Saudi Arabia arrests 40 Islamist militants-TV

RIYADH, (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has arrested 40 suspected Islamist militants including 13 “involved in terrorism” in raids across the kingdom, state television said on Saturday.

Unfortunately, the Asharq Alawsat story above is the total information currently available on this. I’ll watch for more and update…

[UPDATE: The Associated Press updates the story:

Saudi Forces Arrest 42 Terror Suspects
By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi security forces arrested 42 suspected terrorists, including four foreign nationals, allegedly involved in earlier attacks across the kingdom, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

On Friday, Saudi security forces killed six suspected al-Qaida members and arrested a seventh following a shootout in the capital, Riyadh. One policeman was killed.

Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, launched an aggressive anti-terrorism campaign in May 2003 after suicide bombers linked to al-Qaida attacked three residential compounds in the capital, Riyadh.

Hundreds have been detained in the campaign, which has managed to capture or kill most of those named on the kingdom's two most-wanted lists.

The 42 suspects are said to belong to a group inspired by "takfiri doctrine," which maintains that those not adhering to its particular fundamentalist vision of Islam are considered "infidels."

According to this article, the "42" figure is cumulative over the past couple of months, not an entirely new action.]

Editorial: Global Problem
24 June 2006

Only yesterday, in an editorial on Islamophobia, we noted that Saudi Arabia has been in the forefront of the international war against militants claiming to act in the name of Islam. We also drew attention to the fact that the principal target of these deviants who have chosen to depart from mainstream Islam is not the West but rather Muslim states. It is the Muslim world that they want to conquer and take over. We could have added what most people in Saudi Arabia know only too well — that the Kingdom has been the militants’ prime target in recent years. Little could we have realized, though, that within hours, another nest of terrorists would be uncovered in Saudi Arabia, intent on bringing death and destruction to the country.

The elimination of another six terrorists, the capture of a seventh and the thwarting of another major suicide attack will be a matter of great satisfaction and relief to almost everyone in the country. Once again, the terrorists have been hit hard. There will, however, be some voices expressing concern that the terrorists are still at large, that they have not been destroyed…

The terrorism that Saudi Arabia is fighting with total commitment is the same terrorism and the same terrorists that the US is fighting, that Europe is fighting, that the rest of the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Afghanistan are fighting. That can be seen in the fact that yesterday also saw the arrest in Miami of seven people, five of them US citizens, charged with conspiracy to work with Al-Qaeda and plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and other targets. The timing of the Miami arrest was a coincidence but not the fact. Al-Qaeda sympathizers and wannabes are a global problem whether in Riyadh, Miami, London, Madrid, Bali or anywhere else.

Vigilance, faith in the authorities’ determination to win, good intelligence and a bit of luck are all still going to be needed for some time to come — so too must be a refusal to allow the terrorists to dictate how we should live our lives.

Excellent editorial from Arab News. This is a global problem. Siding with the terrorists because you happen to dislike other fighting them is short-sighted and rather stupid. This applies both to Americans who can’t abide the Saudis and Saudis who abhor Americans. We have a common enemy that must be defeated.

The Unjustly Treated
By Nora AbdualAziz Felemban — The Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH: IN the depths of Al-Balad, the old core of Jeddah, there’s an area named Al-Mazloom – literally “the neighborhood of the unjustly treated.”

The reason for that name is another story for another time. Al-Mazloom is an appropriate description of the lives and stories of a number of people with stalls along the neighborhoods windy alleyways.

Passing through Al-Mazloom, and then crossing under the bridge of the main street, you walk right into the Bedouin Market (Souq Al-Badou). A few steps into the dark shadows of one of the dark passageways off the main Bedouin Market you will see Umm Faisal sitting quietly selling incense, tablecloths and face-veils.

Every day from early morning to noon and from late afternoon till long after dark, in the small passageway crowded with shops and busy people, Umm Faisal has sat in the same spot for over 18 years.

“I got into this for the sake of my children,” Umm Faisal said.

It’s not all yachts and racehorses for Saudis, as this article from Saudi Gazette makes pretty clear. It’s a good example of how Saudi Arabia, even with some pieces of “first-world” infrastructure, is still a developing country.

[UPDATE: Arab News carries this article with a few more details. No naming of names, other than that of the policeman killed in the action, though.]

6 suspected terrorists, 1 Saudi policeman killed in clashes in Riyadh, official news agency says

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – Saudi security forces stormed a suspected al-Qaeda hideout in the country’s capital early Friday, killing six militants and arresting a seventh after an exchange of gunfire, an Interior Ministry official said in a statement.

One policeman was also killed in the clashes, it said. The statement, carried by the official Saudi news agency, said security forces chased seven members with “deviant thoughts” who “belong to the astray bunch” to a house in Riyadh’s al-Nakheel district.

The Saudi government often refers to al-Qaeda members as individuals with “deviant thoughts.”

The house was “a hideout for crime, corruption, and a base for the plots of aggression and outrage,” the statement said.

