Tegning: Niels Thomsen

Jamal Khashoggi er blevet et symbol, og det hele virker enkelt: En mand, der lever af det skrevne ord lider en grufuld død. Men i Mellemøsten ved man, at det man ser sjældent er hele sandheden. Det, der foregår i kulissen er det vigtigste.

Fra to sider kommer der oplysninger om at Khashoggi ikke er den liberale intellektuelle i kamp mod tyranniet, det ser ud som. Han er selv en del af systemet.

John R Bradley skriver i Spectator at Khashoggi er med i Det muslimske Broderskab. Han er slet ingen oplyst intellektuel, der ønsker et vestlig Saudi-Arabien.

Death of a dissident: Saudi Arabia and the rise of the mobster stateWhat the media aren’t saying about Jamal Khashoggi

The Muslim Brotherhood, though, has always been at odds with the Wahhabi movement. Khashoggi and his fellow travellers believe in imposing Islamic rule by engaging in the democratic process. The Wahhabis loathe democracy as a western invention. Instead, they choose to live life as it supposedly existed during the time of the Muslim prophet. In the final analysis, though, they are different means to achieving the same goal: Islamist theocracy. This matters because, although bin Salman has rejected Wahhabism — to the delight of the West — he continues to view the Muslim Brotherhood as the main threat most likely to derail his vision for a new Saudi Arabia. Most of the Islamic clerics in Saudi Arabia who have been imprisoned over the past two years — Khashoggi’s friends — have historic ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Khashoggi had therefore emerged as a de facto leader of the Saudi branch. Due to his profile and influence, he was the biggest political threat to bin Salman’s rule outside of the royal family.

Broderskabet ønsker at infiltrere den demokratiske proces og erobre den indefra. De er vanskelige at få øje på, og Kongedømmet frygter alle broderskaber, de ikke har indsigt oi og kontrol med. De udgør en trussel.

I tillæg kom at Khashoggi havde intimt kendskab til Saudi-elitens forbindelser med Osama bin Laden familien.

Worse, from the royals’ point of view, was that Khashoggi had dirt on Saudi links to al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks. He had befriended Osama bin Laden in the 1980s and 1990s in Afghanistan and Sudan while championing his jihad against the Soviets in dispatches. At that same time, he was employed by the Saudi intelligence services to try to persuade bin Laden to make peace with the Saudi royal family. The result? Khashoggi was the only non-royal Saudi who had the beef on the royals’ intimate dealing with al Qaeda in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks. That would have been crucial if he had escalated his campaign to undermine the crown prince.

Khashoggi knyttede sig til en af de mest snu og erfarne magtpolitikere i Saudi-Arabien: Prins Turki Al Feisal. Nu når kronprins Mohammed bin Salman forsøger at blive den ubestridte leder, er også en sådan forbindelse en trussel.

Worse, from the royals’ point of view, was that Khashoggi had dirt on Saudi links to al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks. He had befriended Osama bin Laden in the 1980s and 1990s in Afghanistan and Sudan while championing his jihad against the Soviets in dispatches. At that same time, he was employed by the Saudi intelligence services to try to persuade bin Laden to make peace with the Saudi royal family. The result? Khashoggi was the only non-royal Saudi who had the beef on the royals’ intimate dealing with al Qaeda in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks. That would have been crucial if he had escalated his campaign to undermine the crown prince.

Amerikanerne havde en plan om i nødstilfælde at okkupere Saudi-Arabien og sikre oliekilderne. Khashoggi var en af tre personer, de ville indsætte til at styre landet.

Det sidste Khashoggi gjorde der kan være blevet opfattet som en trussel, var at stifte partiet Democracy for the Arab World Now, der skulle vinde valgene for islamisterne. Det var ikke sådan MbS tænkte sig fremtiden: At blive afsat ved demokratiske valg.

I tillæg offentliggjorde Die Welt i går et interview med den tysk-egyptisk ekspert Asiem El Difraoui, medstifter af den berlinske tænke-tank Candid Foundation. David P Goldman har oversat en del af interviewet for pjmedia.com:

Asiem El Difraoui: I met him in about 2003 or 2004, in the circle of former Saudi Arabia intelligence chief Turki Bin Faisal Al Saud. He and Prince Turki were already considering how the kingdom could be modernized. And Jamal had met Osama bin Laden several times. He had tried during the 1990s to move him away from militancy. That was obviously important why he visited bin Laden in Sudan and Afghanistan. He told bin Laden that he should mitigate his criticism of the royal family and return home. Of course, within the elite everyone knows each other. Both came from the same generation and from two of the richest families in the kingdom – bin Laden’s father was the country’s largest contractor, Khashoggi’s uncle Adnan was an influential arms dealer. In addition, Khashoggi’s grandfather was personal physician to the Saudi King Abd al-Aziz. But Khashoggi himself also had sympathy for the Muslim Brotherhood, in which he saw a more modern, more democratic form of Islamism. For today’s Saudi leadership, however, the Muslim Brothers are their principal enemy in the world.

Die Welt: What do you suspect, what could have happened to Khashoggi?

Difraoui: If he was murdered, then I would be surprised if his journalistic activities were the only reason. The Saudis own half of the international Arab media. They have generally built up a very effective media shield. As a journalist and activist, Khashoggi may have been extremely annoying, but no real threat. But Khashoggi knew a lot. He was not just the media officer of intelligence chief Prince Turki. He was one of his main advisers and was said to have worked for the secret service for a while. Khashoggi was extremely familiar with sensitive issues of the kingdom. And he was a member of the super-elite. He might have known too much.

Die Welt: What sort of knowledge could have become dangerous for him?

Difraoui: Corruption or past knowledge about links to extremism. Above all, however, the internal conflicts or misconduct of the royal family. If the secret service protects the security of the country, it must also know what is happening in the ruling family. The current, often unpredictable crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is currently the really strong man in the country. But he has also made enemies in the family. What if his father Salman dies? Then Mohammed will probably have to fight for his position once again. Perhaps Khashoggi’s knowledge was dangerous in this regard. His old patron, Prince Turki, wanted to position himself as Crown Prince. He has surprisingly not commented on the case so far. Turki knows almost all internals of the family.

Det lyder som om Khashoggi kan have haft kendskab til hemmeligheder, der kunne have truet kronprins Mohammed bin Salmans vej til tronen.

Vesten er også ved at blive viklet ind i islams interne problemer.

I Pakistan sidder en kristen kvinde, Asia Bibi, mor til flere børn, der har siddet otte år på Death Row, for blasfemi. Hendes brøde var at hun drak af samme kop som hendes muslimske naboer. Det ville de ikke tolerere og anmeldte hende for blasfemi.

Sagen ligger nu i højesteret, men regeringen vover ikke at benåde hende. Et stort parti med to millioner medlemmer har lovet at sætte Pakistan på den anden ende, hvis hun benådes.

Intimideringen virker, som den også virker i Tyrkiet og i stigende grad i Europa.