Walid Phares sees a
wider conspiracy of “Jihad elites” - Hizbollah in Lebanon, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and the salafi preachers in Saudi Arabia – who decided that now was the right time to stir up a “global intifada”.
I don’t entirely agree. I generally favour the c0ck-up theory of history over conspiracy. In this case militants groups and states are certainly trying exploit the insult to the Prophet Muhammad for political motives.
But instead of a shadowy co-ordinated plot across the Middle East, I think a central factor is the intense competition to demonstrate zeal in defending the honour of the Prophet...
In this dispute I don’t think the Arab League has a common agenda with the Muslim Brotherhood, or Saudi Arabia with Iran. Fatah is in competition with Hamas, not in cahoots. And none can allow their rivals to claim ownership of the Prophet Muhammad.
