News Obiaks News

A controversial Saud Arabian Journalist and Political commentator Jamal Khashoggi has stated that Saudi Arabia "must go back" to its "proper religious roots" in order to win its fight against Iran.

Jamal Khashoggi wrote a regular column for Saudi-owned Al Hayat newspaper before he was banned in December last year for opinion pieces critical of Donald Trump when he won the 2016 US presidential election. 

While speaking with Al Jazeera, Khashoggi stated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must re-embrace its identity as a Wahhabi Islamic revivalist state and build alliances with organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

"Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should get rid of his complex against the Muslim Brotherhood and stop treating them as the enemy or a threat to Saudi Arabia," he said.

"This is a big mistake."

Fatemeh Aman, a US-based Iran and Southeast Asia expert, disagreed with Khashoggi's implicit acknowledgement that the Saudi-Iranian rivalry is a struggle for the soul of Islam, Shia or Sunni.

"While it is true that Iran is a Shia-centric country, and often leverages religion in its geopolitical stances, its leadership does not have a unified view of Saudi Arabia," she said.

"The Iranian leadership is not a black or white area of a Shia vs Sunni feud."