlight the emerging influence of the office of the ruler of Saudi Arabia, who represents the Wahabi-Saud TheologicalPolitical Collusion [8] and the increasing role it plays in acting as the gateway of what is sacred and/or profane, thereby obfuscating and hijacking the Muslim social marketplace in matters of religion and politics, thereby functioning in a manner similar to the Maximus Pontificus in Western medieval times.

Theological Standardization
The churchs job was to bring theological conformity to the diverse Christian groups in the form of structured debates under the auspices of the Maximus Pontificus [9]. Whereas, in the Muslim World they engaged in hot debates and gave the Muslim world a

legacy of Kalam Scholastic Theology [10], all in the absence of an over reaching influence of an over bearing Church. The objective of this paper is not to indulge in the critique of Wahabi/Salafi, however, a main stream Sunni Muslim criticism of the Saudi brand of modernist innovation is worth looking into before the discussion can proceed. The Wahabis, like the Christian Fundamentalists in the West, are a product of Modernity. Pre-Modern Islam was the domain of the Sufi sympathetic Ahle Sunna Wal Jamma - a composite of four major schools of jurisprudence namely Maliki, Shafii, Hanafi and Hanbali also referred to as Sunni Islam. The Modernist (Islamist) alienating influence came about during Western colonialism of the Broader Middle East or came about because of it, as in the case of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud and their crony of the ilk of Mohammad Ibn Wahab. The Middle East and Islam have never been the same ever since. Khawariji/Islamist Typology And Nomenclature Islamist is a broad category of Modernist (Jadidi) innovation in Islam and should not be referred to as Islam. There exists no comprehensive academic definitions of what exactly constitutes an Islamist, and the concept gets further obfuscated when it is referred to as Political Islam. For simplistic reasons here, it would suffice to define it in broader fashion as a Modernist obfuscation of an innovation unto Islam in contrast to premodern Classical Islam. Khawarij is a term coined during the tumultuous early times of the history of Islam and is referred to an individual or a group that has no tangible religious or social interests rooted in the community, other than to agitate for the mere purpose of ruling large swaths of lands just to fill their coffers with greed. Three of the four Rightfully Guided Caliphs (Khulafa-e Rashideen) met their martyrdom at the hands of Khawarij intrigues and machinations. The distillate of modern political theorists would refer to them as totalitarians or fascists. By Middle Eastern and Islamic epistemological approach these groups are called Khawarijis while contemporary western sources refer to them as Islamists who are essentially totalitarians and fascists. The terms Khawarij and Islamist would be used interchangeably here. Islamists can be divided into three major camps i) Religio-Islamists as in the case of Wahabis and Wahabi internationalists also known as Salafis, who although derive legitimacy through matters of theology (fiqr) when they have no functioning literature or functioning jurisprudence (fiqh) to stand on, and thus represent the most shallow Orthopraxy at best, ii) and the Politico-Islamists like the Ikhwan ul Muslimeen (Muslim Brotherhood) who derive their primary sources of legitimacy by advocating matters of governance as in establishing a political entity that conforms to their convoluted corruption of Islam. A third group has sprung of late that straddles the two above approaches - iii) Religio-Political Islamists as in the example of UK based Khalifah Movement who seek to fulfill the political agendas of the Ikhwan and seek rather lame theological legitimacy as the Wahabis. An in-depth study of the Islamist phenomenon will take the reader into the labyrinth study of people like Jamal-ud-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Hassan al Banna, and Rashid Ridda, not to mention horrifying fatawa issued by the likes of Wahabi clergy. A short critique [11] by the Sunni Muslim of the Islamist can be very informative.

