Saudis thwarted Seven “Terrorist” Cells
By Dr. Ali Alyami
The unearthing of what seems to be seven cells (136 people) in Saudi Arabia during the last three months, and killing of two Saudi security personal by men who wanted to free their Al-Qaeda comrades from “Ruwais prison in Jeddah” on December 7, is sobering proof that the stability of the Saudi state remains elusive at best. The Saudi Interior Minster Prince Naif reported that the terrorist groups planned to carry out destructive attacks and assassinations that would have had far-reaching consequences. Prince Naif said, “People behind these terrorist cells are the enemies of Islam and Muslims even if they have an Islamic mask.” He said that the arrested terrorists had political and economic agendas. “Their aim is to turn Muslim against Muslim,” adding that this would only benefit non-Muslims. (Arab News 12/4). If Naif is to be believed, then the tactics the would be assassins were planning on using are the same methods Saudi suicide bombers have been using in Iraq: Creating a sectarian and tribal civil strife, turning people against each other and rendering the central government and its security apparatus powerless.
This continuing arrests and killings bring to light a troubling trend that has been playing out within Saudi Arabia since 1995. Through its alliance with radical religious revisionists, and its use of other tools of coercion, the royal family has, in what was then seen as a necessary move to ensure its legitimacy and longevity, placed itself in a perilous position. Throughout the past eight decades, the Saudi royal family has cleverly used religion to justify its actions, promote its policies and indemnify its control over the country. The resulting beliefs of intolerance and detestation have placed the royal family squarely in the sights of the very ideology that has until recently, provided it with legitimacy. By creating, nurturing and encouraging a culture to develop where intolerance is taught in schools, women are totally excluded from the political process and forms of entertainment are considered un-Islamic, the Saudi monarchy has created a generation of restless and desperate youth who are now prime recruits for those who want to topple the monarchy itself. Due to a lifetime of deprivation and indoctrination by government institutions and a system that denies them their basic freedom; the Saudi youth have begun to react destructively.
The Saudi monarchs do not seem to realize that the present violent trends are not going to be controlled by the sword, money or religion as has been the case in the past. People want, deserve and must be empowered to be full participants in the decision making processes and real sharing of their wealth. Unless the Saudi monarchy realizes this reality and takes the necessary steps to meet these challenges, the country and the monarchy will continue to slide toward a very uncertain future to say the least.
Revisiting the Saudi narrow interpretation of religion and the Shari’ah law will go a long way to eradicate many of the social, political, economic, educational, judicial and class divisions in the country and beyond. A steady, transparent, quantifiable and irreversible political participatory process must be carried out so the people can become the proprietors of their country and wealth.
The recent arrests of would be assassins and the fierce gun battle in Jiddah on Dec. 7 are proof that the Saudi insurgents are still strong despite the Saudi regime’s assurance that Al-Qaeda has been defeated. This suggests that the insurgency may grow and get stronger, especially when the Iraqi conflict is resolved and the Saudi suicide bombers and fighters in Iraq return home. The longer the Saudi oligarchs refuse to face these grim realities and reform their dysfunctional political, religious, economic, educational, judicial and social institutions, the more the situation in Saudi Arabia will deteriorate. The stakes are high for the Saudi people, the monarchy and the international community. Consequently, the Saudis have to meet their obligations and steer the nation toward stability based on democratic processes under the rule of law.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-saudi-clashes,1,3816543.story