Former Elle India publisher Arif Ayyub has been going on an unhinged rant against the Saudi and UAE royal families after a Saudi-led coalition retaliated against the Islamist Houthi movement in Yemen for carrying out a deadly drone attack in United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is the brother of controversial journalist Rana Ayyub.
In a series of tweets, Ayyub claimed, “The renaissance in the Islamic world will come when the rulers of Saudi Arabia and UAE are thrown out. The Arab Spring that started in Tunisia was halted in Egypt by obscene monies spent by Rulers of UAE & KSA. The USA loves it as it helps them subjugate the Middle East through them.”
In another tweet, he alleged that dissenters in Saudi Arabia, Israel and India were being put behind bars. “Dissidents in SAUDI ARABIA are languishing in jails, political activists like Sharjeel, Umar, Khalid and countless others are languishing in INDIAN jails, thousands of Palestinians are languishing in ISRAELI jails. USA is the biggest ally of them all. It supports tyrants,” Arif Ayuub wrote.
He also claimed that ‘Sanghi trolls’ were supporting ‘Saudi nationalists’ for conducting airstrikes in Yemen. “It’s hilarious to see Sanghi trolls come out in solidarity with Saudi regime apologist trolls. They are the same folks who cheer Zionist Israelis who persecute and uproot Palestinians. India under Modi, Saudi & UAE under their sadist rulers and Zionist Israel is an alliance of evil,” Ayyub alleged.
This is not the first time that Ayyub has spewed vitriol against Saudi Arabia or the UAE for promoting bilateral ties with Israel. Ayyub seems to be a part of the self-proclaimed Islamists who consider themselves more Islamic than others. There has been a faction of Islamists opposing Saudi Arabia and UAE’s efforts to improve business and cooperation with Israel and promote tourism in their country by opening cinemas and music festivals.
Arif Ayyub claimed that the House of Saud must dismantle and that the Kingdom must be ruled by “the finest of Muslims”, not the current royal families.
Arif Ayyub wants joint Islamic forces to attack Israel and seize Al Aqsa mosque
Rana Ayyub’s brother also called for the dismantling of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). “The debauch Arabs of KSA, UAE must be kept away as they are only capable of sword dance.” Arif Ayyub called for a global coalition of joined military forces from Islamic nations including Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia and Azerbaijan. He had urged Imran Khan and Erdogan to “siege the moment.”
He demanded further that the ‘global Muslim army’ should immediately invade Jerusalem and capture the Al Aqsa mosque.
‘Rulers of Saudi Arabia and UAE should be sacked, the citizens there should be protesting on the street’, says Arif Ayyub
“What are the people Saudi Arabia and UAE all about? They are either cowards or imbeciles or have no conscience. Right now they should be on the streets, reclaiming the Arab legacy of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) from the hypocrite Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed Bin Zayed.”
Emirati businessman calls for action against Arif Ayyub, calls him ‘sibling of a snake’
Emirati businessman, Hassan Sajwani, dug out old and racist tweets of Arif Ayyub and had called out his Islamist tendencies. He emphasised, “Someone told me that a snake may not necessarily have a sibling, because they prey on each other… But hey! Here’s a brother of a snake, also an Islamist one.”
In multiple tweets, Arif Ayyub was seen raving and ranting against peaceful coalitions to boost the economy and tourism. He had called for a boycott of India’s pavilion at the Dubai Expo, improving bilateral ties between Israel and UAE and has asked for war and conflict in the Middle East.
It is notable here that Arif Ayyub is the brother of Rana Ayyub, another Islamist who is a habitual fake news peddler and writes anti-India columns for the Washington Post.
While pointing out some of his anti-Semitic tweets, Hassan Sajwani called for action against Ayyub from Elle India. “Will Elle India take action against such hatred spreader? Remains to be seen,” the Emirati businessman pointed out.
However, it seems Ayyub resigned from Elle India in August 2019 and since then as per his LinkedIn profile, he is now the CEO of something called Skytalk India Media Pvt Ltd.
Recently, Rana Ayyub had ranted against Saudi Arabia for engaging in a conflict with Houthi rebels in Yemen. Saudi Arabian citizens had reminded her that the Kingdom’s intervention comes at the request of the legitimate government of Yemen and she is supporting terrorists who had recently killed innocent civilians, including 2 Indians in UAE.
Radical Islamists upset after Saudi Arabia tries to move away from extremism
Unlike his predecessors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quickly realised the need of the country to reduce dependency on oil and diversify it to other sectors such as health, education, recreation and tourism. In an interview with CBS News, he said, “(Before 1979) We were living a normal life like the rest of the Gulf countries, women were driving cars, there were movie theatres in Saudi Arabia.”
In December last year, the Kingdom organised a giant party in the middle of the desert. For the first time, men and women were allowed to assemble and dance together without segregation. Since the rise of the Crown Prince to the power corridors, women empowerment has been one of the primary goals of the Saudi regime. For instance, women were allowed the right to drive in June 2018, ending the decades-long prohibition on driving.
In December 2021, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs of Saudi Arabia directed the preachers of the mosques to dedicate the Friday sermon towards warning the Saudi people against the Tablighi and Da’wah groups. Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullatif Al_Alsheikh had given a direction to the Mosques in Saudi Arabia to reserve the Friday sermon for warning the people against the partisan groups of Tablighi Jamat and Da’wah existing in the country.
Yemen is bleeding and there is nobody to stop the bloodthirsty Saudis. These are people who call themselves the custodians of Islam. As a Muslim I am ashamed that these savages are guardians of the holy mosque. The world CANNOT stay silent thru this genocide #YemenUnderAttack
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) January 22, 2022
The progressive decision by the Saudi regime to distance itself from orthodoxy and extremism has not gone down well with radical Islamists. On Saturday (January 22), controversial journalist Rana Ayyub had posted a tweet attacking Saudi Arabia for launching a military operation against Yemen. She was then slammed on Twitter by Saudi netizens in response to that, accusing her of supporting terrorism.
“Yemen is bleeding and there is nobody to stop the bloodthirsty Saudis,” Rana Ayyub had tweeted on Saturday, saying that as a Muslim she is ashamed that “these savages are guardians of the holy mosque”. After Rana Ayyub posted the tweet, several Saudi netizens responded to her saying that their govt is supporting a recognised government, while Ayyub was supporting an Islamist terror group trying to overthrow that government.
Saudi engineer Gassan called it fake news and said that Saudi Arabia has launched military operations in Yemen as part of a coalition of over ten countries in response to a direct request from the legitimate government of Yemen. “We supporting legitimate and you supporting terrorists”, he added. One Twitter user Abu Sultan called her a “fu**ing liar”, saying all she “said are bullshit”. The user noted that this is why Ayyub had disabled replies to her tweets.
Note: The report earlier identified Ayyub as Elle India publisher. However, it was brought to our notice that he resigned from the media house in August 2019 and has not been associated with them. We have updated the report to reflect changes. Error is regretted.
