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Conspiracy theories -- (i.e. explanations for an event or situation that asserts the existence of aconspiracy, generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation),[1][2][3] but always when other explanations are more probable[1][4] -- are a prevalent feature ofArab politics, according to a number of sources.[5][6][7][8][9] A 1994 paper in thejournalPolitical Psychology[5] by Prof. Matthew Gray writes they "are a common and popular phenomenon" that are important to understanding the political landscape of theArab world.[10] Variants include conspiracies involvingIslamic anti-Semitism,anti-Zionism, the machinations ofWestern colonialism,superpowers,oil, and thewar on terror,[11][12][13][14] which is often referred to in Arab media as a "War against Islam".[10][12][13]Roger Cohen theorizes that the popularity of conspiracy theories in the Arab world is "the ultimate refuge of the powerless".[15] The prevalence of conspiracy theories reflects effective top-down dissemination of disinformation by state actors, rather than a unique susceptibility ofArab culture to conspiracy, as some have claimed.[16] State hostility and weak protections for journalists present major obstacles to challenging conspiracy theories, as journalists struggle to gather information and put their lives at risk by contradicting their governments.[17] The spread ofantisemitic and anti-Zionist conspiracism in the Arab world and the Middle East has seen an extraordinary proliferation since the beginning of theInternet Era.[12]
Gray points out that actual conspiracies such as the 1956plot to seize control of the Suez Canal encourage speculation and creation of imagined conspiracies.[18] After the 1967Six-Day War which resulted in a decisive Arab defeat, conspiracy theories started to gain traction in the Arab world. The war was perceived as a conspiracy byIsrael and theUnited States—or its opposite: aSoviet plot to bring Egypt into the Soviet sphere of influence.[19] Thomas Friedman notes the numerous conspiracy theories concerning theLebanese civil war, attributing the source of the conflict to "Israelis, theSyrians, the Americans, the Soviets, orHenry Kissinger" in an attempt to destabilize the Lebanese government.[20]
TheAnti-Defamation League lists conspiracies aboutJews andZionists including spreading poisons (Jan 1995,Al-Ahram), spreadingAIDS (Al-Shaab),blood rituals (June 1995,Al-Ahram), leadingan international conspiracy against Islam (March 1995,Al-Ahram), and that theHolocaust isa myth (Dec 1995 – Feb 1996,Egyptian Gazette).[21]
Conspiracy theories hold the Jews responsible for killing American PresidentsAbraham Lincoln andJohn F. Kennedy, and causing theFrench andRussian Revolution.[22] Zionists are seen as a threat to the world.[22] A widespread conspiracy theory after theSeptember 11 attacks blamed Israel andMossad for the attacks.[23][24][25][26]
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an infamoushoax document purporting to be a Jewish plan for world domination, is commonly read and promoted in the Muslim world.[27][28][29]
Conspiracy theorists in the Arab world have claimed thatISIL leaderAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi was in fact an IsraeliMossad agent and actor called Simon Elliot. The rumors claim that NSA documents leaked byEdward Snowden reveal this connection. Snowden's lawyer has called the story "a hoax".[30][31][32]
In early 2020, according toMiddle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports, there have been numerous reports in the Arab press that accused the US and Israel of being behind the creation and spread of the deadlyCOVID-19 pandemic as part of an economic and psychological war against China. One report in the Saudi daily newspaperAl-Watan claimed that it was no coincidence that the coronavirus was absent from the US and Israel, despite the US having had at least 12 confirmed cases. The US and Israel have also been accused of creating and spreading other diseases, includingEbola,Zika,SARS,avian flu andswine flu, through anthrax andmad cow disease.[33]
Animal-related conspiracy theories involving Israel are prominent, alleging use of animals by Israel to attack civilians or to conduct espionage. These conspiracies are often reported as evidence of a Zionist or Israeli plot. Examples include theDecember 2010 shark attacks in Egypt and the 2011 capture inSaudi Arabia of agriffon vulture carrying an Israeli-labeledsatellite tracking device.[34][35]
Writing inThe Times,James Hider linked the responses to the shark incident with those to the vulture incident and ascribed the reactions in Arab countries to "paranoia among Israel's enemies and its nominal friends", adding that "evidence of Mossad using animals is scant".[36]
Gil Yaron wrote inThe Toronto Star that "Many animals undoubtedly serve in Israel's army and security services: dogs sniff out bombs and alpaca help mountaineers carry their loads. [...] But tales about the use of sharks, birds, rodents or, as has also been claimed, insects in the service of the military are more the fruit of imagination than hard fact".[37]
FollowingEgypt's 2012 presidential election, anEgyptian television station[38] stated that theUnited States government and Egypt's ruling military council had rigged the election in favor of theMuslim Brotherhood candidateMohammed Morsi.[39] The theory was seen as fueling a 15 July 2012 attack of tomatoes and shoes byEgyptian Copt protestors on the motorcade of the visiting US Secretary of State.[40][41] The widespread view that America was conspiring to support Morsi prompted PresidentBarack Obama to note that conspiracy theories abound both alleging US support for and against Morsi.[25][26][42][43] The rise of theIslamic State gave rise to conspiracy theories that it had been created by the US,CIA,Mossad, orHillary Clinton.[44][31] The same happened after the rise ofBoko Haram.[45][46]
InCommentary,Daniel Pipes accused prominent Palestinian journalistSaid Aburish of attributing the problems of the Arab world "to a vast British and American conspiracy." Reviewing Aburish'sA Brutal Friendship: The West and the Arab Elite, Pipes remarked that "outlandish as it may be, the book represents a main line of Arab thinking" and therefore "cannot be so easily dismissed."[47]
Conspiracy theorists in the Arab world have advanced rumors that the US is secretly behind the existence and emboldening of theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as part of an attempt to further destabilize the Middle East. After such rumors became widespread, the US embassy in Lebanon issued an official statement denying the allegations, calling them a complete fabrication.[48]
"War against Islam", also called the "War on Islam" or "Attack on Islam", is a conspiracy theory narrative inIslamist discourse to describe an alleged conspiracy to harm, weaken or annihilate the societal system ofIslam, usingmilitary,economic,social andcultural means. The perpetrators of the conspiracy are alleged to benon-Muslims, particularly theWestern world and "false Muslims", allegedly in collusion with political actors in theWestern world. While the contemporary conspiracy theory narrative of the "War against Islam" mostly covers general issues of societal transformations inmodernization andsecularization as well as general issues of international power politics among modern states, theCrusades are often claimed as its supposed starting point.
After the fall of Morsi,xenophobic conspiracy theories have singled out Palestinians and Syrian refugees as part of a plot to bring theMuslim Brotherhood back to power. Pro-Morsi supporters single out Saudis and Emiratis as part of a counter conspiracy.[25]
A common conspiracy theory is about soft drink brandsCoca-Cola andPepsi, that the drinks deliberately contain pork and alcohol and their names carry pro-Israel and anti-Islamic messages.[49][50][51]
explanations for important events that involve secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups
A conspiracist belief can be described as 'the unnecessary assumption of conspiracy when other explanations are more probable'.
