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As a friend of those who were imprisoned and abused by the Saudi religious police during their Umrah trip on Sunday 5th August 2007, I was bitterly upset and frustrated. Frustrated because, despite the barbaric and inhumane nature of the incident, this (and worse) actually happens on a daily basis to Muslims in the holiest cities of the Muslim world. Who deserves to be beaten with sticks and chairs, and made to walk for more than a mile bare foot and handcuffed just because they believe in something and are trying to conduct themselves peacefully?

But I do believe that one of the reasons why incidents like this continue in the Muslim world, and all over the world for that matter, is because of our ignorance; our ignorance in what is happening in the world and our ignorance in understanding why and how it came about i.e. its history. As a result governments will continue to fulfil their own agendas and not be pressured or opposed by their people. If we had a better awareness of world events, the combined powerful forces of our innate desire for justice and Islam's love for humanity will undoubtedly force us to speak out against these kinds of atrocities in any form possible, be it politically or through media, for example we can influence our governments in some way. I'm not suggesting we need to read volumes of books, a brief summary is more than enough. But essentially people need to be aware of events and have an understanding of why it happened.

In the case of Saudi Arabia, the history of this country and its relationship with Wahabism is a very dark history that is stained, in fact drenched, in blood. Wahabism has inherited a very dirty past, and it is this past we need to be aware of and understand. Saudi Arabia is a big player in Middle Eastern as well as world politics, especially with regards to international terrorism. By understanding all this we can be much more influential in preventing Saudi Arabia from committing the criminal acts they continuously exercise.

Imam Hasan (AS) is famous to once have said that the greatest poverty is ignorance. By having a better understanding of the injustices being committed around the world, it will naturally feed and enrich that most remarkable instinct within us, the force that God Almighty instilled in every human being that came from Him when He created us and that has been so eloquently expounded upon and so perfectly applied by Imam Ali (AS) - the innate force of justice and humanity. Once it is fed with knowledge and understanding, and combined with faith in and dependence on God, this instinct will manifest itself in a much more enriched and powerful way and will be a very effective force.