After a heavy exchange of gunfire with automatic weapons, six of the seven suspected militants were killed, and a seventh was injured and arrested, it said.

Asharq Alawsat is running this story. Not many details at present, but I’ll watch for updates.

The Italian news agency AKI provides further information:

Riyadh, 23 June (AKI) – The discovery by Saudi police of an alleged al-Qaeda terrorist cell in the capital Riyadh has also led to the seizure of extensive Islamist propaganda material used on the internet. The cell is believed to be linked to another terror formation which published a number of Islamist videos and other documents on Islamic online forums, Saudi terrorism analyst Fahs Bin Azzam told satellite broadcaster al-Arabiya. He said Thursday morning’s police raid in the al-Nakilh neighbourhood of Riyadh, in which six alleged terrorists were killed and one other was arrested, unveiled how crucial internet propaganda was becoming.

Among those killed in the police raid were some al-Qaeda members who had escaped from a Saudi prison four months ago. Only a few days ago, a Saudi terror cell had published on the internet a video about the 2004 attack to the two oil industry installations and a foreign workers’ housing complex in Khobar, on the Persian Gulf, which killed 22.

while Spain—already assured of going through to the next round—played its “B Team”, the Saudis played well in the second half. The first half, pretty flat all around except for the Spanish goal, was forgettable. In the second, though, the Saudis clearly outplayed Spain with constant offensive play. The Saudis need to improve their coordination in passing. There were many passes that went left when the receiver was breaking right, and vice versa of course. There was also a foul missed by the referee that would have given the Saudis a free kick on goal, but that’s the breaks of the game.

I think that the Saudis need to improve the level of their international competition, and if possible, get some of their players playing for European or Latin American teams. The Saudi team, throughout its one tie and two losses, never gave up, which is commendable, to be sure, but their professional skills always seem lacking in comparison to the other teams’. The Saudi games were always entertaining to watch, though…

Saudi ambassador to US admits boycott of Israel still in force
Michael Freund, THE JERUSALEM POST Jun. 22, 2006

At an invitation-only luncheon in Washington this week, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US publicly acknowledged for the first time that his country continues to enforce the Arab boycott of Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The ambassador also contradicted assertions made by senior Bush Administration trade officials regarding assurances they said they had received from the Saudis, prompting Rep. Robert Wexler, a powerful member of Congress, to say he will demand clarification from the US Trade Representative’s Office on the issue.

Attending a June 19 “policy lunch” organized by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, Saudi Ambassador Prince Turki al-Faisal was invited to deliver an address regarding the state of US-Muslim relations.

During the question-andanswer session following his remarks, al-Faisal was asked to describe the steps taken by Riyadh to dismantle its boycott of the Jewish state.

According to a transcript obtained by the Post, the ambassador responded by saying that his government had informed American officials, “that we have removed the secondary and tertiary boycotts” of Israel, which prohibit trade with companies that operate in Israel or have ties to such firms.

However, al-Faisal noted, “the primary boycott is an issue of national sovereignty guaranteed within the makeup of the WTO and its rules,” and said that even “the US itself practices this” against other countries.

The primary boycott refers to an embargo on goods or services originating in Israel.

Al-Faisal’s admission that Saudi Arabia continues to enforce the boycott confirms reports which first appeared in the Post over the past few months, according to which Riyadh was violating a pledge made to the Bush Administration last year to drop the embargo.

The Jerusalem Post carries this article.

There is dispute within the US government about exactly what the Saudis agreed during negotiations to join the WTO. USTR clearly thinks they agreed to drop all boycotts. Some, at least, in State say they made no such representation. The Saudis say they did not make such an agreement as it is a matter of national sovereignty to conduct (or not conduct) primary boycotts and point to the US boycott of Cuba as a directly comparable example.

Bush Will Ignore Congressional Ban on Aid to Saudi Arabia
Friday, June 23, 2006 / 27 Sivan 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Officials in the Bush administration said the American President will use his power of waiver to ignore a recent Congressional measure to reduce aid to Saudi Arabia.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly agreed earlier this month to deny $420,000 for the Arab country’s participation in anti-terrorism training supported by the American military. Congressmen passed the aid-reduction measure because Saudi Arabia has not blocked financing al Qaeda terrorists groups outside of the country, according to Middle East Newsline.

Earlier this month, the US Congress passed the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2007, which explicity prohibited aid to Saudi Arabia. According to this story, from the Israeli National News website, the Bush Administration has used its executive power to waive that prohibition.

Editorial: Islamophobia

The announcement that the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] is to launch a media campaign to create a better understanding of Islam and Muslims in the US is welcome, though not before time. The cancer of anti-Muslim feeling in the US had begun to spread well before 9/11. Since then, it has been on the rampage. If anything, the assessment in a recent Cornell University survey that around half of Americans have a negative view of Islam and want the US government to curb the political activities of Muslims in the country is almost certainly a considerable underestimation of the problem.

