Disaster in Yemen: Saudi, the West and warnings of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad

Ata-ul-Haye Nasir, Al Hakam

A few days ago, a suspected drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi movement targeting a key oil facility in Abu Dhabi killed three people and started a fire at Abu Dhabi’s international airport.

“Small flying objects” were found as three petrol tanks exploded in an industrial area and a fire was ignited at the airport, police said. (Al Jazeera, 17 January 2022, “Latest updates: Houthi rebels warn of further attacks on UAE”)

In response, at least 100 people have been killed or wounded in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition which hit a detention centre in Yemen. The incident happened when a facility was struck in Saada, a stronghold of the rebel Houthi movement. It followed nights of intensified bombing raids in the wake of a deadly Houthi attack on the UAE, a Saudi ally. (BBC, 21 January 2022, “Scores killed in Yemen prison air strike carnage”)

The Houthis targeted Abu Dhabi again on 24 January 2022, with two ballistic missiles, which were jointly intercepted by the UAE and US forces. The attack by the Houthis resulted in no casualties but scattered shards of missiles across Abu Dhabi.

Then, on the night between 25 and 26 January, the Saudi-led coalition heavily bombarded Sana’a, the largest city in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of Arab states in a war against the Houthis since 2015 which has devastated Yemen. Tens of thousands of civilians, including more than 10,000 children, have been killed or wounded as a direct result of the fighting. Millions have been displaced and much of the population stands on the brink of famine. (BBC, 21 January 2022, “Scores killed in Yemen prison air strike carnage”)

“Fighting began in 2014 between a weak Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel movement. It escalated a year later, when Saudi Arabia and eight other Arab states – backed by the US, the UK and France – began air strikes against the Houthis.” (BBC, 5 February 2021, “Yemen war: Joe Biden ends support for operations in foreign policy reset”)

The West had been aiding Saudi Arabia and its allies in war against Yemen, whereas the Houthis have the backing of Iran. Although, the US president, Joe Biden had said in his first foreign policy that “the war in Yemen must end”, the US has recently approved an arms deal with KSA.

On 7 December 2021, the US Senate rejected a bid from a bipartisan group of lawmakers to stop President Joe Biden’s administration from selling more than $650 million worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, allowing the deal to proceed despite the Gulf nation’s dismal record on human rights. A procedural motion by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was rejected on a 30-67 vote. It’s the latest skirmish in Congress over U.S. sales of weapons to the country. (Defense News, 8 December 2021, “Senate rejects bipartisan bid to stop $650M Saudi arms sale”) 

“Saudi Arabia is one of America’s most steadfast allies in an unstable region of the globe. But the country’s leading role in a civil war in nearby Yemen, which has blocked the flow of basic necessities like fuel, food and medicine, has tested the strength of that bond.” (Ibid)

The US Senator, Randal Howard Paul said, “We could stop this war if we really had the will to do it”, and “All of America should be appalled at the humanitarian disaster caused by the Saudi blockade of Yemen.” (Ibid)

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V^aa, alongside condemning the havoc and inhumanity created by extremist circles of the Muslim world, has always highlighted that the supply-chain of the weapons of extremists traced back to Western countries. For years, he has been telling the West that if they wanted to establish peace in Muslim countries, especially in the Middle East, they had to stop the weapons’ supply.

On 17 October 2016, during his address at a special reception at Canada’s National Parliament in Ottawa, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih^aa said:

“Certain Western countries have always had an interest in the oil reserves of the Arab world and this interest has motivated their policies over a long period of time. Further, they have sold huge stocks of weapons to Muslim countries without considering the potential consequences. What I am saying is nothing new or concealed, rather it is well documented. 

“For example, a recent report by Amnesty International published in December 2015 states that, ‘decades of reckless arms trading had contributed to the terrorism conducted by Daesh. It stated that the majority of weapons being used by Daesh were originally produced in the United States and Russia.

“Furthermore, Patrick Wilcken, a Researcher on Arms Control at Amnesty concluded the report by stating, ‘The vast and varied weaponry being used by ISIS is a textbook case of how reckless arms trading fuels atrocities on a massive scale.’

“Certainly, it is well known that Muslim countries do not have sophisticated arms factories that could produce the state-of-the-art weapons used in the Middle East, and so the vast majority of artillery being used in the Muslim world is being imported from abroad. If the major powers ceased to trade arms and ensured that the other supply lines of the warring governments, rebels and terrorists were cut, such conflicts could be brought to a swift conclusion. For example, it is well known that Saudi Arabia is using weapons purchased from the West in its war in Yemen, in which thousands of innocent civilians, including women and children, are being killed and so much destruction is being wrought. What will be the ultimate result of such arms trading?

