A Fairly Decent Muslim

One of Her Majesty's Government's favourite Islamic fundamentalists will be visiting London this month for a bit of a rah-rah over the amusingly profitable situation in Yemen, and a bit of a blah-blah over how the carnage might best be extended into Iran. The Imperial Haystack had a blather about Britain's and Saudi Arabia's common view of the world in many ways, such as their respective governments' attitudes to democracy and social mobility. He also had a burble about the century-long relationship between the countries, although in the reality most of us share Saudi Arabia has only been in existence since 1932; the Imperial Haystack, sharing Saudi values, equated the kingdom with its founder, a British ally in the First World War. During the present era, Allah having matched him with His hour, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been merrily purging his enemies at home; which would be enough to excite the envy of a prime minister as beleaguered as our own even if she lacked Tumbledown Tessie's Christian delight in persecution for its own sake. However, the prince's purge is taking place under an anti-corruption rubric, which may well give rise to human rights concerns among some of Britain's more entrepreneurial ministers.