“A massacre was committed in the village of Hatla in Deir al-Zour’s countryside last June in which 60 victims were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights………. Sheikh Shafi al-Ajami boasted of “slaughtering Shias with knives” amidst cheers and cries of “God is great.” Saudi, Qatari and Kuwaiti media outlets celebrated the massacre each in its own way. When a journalist from Asia News Agency asked Ajami a few days later “if he feared that the Kuwaiti authorities might arrest him,” he replied: “This is an issue that concerns me and the Kuwaiti authorities,” who did not lift a finger. After its dispute with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Kuwaiti Salafis played a central role in funding al-Nusra Front. The nature of the relationship between the two sides changed from implementing specific missions and getting paid for them, like the Hatla massacre, to ongoing funding and supervision. A jihadi source told Al-Akhbar that “al-Ummah Party under the leadership of Hakim al-Mutairi is now active in financing and directing al-Nusra Front.”………… The Council of Supporters is one such initiative. Its formation was declared in December 2012 and it includes clerics, activists and former MPs such as Mohammed Hayef (Al-Mutairi)………………”
I don’t recall the Gulf mainstream media ‘celebrating’ the massacre in Hatla. Maybe I missed it, but I doubt that they’d do that. Mainstream Gulf media would not usually go that far that openly, maybe with the exception of some outlets in Saudi Arabia. Some media may have covered the incident, but probably celebrated ‘politely’ just as a victory against Al-Assad. I think the writer means some of the sectarian satellite television channels, the social media, and the blogs.
Interesting how it goes, though. This has been going on since the spring of 2011, when Persian Gulf Salafis (and Muslim Brothers) hijacked the Syrian protests. The Muslim Brotehrs are being eased out by the Saudis and their Wahhabi and tribal surrogates. Now the Jihadist-tribal alliance own this Syrian terrorist enterprise that seeks to ‘liberate’ Syria not for its people, but for the Wahhabi cause.
I posted several times on this last year here:
The Economics of Jihad in Syria: Kuwaiti Opposition Estimates
From the Gulf with Wahhabi Love: Money to Al-Qaeda
Lost in the Desert: My Possible New Salafi Honorific
Kuwait Constitutional Court Ruling: a Tough Dilemma for the Tribal Islamist Opposition
Banning Demonstrations in Bahrain: Advice from the Kuwait Opposition
Cheers
mhg