The Faade of the Amman Message On 26th July 2006, the King of Jordan Abdullah II gave legitimacy to a Neo-Khawariji experiment by the name of the Amman Message in which he thanked God for providing him the opportunity of bringing about the Islamic Consensus [12], which in his perverted thinking represents a unanimous agreement by all Muslims everywhere as represented by their acknowledged most senior religious authorities and political leaders. Abdullah II goes on to bless Ali (KAW) upon having brought a similar consensus, when we know Alis (KAW) tumultuous political and economic rule was exacerbated by the Khawarijis and he rightfully still preferred to wage war against them ultimately thoroughly discarding the Khawarijis into the proverbial dustbin of history. Abdullah II further continues to lays down the very purpose of the Amman Message exercise is what it means to be Muslim and on who has the right to speak authoritatively in the name of Islam. Obviously, the man who rules Jordan in a non-Islamic model of governance of a monarch, and who claims to rule based on his forefathers belonging to a certain clan of Hashim within the broader tribe of Quraish will decide who is a Muslim and who is not under the umbrella of the Amman Message. The language used throughout the different topics is remarkable when it comes to describing what Islam is and what the broader moral, ethical and social justice it espouses. However, despite the rosy grand narrative the Amman Message delivers a stunning clincher, Likewise, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare whosoever subscribes to true Salafi thought an apostate. The Wahabi/ Salafis and the collective Sunnis usually do not give theological credence to one another. And as discussed earlier, the seceders (Khawarijis) were hereby given a cloak of credence by a Khawariji ruler under the guise of alienating the jihadist. Essentially then, the Amman Message gave credibility to non-militant Salafis. The Amman Message, thus, is flawed at many levels. The king lacks not only representation and legitimacy at home, but also may be included in the very Khawariji group himself, especially when he does the bidding of his benefactor the House of Saud and other Middle Eastern monarchs. The Amman message effectively bypasses the social marketplace into giving credence to a marginal, minority nefarious group. The Amman Message resembles the councils convened by the Popes of Christianity in the West and the broader message, then reeks of totalitarianism when the king proclaims and confers upon his exercise as being representative of all Muslims everywhere as represented by their acknowledged most senior religious authorities and political leaders, as is plainly obvious when the political leaders of most Muslim nations are not representative nor have legitimacy in the eyes of the ruled. The Amman Message was quite timely to give credence to the Salafis and their organizations to plant themselves for the revolutions that would follow and the mayhem and violence it would bring upon Libya and Syria. Egypt and Tunisia would buck the trend simply because after decades of hardcore authoritarian secular rule the political marketplace has swung in the opposite direction as a knee jerk reaction to affirm anything and all things Islamic. It will not take long for the political marketplace to realize that the Salafis and the Ikhwan will act as populists who will use Islam to come to power and remain in power, as the Pakistanis already know. Unlike Tunisia and Egypt, Pakistani Islamists had been allowed to participate in the political process with little success. The Amman Message gives the king as per his own proclamation the absolute right to speak authoritatively in the name

of Islam. This makes king Abdullah II, the Vicarius Urbis or head of all the Cardinals in the Catholic hierarchy [13]. The Cardinals are also referred to as the Princes of the Church [14], and the modern Middle East, there are princely royals acting as absolute authorities on Islam, an obvious bad omen for things to come for Muslims in the Middle East.

