Imam Luqman Ahmad Mosque Without Borders

Trump may be a political genius. 19 US bases in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia gives us a trillion dollars, and Saudi Arabia effectively becomes a protectorate of the United States. Under our control. They can keep their limited sovereignty, they can practice Islam in their country, we can still make hajj (for now) but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has to bow to our politics on the international stage. The Ottomans followed a similar tactic.

There’s no way Saudi Arabia can exercise it’s own will on the world stage at this point. The pomp and circumstances is so that Crown Prince Salman can save face with his own people. If nothing else, the Trump team knows their history. Politically, it was a master stroke. Can’t deny that.

No sheikh can risk angering our President. Any future Saudi originated fatwas about U.S. Muslim affairs have to be vetted through the White House.

This is nothing new. There was a time when Muslim states used to exact protection money from non-Muslim states. Barbary States of North Africa are a prominent example of Muslim states extracting tribute from other sovereign nations. States like Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli engaged in state-supported piracy, capturing merchant ships and crew from nations that did not pay for protection.

After the American Revolution, U.S. ships lost the protection of the British Navy. The Barbary States captured American ships and demanded tribute. In 1785, the Tripolitan ambassador informed American diplomats Thomas Jefferson and John Adams that the practice was founded “on the laws of their Prophet”.

The United States paid significant sums, amounting to 16% of the federal budget in 1795, to secure the release of sailors and ensure safe passage . These tributes ultimately led to the Barbary Wars in the early 1800s after President Jefferson refused to continue the payments. As a rule, American Muslims do not pay much attention to history. Not even to our own recent history as Muslims. The United States government and military did not forget about those times.

Imam Abu Laith Luqman Ahmad

Imamabulaith@yahoo.com