From CDHR
March 10, 2008
The Fortress of Extremism
By Ali Alyami
Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, is an extremist institution that rejects modernity and equality for women, frowns on other brands and sects of Islam (other than the austere Hambaly-Wahhabi brand) and promotes hatred and violence. Most, if not all, of Saudi suicide bombers, including the ones that inflict death and destruction in and outside of Saudi Arabia, graduate from this revered university. The professors of this dangerous institution are religious extremists who are also in charge of the interpretation and implementation of many Islamic policies. Women are prevented from entering this Saudi government-managed and funded school, and non-Muslims dare not come close to its perimeter without heavy protection.
One may wonder why the government of Saudi Arabia does not close this institution or completely transform it, given its extremist teachings. The government has the ability to do so, but has chosen not to. The Saudi ruling family’s legitimacy and continuity depend on religious extremism. Thus, closing this university would deny the government its power base. For instance, the religious police in Saudi Arabia are the most ferocious of the government’s tools for terrorizing its citizens. This agency is considered, by Saudis and others who have been victimized by it, to be a state-sponsored terrorist organization that hunts down, humiliates, incarcerates, and even gets away with killing innocent citizens. The government, for the first time, admits that this university is a hornet’s nest. Why not close or transform this dangerous school, if defeating extremism is actually the government’s goal?
Link to Article, Arabic