Sir William Hunter was a senior British civil servant and in 1871 published a book which warned of “fanatic swarms” of Sunni Muslims who had “murdered our subjects”, financed by “men of ample fortune”, while a majority of Muslims were being forced to decide “once and for all, whether [they] should play the part of a devoted follower of Islam” or a “peaceable subject”.

Hunter identified a “hate preacher” as the cause of this “terror”, a man inspired on a visit to Arabia by an ascetic Muslim called Abdul Wahab whose violent “Wahabi” followers had formed an alliance with – you guessed it – the House of Saud. Hunter’s 140-year-old volume The Indian Musalmans – given a dusting of internet race hatred, murderous attacks by individual Sunni Muslims, cruel Wahabi-style punishments and all-too familiar proof of second-class citizenship for Muslims in a European-run state – might have been written today.

Even before Hunter’s day, the Wahabis captured the holy cities of Arabia and – Isis-style – massacred their inhabitants. Like Isis, they even overran Syria. Their punishments, and those of their Saudi military supporters, make the public lashing of today’s Saudi blogger Raif Badawi appear a minor misdemeanour. Hypocrisy was a theme of Arabian as well as European history.

Raif Badawi has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes for ‘insulting Islam’ on his liberal website

In those days, of course, oil had no meaning. The Saudi ruler was dispatched to Constantinople in 1818 to have his head chopped off by the local superpower – the Ottoman Empire – and the European states made no complaint. A young British army captain later surveyed the destroyed Saudi capital of Diriya – close to modern-day Riyadh – with satisfaction. But successive campaigns of Saudi-Wahabi conquest, and then the swift transition of oil from the vile black naphtha, in which Arabian sheep regularly drowned, into the blood vessels of the Western world, meant that the purist Wahabi violence – which included the desecration of mosques, the destruction of ancient Muslim tombs and the murder of “infidels” – was conveniently separated from the House of Saud and ignored by Europeans and Americans alike.

Erased, too, is history; including the fact that Mohamed Ibn Saud, the leader of the Nejd, even married Abdul Wahab’s daughter.

Our disregard of present-day Saudi-Wahabi cruelties and venality might astonish Sir William Hunter; the Wahabi Indian Muslims in his British Empire were led by an insurrectionist prelate called Sayyid Ahmed whose followers regarded him as the next Prophet and whose own pilgrimage to Arabia turned him into a life-long purger of promiscuity. His believers came from Afghanistan as well as India where his power lay in what is now Pakistan. In fact, he was proclaimed “Commander of the Faithful” in Peshawar. His men might have been the Taliban.

Britain’s wars against the Wahabis were as ferocious as Europe’s today, though far more costly in lives. And if Hunter rightly identified the second-class status, lack of employment and poor education of the Sunni Muslims of India as a cause of insurrection – France, please take note – he also understood that India’s Muslims were being asked to choose between pure Islam and Queen Victoria. The Hindus of India and the British rulers were at war with those whom Hunter, mindful of medieval Christian missions to Jerusalem, caricatured as the “Crescentaders”.

Ensaf Haidar, centre, wife of the Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, holds a vigil in Montreal, Quebec, urging Saudi Arabia to free her husband (Getty)

Today, the Americans and Europeans – and of course, our own Prime Minister – like to draw a line between the “moderate”, friendly, pro-Western, oil-wealthy Saudi Arabians who are praised for denouncing the “cowardly terrorist attack” in Paris, and their Crescentader Wahabi friends who behead thieves and drug dealers after grossly unfair trials, torture their Shia Muslim minorities and lash their own recalcitrant journalists. The Wahabi Saudis – for they are, of course, the same – cry crocodile tears over the murder of Charlie Hebdo cartoonists who lampoon their religion, while sympathising with the purists in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who slaughter journalists and aid workers, destroy ancient monuments and enslave women.

All in all, a pretty pass. The Saudis are special, aren’t they? Fifteen of the 19 hijackers of 9/11 were Saudis – and George W Bush immediately arranged for leading Saudis (including some from the House of Bin Laden) to be freighted out of America to safety. Osama was himself a Saudi (later de-citizened). The Taliban were financed and armed by the Saudis; the Taliban’s Organisation for the “Promotion of Virtue and the Suppression of Vice” was identical to the Saudi-Wahabi religious police in Riyadh and Jeddah. So precious are the Saudis to us, that Tony Blair was able to close down a British police inquiry into Anglo-Saudi bribery. “National interest” was at stake. Ours, of course, not theirs.

And we ignore, amid all this tomfoolery, the spread of Saudi money through the institutions of Sunni Islam in Asia, in the Balkans – take a look at the new Saudi-designed mosques that mock the wonderful old Ottoman institutions in Bosnia – and in Western Europe. Suggest that the Saudi authorities – not, of course, to be confused with their Wahabi fraternity – are supporting Isis, and journalists will be confronted not by sympathy for their oppressed colleagues, but by threatening letters from lawyers on behalf of the Saudi government. Even in the Levant, aid workers are frightened of the school-teaching in Saudi-funded refugee camps for Syrians.