“The people of Yemen, whose lives and futures are being destroyed, will not only bear hatred and seek revenge from Saudi Arabia but will also bear hate towards Saudi’s arms suppliers and the West in general. With no hope or future prospects left, and having witnessed the most horrific brutality, members of their youth will be prone to radicalisation and in this way a new vicious cycle of terrorism and extremism will arise. Are such destructive and devastating consequences worth a few billion dollars? Thus, there is no longer only a risk to the Muslim countries who are at the epicentre of today’s conflicts, rather the threat has spread much further afield, as we have already witnessed with the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels and the United States.” (“Human Values – The Foundation for a Peaceful World”, www.alislam.org)

During his address at the 14^th National Peace Symposium of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya UK, held on 25 March 2017, Huzoor^aa said:

“In my opinion, there is one readymade solution that can have an instant impact and begin the process of healing the world. I refer to the international arms trade, which I believe has to be curbed and restricted. We all know that in order to fuel their economies, Western nations are selling weapons abroad, including to those nations that are embroiled in warfare and armed conflicts. For example, just a few weeks ago, it was widely reported that the new US administration is signing off on a new arms deal for the sale of sophisticated and precision-guided missile technology to Saudi Arabia.

“Furthermore, a United Nations report published last year found that when it comes to the sale of arms, normal rules of law do not apply. It found that an array of companies, individuals and countries had long been contravening an international arms embargo on Libya and supplying arms to different factions there. […] A well-known CNN host recently said that curbing the arms trade could result in a loss of jobs amongst American defence companies.” (“Global Conflicts and the Need for Justice”, www.amjinternational.org)

On 5 January 2018, Huzoor^aa had a meeting with Sir Vince Cable, the then Leader of the Liberal Democrats Party, and Sir Edward Davey MP, at the Baitul Futuh Mosque, in which Huzoor^aa said that great cruelties were being inflicted on the people of Yemen and millions of people, including young children, were dying of hunger.

Huzoor^aa said:

“There is a humanitarian crisis taking place in Yemen and so a huge effort to help the innocent people is required. In this respect, Ahmadi Muslims are engaged in efforts to provide food and necessary supplies to the people according to our reach and capabilities. It is my hope that Governments and politicians also endeavour to help end the suffering of those people.”

Huzoor^aa continued:

“Great cruelties are taking place in Yemen and we should be clear on the fact that cruelty is cruelty no matter who is the perpetrator. Thus, whoever is inflicting such miseries and injustices should be condemned.” (“Leader of Liberal Democrats Visits Baitul Futuh Mosque to Meet Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community”, www.pressahmadiyya.com)

SW Londoner, while reporting on the National Peace Symposium of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya UK held on 17 March 2018, reported:

“The Caliph lamented the self-interest and greed exhibited by some of the world’s major powers, who he accused of putting weapons before welfare.

“‘Quite openly and proudly, the major powers are trading arms that are being used to kill, maim and brutalise innocent people,’ he said.

“‘Whilst the economies of the selling countries may attain short-term benefit, their hands are covered in the blood of hundreds of thousands of people.’” (“Ahmadiyya Muslim community leader calls for unity at National Peace Symposium”, www.swlondoner.co.uk)

During his Friday Sermon on 13 April 2018, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V^aa said:

“God Almighty has, according to His promises, sent the Imam of the Age, who was to rectify the incorrect commentaries of the Holy Quran and the false notions of religion that had occurred due to the disputes of the clerics. However, instead of listening to and hearkening to this Appointed One and Prophet of God Almighty, which would have brought an end to all these disputes, the majority of Muslims have followed those clerics, who are creating disorder in the name of religion, and they are unprepared to listen to the one sent by God Almighty. 

“God Almighty has made provisions for this disorder to cease in the world, and to inculcate mutual love and brotherhood, and to also recognise Him, yet Muslims are unprepared to pay heed to it. This is the reason why the Muslim world is at the forefront of being inflicted by all kinds of disorder. Their religious, as well as worldly leaders, are pushing them into darkness. Inhabitants of the same country are thirsty for each other’s blood. Taking advantage of this situation, the rest of the world, in particular the non-Muslim powers, are supplying military aid and assistance in order to cause groups of Muslims to fight one another. These foreign countries are the ones that derive benefit from this all. Thus, this is a source of great agony.” (Al Hakam, 11 May 2018, Issue 8, p. 8)

Just recently, The Wall Street Journal stated that while the US lost its 20-year campaign to transform Afghanistan, many contractors won big; those who benefitted from the outpouring of government money ranged from major weapons manufacturers to entrepreneurs. (The Wall Street Journal, 31 December 2021, “Who Won in Afghanistan? Private Contractors”)

The world is now – albeit slowly – accepting the fact that the extensive wars initiated or supported by the West in Muslim countries, never helped establish world peace or resolve conflicts; instead, they caused catastrophe for those Muslim countries and boosted the arms trade and weapons industry back in the West.

A man of God continuously calls the world to peace, not in mere words, but through practical steps, which investigations then go on to confirm, often years later. 

May Allah guide the Muslim world to stop fighting each other and enable them to unite together, and accept the Imam of the Age. Amin

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