Political/Financial Clout
Before the political role can be analyzed, it is necessary to investigate what groups comprise of this emerging phenomenon and what factors contribute to its political clout. Khawarij is a broad term that has its roots in Islamic Epistemology and the groups that have become a nuisance to all in the Middle East- Muslims and Christians alike. The Politico-Islamists group like the Khilafah Movement is still in its infancy, but emerged out of obscurity and remains underground since it is still banned on most Muslim nations. The Ikwan (Brotherhood) had been brutally suppressed by secular authoritarian regimes but have been allowed to surface and compete in elections in the post alleged Arab Spring. However, the group that has remained visible and powerful is the Saudi Arabian led Wahabis allegedly known as Salafis and the House of Saud. It is principally the office of the king of Saudi Arabia, who along with his Wahabi cohorts, are the subject of commentary here. This religio-political alliance came to power with the help of the British Empire [15] and has remained influential regionally and globally ever since. The decline of the last standing Muslim political entity, the Ottoman Empire could not be halted even by the Tanzimat that were initiated by the Sultan Abdul Majid I. While Muslims saw the rise of the West, the Wahabis struck upon great marketing genius and were successful at laying the blame of the decline of the Ummah upon the Sufi sympathetic Hanafi interpretation of Islam along with the Sunni thought, which was dominant in the Muslim World. Essentially, the soul searching masses of the Middle East were to fall prey to the austere, nescient, literal and quixotic machinations of the Wahabi. It must be noted that it was the ignorant members of the masses that became somewhat enamored by the Wahabis, the status quo is still held by Ahle Sunna Wal Jamah Sunnis who are politically and theologically quietist and marginalized. Post World War II, the newly formed nations that emerged out of colonization by the French and British Empires were ruled by elites that maintained their strategic ties with the former colonial masters. However, the new threat of Communism was rising out of the East and the Western Allies saw natural alliance in Saudi Arabia, its alleged prestige as the keeper of the mosques, and their alleged conservatism and their oil wealth would make great allies with the West. For the majority in the Broader Middle East to emerge out of direct colonial rule, only to be lead into playing sides in the Cold War was the cause of arrested development and tremendous civilizational opportunity costs from which they have yet to recover. The Cold War was the single biggest cause of cementing the myth of Saudi/Wahabi conservatism. The Wahabis made sure money was spent, ordinary mullahs were bought, Wahabi religious pamphleteering was increased, madaris were established, and weaker regimes were bolstered in the cause of fighting the Communists and the broader strategy

of strengthening the Wahabi message. This effort to counter the Communist threat led to the US and Saudi Arabia waging relentless war even unto democratic socialist states which culminated into what is known as the Arab Cold War [16] between Gamal Abdel Nassers Egypt and Wahabi Arabia. In fact, what occurred in Libya, and is occurring in Syria, is a continuation of the same Arab Cold War in which Saudi Arabia desires complete and total dominance. It must be noted that Nassers Egypt switched sides and became Zion friendly, while Muammar Qhaddafi and the Alawites in Syria had remained loyal to resisting it. Qaddhafi was given an undignified death by the Salafis and the operations against Syria are continuing. To frame Libya and Syria as freedom and democracy movements would be an insult, when students of realism [17] know that it is about competing ideologies - Zion friendly Islamo-fascist Saudi Arabia in cahoots with NATO allies against left wing anti-Zion Socialists seculars. There is nothing the collusionist Saudi Arabian state can contribute to either democracy or freedom. Libya and Syria are the final frontier of the pseudo-Islamic totalitarians domineering success in which Neo-Liberal and Neo-Conservative run US is complicit [18]. Global Support Saudi Arabia used to enjoy patronage from Pax Britanica, but found itself a new master in the midst of WWII and switched sides eagerly. London was overbearing, the United States was not [19]. The US and the US centric post WWII era has given the Saudi Arabia much security and influence since then. For a nation that allegedly defines conservative Islam, and shuns interest, Saudi Arabia sure is a contributing [20] member to the IMF which is critiqued for worsening [21] the problems of developing nations with structural reforms, and is seeking a bigger stake in the IMF in an organization that usually does not give influence away to others. The Vatican banking scandals have a long history with the crime families, corruption and murder [22]. The money possessed by the elites in oil rich nations specially Saudi Arabia pose real vulnerabilities for all nations specially other Muslim nations. The Arab League has had a long history of ineffectiveness in regional matters primarily due to Arab infighting, but of late with the help of Saudi Arabia, the Arab League has been celebrated as the Gateway Institution to the pursuing of interests according to Michael Wahid Hanna of the Neo-conservative slanting World Politics Review who says the Arab Leagues imprimatur has been used to grant legitimacy to broader international efforts, largely focused on the United Nations Security Council. In this sense, the Arab League has functioned as both an institutional mediator as well as a gateway institution, a reflection of the complexity of the diplomatic and, in the case of Libya, military efforts undertaken in connection with these initiatives. [23]But common sense tells the realist that former colonial rulers in conjunction with local monarchs do not reflect furthering of human rights, but creation of more pliant states. The league ought to be appropriately referred to as British-American Arab League. The role of Gulf Co-operative Council (GCC) in the region is even more pernicious with Saudi Arabias role in at as the most heavily armed member of the council, although, it was the UAE that loaned fighter jets to NATO against Libya. Saudi Arabia sent troops into Bahrain to ensure popular pro-democracy protests do not culminate in the Ahlay Bayt (Shia) effectively ending the rule of the Khawariji minority led monarchy [24]. In a

