Lebanese Researcher 'Imad Rizq: We Are The Cradle Of Civilization, Whereas Saudis Are Bedouins Who Produce Suicide Bombers And Do Not Use Toilet Paper; We Wish Them All The Best In Their Vast Desert

In a November 9, 2021 interview on Etejah TV, Lebanese researcher 'Imad Rizq, the head of the Isticharia Center for Strategic Research, said of Saudi Arabia: "We [in Lebanon] are accused of having become toilet paper [but] I don't think that those Bedouins use toilet paper... We wish them the best of luck in that huge desert [while] we remain [the] cradle of civilizations, culture, and the future." He said that Lebanese civilization has been around for thousands of years and has contributed to science and innovation, unlike the Saudis, whom he claimed  have only produced suicide bombers, like the 9/11 hijackers. Rizq made his statements in the context of recent tensions between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. For more about 'Imad Rizq, see MEMRI TV Clip No. 4298.

Imad Rizq: "We witnessed thousands of suicide bombers destroying cities and villages in the region. That was some great 'aid' from Saudi Arabia, and we thank them for that. Of course, this is not the true essence of the KSA or of the Saudi people. As you said, Saudi Arabia and its people have been hijacked. When someone is capable of rounding up all the princes in a hotel, extorting them, pressuring them, and accusing them of corruption, and when that someone can chop a journalist to pieces in an embassy abroad..."

Interviewer: "In Turkey."

Imad Rizq: "Yes, in Turkey. When someone can kidnap [Saad Hariri] when he was still prime minister... When someone can do all this... Obviously, he thinks he is providing aid to Lebanon. We thank Saudi Arabia for all that it has given us. We – the Lebanese people – thank them. As politicians in Lebanon, we are accused of having become toilet paper – although I don’t think that those Bedouins use toilet paper to begin with – so we thank them, and we wish them all the best in their vast desert. They can return to their roots and we will remain the way we were – the cradle of civilizations, culture, and the future.

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"I do not believe that the Lebanese nation deserves to be called 'toilet paper.' The civilization of the Lebanese goes back thousands of years. The Lebanese people around the world have contributed to science and devised inventions. They did not produce suicide bombers like the ones who carried out 9/11 and similar attacks. I think that the Lebanese are a worthy people. The important thing is that the Kingdom of Sand continues to live in the sands."