In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Pencils, representing the freedom of expression, placed in tribute in Nantes Reuters In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack France's Jason Lamy Chappuis soars through the air over a message that reads "Je suis Charlie" Getty In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Solidarity in Nice AP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Turkish citizens organised a vigil in front of the French consulate in Istanbul AFP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Graffiti decorates a London wall in solidarity with the victims of the attack in Paris AFP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A tribute of flowers and candles outside the French Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic AP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Messages of sympathy near the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris AFP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Workers install a poster reading 'Je suis Charlie' (I am Charlie) on the Palais des Festivals facade in Cannes In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A woman looks at floral tributes left outside the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in Paris In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A woman places flowers near the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Journalists of international press agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) hold signs reading "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) at their headquarters in Paris as they observe a minute of silence for the victims of an attack by armed gunmen on the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris which left at least 12 dead and many others injured In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Pens and pencils are placed in the form of a peace sign over the names of late French cartoonists Cabu, Tignous, Wolinski and late Charlie Hebdo editor Charb on the Place de la Republique (Republic Square) in Paris In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Australia mourns victims of the Paris massacre at Federation Square in Melbourne In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Indian artist Sudarsan Pattnaik is pictured with his sand sculpture, in tribute of those who lost their lives in the attack by gunmen on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people, at Golden Sea Beach in Puri, some 65 kilometers from Bhubaneswar In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man holds a placard that reads "I am Charlie" as members of the European Parliament and citizens gather during a minute of silence for victims of the shooting at the Paris offices of weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in front of the EU Parliament in Brussels In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A painting of the 'Marianne', the national symbol of the French Republic is placed between candles to commemorate the victims killed in an attack at the Paris offices of the weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in front of the French Embassy in Berlin In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Pencils and flowers of condolance are placed at the French embassy at Pariser Platz in Berlin In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Mourners hold signs depicting victim's eyes during a rally in support of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly newspaper that fell victim to an terrorist attack, at Union Square in New York In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People hold up placards reading 'I am Charlie' during a gathering in Nice Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man lights candles set near the portrait of three of the four cartoonists killed, in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man holds the French national flag tied a black ribbon as he and others gather in Lyon to pay their respects Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Parisians gather to pay respect for the victims of a terror attack against 'Charlie Hebdo' Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People gather in front of the 'Club de la presse' in Montpellier, to show their solidarity for the victims of the attack by unknown gunmen on the offices of the satirical weekly, 'Charlie Hebdo' Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A drawing depicting cartoonist Jean Cabut, left, Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, center, and cartoonist Georges Wolinski, is placed outside the French Embassy in Berlin, Germany. The message reads 'Victims of their success, R.I.P.' AP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A woman lays a candle during a gathering at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People take part in a vigil in Trafalgar Square, London, following the deadly terror attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris PA In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People light candles forming the name Charlie during a gathering in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People stand stand in Marseille, southern France, next to a portrait of French cartoonist Georges Wolinksi, killed during an attack by unknown gunmen on the offices of the satirical weekly, 'Charlie Hebdo' Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People hold placards reading in French 'I am Charlie' during a gathering at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man holds a placard reading 'With all our heart with Charlie Hebdo, Freedom of the press: Our freedom' during a gathering in Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack The French and European union flags fly at half-mast at the French Embassy in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People gather at the Place Royale in Nantes to show their solidarity for the victims of the attack in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Flowers, candles and a sign reading 'I am Charlie' are placed against a wall during a demonstration in Paris AP In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Journalism students hold a banner reading in French: 'Journalism students : Solidarity' as they raise pens during a gathering at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People gather for a rally in solidarity with the killed Charlie Hebdo employees, in Geneva, Switzerland EPA In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack A man holds a placard reading: 'Freedom of the press is priceless, fundamentalism, of any kind, will not pass' as others hold up placards reading in French, 'I am Charlie' during a gathering at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Journalists raise their press cards as others hold up pens during a gathering at the Place de la Republique, following the terrorist attack on the offices of the satirical weekly, 'Charlie Hebdo' Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People hold candles at a rally in support of the victims of Wednesday's terrorist attack, at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack Reaction to Charlie Hebdo attack People gather in front of the city hall of Rennes, western France, following the attack in Paris Getty Images

As Irish columnist Fintan O’Toole pointed out this week, there are two words that must not be spoken in all the official rhetoric about Charlie Hebdo’s dead: Saudi Arabia. “A hundred billion dollars buys you a lot of silence,” he wrote. “The house of Saud runs a vicious tyranny that... while the Charlie Hebdo killers were going about their ultimate acts of censorship... was savagely lashing the blogger Raif Badawi for daring to promote public debate.”

The Wahabi grave smashers threaten to destroy the Prophet’s tomb as a religious duty – just as they have smashed the graves of “saints” in Africa and the Middle East – but a cartoon of the Prophet is a provocation that deserves death.

Sure, we all know the rubric. The Saudis stand in the forefront of the “war against terror”, arresting, torturing (though we’ll have to go softly on that one) and imprisoning “terrorists”, condemning Isis as “terrorists”, standing behind the French and the Europeans in their struggle against “terror”, along with the Egyptians and the Russians and the Pakistanis and all those other “democrats” in their “war against terror”.