further caustic move, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain announced a potential union to hedge their bets against their Shia insecurities [25] a move that might backfire since it may create further solidarity between Saudi and Bahraini Shia groups thus making Saudi Arabia even more vulnerable to Shia activism. However, if the union goes forth it may be the signaling of first peaceful conquest of this emerging new holy empire similar to the Imperium Romanum Sacrum (The Holy Roman Empire) [26]. While Karen Young can celebrate the activist interventionism of these sheikhdoms in the region, it must be acknowledged that this regional security organization does not further the cause of human rights, nor of democracy. Saudi influence with Pakistan as a Case Study During the last impasse between Musharraf and the Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhrys house arrest, it was a Saudi Ambassador trying to keep pressure off of Musharraf by meeting the chief justice and offering [27] him pilgrimage and a prolonged stay in Saudi Arabia, however the chief justice refused. This is unabashed example of the Saudi state offering religious tokens to manipulate local Pakistani politics. In another perverted example [28] there is Rafik Harriri of Lebanon writing contracts of the deportation of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia, a Saudi Prince Muqrin head of the general intelligence giving options to Sharif to either stay in Pakistan or a palace in Saudi Arabia. There is Saudi ambassador to US Adel Al-Jubeir boasting We in Saudi Arabia are not observers in Pakistan, we are participants. The icing on the cake is Saudi Arabia funding Wahabi/Salafi madaris (pl. of madrassah) in the heartland of Sunni Islam (Hanafi jurisprudence) to exploit poor people and offering families with multiple sons US $6500 per martyrdom operation in Pakistan. Pakistan is stuck between two competing demands by overbearing entities professing their friendship that is; US and Saudi Arabia, however Pakistan needs neither one, a phenomenon that has been deemed as Clash of Modernity [29]. Saudi Arabia and the United States are locked in an extremely competitive yet friendly battle to win and coerce the hearts and minds of the Middle Easterners and forever shape their societies moving forward.

Conclusion
When a flagrant Western secular Ben Ali [30] elopes, he runs to archconservative Saudi Arabia, thus it was not religion that enabled Saudi Arabia to give him shelter, but the Arab fascist good old boys network protecting their own. When Yemen needed to be pacified to pave the way to perpetuate the out going old regime of Saleh [31] with the one man election of Mansur Al-Hadi, it was in Saudi Arabia that contracts were signed and the old autocrat found his retirement. When Raymond Davis who was a collaborator of an Al-Qaeda affiliate Jamat-ud-dawah ends up killing two innocents dead in the middle of a crowded bazaar in broad day light in Lahore Pakistan, it is Saudi Arabia that twists Shriah law and pays [32] blood money to the victims. The wealth and political influence fostered by military build-up along with the patronage afforded to Saudi Arabia by UK and US that makes Saudi Arabia a clearing house of the prevalent global status quo. It is Saudi wealth that makes Khawariji/Wahabi ideology a tool of exploitation of the poor

people of Muslim nations into perpetuating the pernicious ideology and becoming victims of needless bloodletting. The Jews had their violent terrorist Sicarii [33] who actively brought upon a Roman occupation, and the Middle East has its Khawarjis who are now actively providing the very excuse to bring about long term occupation of Middle Eastern nations while the memory of Western colonialism is still fresh in the minds of the people. The Scarii stoked countless Jews to Roman swords, while the Khawarijis are using as cannon fodder countless Middle Eastern Muslims and Christians to Western night raids, drone attacks, and suicide bombings. It is the Saud-Wahab religio-political collusion that has paved the way of the desecration [34] and destruction of Islamic historical sites whereby in a couple of decades Western Secular atheists will openly be able to challenge the existence of Islamic history and thus Islam itself. The Saud-Wahabi collusion is the best thing to happen to Anti-Ishmaelite [35] Islamophobes. Europe had the crime families like the Medici, and the Borgia dabbling in religion and politics while being the patrons of arts, the Middle East has their Sudairis and the Salafis functioning the same way while actively smothering arts, culture, literature and enlightened faith. The placement of the Maximus Pontificus had the illusions of being elected, while the Middle Eastern version cannot even boast the illusion. Perhaps Saudi Arabia, France, the UK, the US along with NATO muscles are in the process of creating the same illusions thereby giving a proper context to what happened in Libya and is being repeated in Syria. It is upon the shoulders of Westerners to stop the slippery slopes of their societal moves towards right wing politics, but Middle Easterners owe it to their interests, their loyalty and love of their faith to resist the rise of fitna (mischief) and fasad (corruption) of Khawarij. It becomes the moral, ethical and religious duty upon all Muslims to resist the Munafiqeen (hypocrites) of the Khawrij. The control of Muslim finance, politics and religion is almost complete under the watchful manipulated machination of the House of Saud, its religious partners, the Wahabis and their un-Sharii bearded obscurantist mullahs aided and abetted by unrepresented monarchies of the Muslim Middle East.

(1) http://www.unrv.com/culture/christianity.php (2) http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/08/ajb/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Pontifex_Max

imus.html (3) http://reformedtheology.org/SiteFiles/WhatIsRT.html (4) http://www.churchtimeline.com/imperial.htm

(5) http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=4980&CATE=22 (6) http://www.questionsaboutislam.com/shariah-islamic-law/what-is-a-fatwa.php (7) http://ofthedevil.com/Islam/the-kharijkhawariji-and-neo-khawarij.html (8) http://ofthedevil.com/Current-Affairs/clash-of-modernities.html (9) http://www.dailycatholic.org/history/councils.htm
(10http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H009

(11) http://www.sunnah.org/articles/Wahhabiarticleedit.htm (12)http://ammanmessage.com/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=27 (13) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03341b.htm (14) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_the_Church (15) http://www.kanaanonline.org/articles/00361.pdf http://sitemaker.umich.edu/emes/sourcebook/da.data/00000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000097045/FileSource/1839_gulhane.pdf (16) http://www.merip.org/mer/mer262/new-arab-cold-war-struggle-syria (17) http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism-intl-relations/ (18)http://beforeitsnews.com/story/2212/030/Save_Syria:_US,_Israel,_and_Saudi_Ar abia_have_plotted_bloodbath_for_years.html?currentSplittedPage=0 (19) http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2012/03/04/the-u-s-strategy-to-control-middleeastern-oil/ (20)http://www.zawya.com/story/ZW20120203000070.7/Saudis_seek_greater_IM F_voting_rights_In_exchange_for_help/ (21) http://www.globalissues.org/article/3/structural-adjustment-a-major-cause-ofpoverty (22) http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2021194,00.html (23) http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/11978/the-arab-league-first-stepstoward-new-norms (24) http://cmec.org.uk/blog/the-gcc-as-a-regional-security-complex-the-evolvingnature-of-gulf-interventionism/ (25) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18120787 (26) http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa35

(27) http://pakistan-observer.blogspot.com/2011/05/soul-searching-for-kingdom-ofsaudi_21.html (28) http://osamabinjavaid.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/saudi-arabian-involvement-inpak-affairs/ (29) http://ofthedevil.com/Current-Affairs/clash-of-modernities.html (30) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12198106 (31) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15858911 (32) http://dawn.com/2011/03/18/blood-money-was-paid-by-s-arabia/ (33) http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/06/the-new-sicarii/ (34) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_early_Islamic_heritage_sites (35) http://ofthedevil.com/Anti-Ishmaelism/anti-ishmaelism-defined.html