Arab News runs a worthwhile editorial commenting on American attitudes toward Islam. The piece cites a study by Cornell University, Restrictions on Civil Liberties, Views of Islam, & Muslim Americans [8-page PDF document], that is sobering.

The Cornell report seems to show several correlations. One is between the amount of attention one pays to TV news appears to be correlated with the level of fear one experiences, at least among the surveyed audience. Another link is found between the level of religiosity (low-medium-high) and the level of animus toward Islam, with the more religious Americans more showing more enmity toward Islam. The report does not provide raw data or levels of confidence in the statistical analysis, unfortunately. Let us, for the sake of argument, accept the figures presented in the survey.

I believe that Arab News is right in thinking that misunderstanding of Islam is the core problem. But it’s not the only problem. A major part of the issue is that the vast majority of terrorist acts known to a typical American are related in some way to “Islam”, regardless of whether or not that “Islam” represents true Islamic values. Fear, as noted in the survey, is a major factor, with those who watch TV news the most showing most fear. I suspect, as well, that those who claim high levels of religiosity also feel a greater degree of threat from another religion.

Education about Islam would certainly help the situation. More Islamic voices–on American TV–condemning brutality and violence committed in the name of Islam would help, too. For example, I’ve yet to find any Arab editorial condemning the mutilation of two American soldiers earlier this week. Nor, for that matter, is there much that condemns the decapitation of innocents in Iraq.

What will not be of great service, though, is relying on CAIR to fix the problem. CAIR has a noble goal, no question about it. But it has put itself in the situation of “the boy who cried wolf.” It seems that every slight to a Muslim, in CAIR’s view, is a manifestation of Islamophobia. Sometimes it is, but often it’s just an ignorant act that happens to involve a Muslim. CAIR does itself and its purpose a major disservice in trying to make every unpleasant event that involves an American Muslim into an overt and direct attack. Worse, when an act is later identified as not having such a motivation, CAIR doesn’t retract its previous allegations. Consequently, the count is only an increasing one, never stable or declining. And, let’s face it, CAIR can exist only while it has a purpose; it will do everything to ensure its continued survival by making sure that there is a “need” for its services, real or not.

So yes, work on educating Americans about Islamic values in a manner separate from TV news. But also make sure that TV news is hearing the full story, not just the one put out by terrorists. And keep in mind that people do not react to fear in always rational ways.

Abdullah tells Saudis they must accept diversity
Khalid al-Dakhil

The contents of King Abdullah’s recent speech in Buraidah on the subject of the “ideological categorization” that is widely practiced in Saudi society, has no precedent in the traditions of Saudi political discourse. In the Saudi state the King is the senior partner with the religious establishment. Both are bound by a religious covenant. For the king to openly call on his people to renounce ideological classification, whether on religious or secular grounds, is unprecedented – so much so, that I will begin by quoting at some length what he had to say:

The King was direct and to the point, saying, “I have said, and will repeat here before you, that there are two things on which leniency would not be acceptable: Islamic Shari’ah, and our national unity. I would say to you quite frankly that it is not in tune with either the principles of the benevolent Shari’ah, nor the requirements of national unity that some should – out of ignorance or in bad faith – divide our citizens into categories that have no authority whatsoever, saying this person is a secularist, this one is a liberal, this one is a hypocrite and this one is an Islamic extremist, and so on.”

This article appears on the pages of a website I’ve recently discovered, Saudi Debate. The entire article is worth your attention, as is much on the site.

The Saudi-US Relations Information Service (SUSRIS) runs an interesting interview with Khalid al-Rodhan, of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) about what threats Saudi Arabia perceives as coming from Iran and Iraq. It’s worth reading.

Yamani to Explain Reform Process to American Public
M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Arab News

RIYADH, 22 June 2006 — In an attempt to educate American masses about the reform process initiated by the Kingdom and the results accomplished so far, Dr. Hashim Abdullah Yamani, minister of commerce and industry, will deliver a lecture on “Economic Reform and Restructuring Strategy for Saudi Arabia” at the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (CCFR) in the US today.

“Dr. Yamani will spell out the measures introduced by the Saudi government to promote economic growth, increase foreign investment and expand employment opportunities,” Hugh McMullen, a CCFR spokesman, said yesterday.

The Saudi initiatives have laid the foundation for a long-term restructuring strategy that would enable the Kingdom to become a major free-market economy.

As the Saudis work to expand their economy, they’re looking for foreign investment. This lecture in Chicago might just help them with that.

Child Labor Persists Around Islam’s Holiest Site in Makkah
Zainy Abbas, Arab News

MAKKAH, 22 June 2006 — The problem of child labor persists in the Kingdom, by day or night.

It’s 3.30 a.m. in the Mesfala neighborhood of central Makkah, about a half-hour stroll from the Grand Mosque. Though it’s still an hour before Fajr prayers [0400], hundreds of faithful of different nationalities can already be seen in the streets heading to Islam’s holiest site.

On the street, a child sleeps next to a trash bin. Another stands nearby selling miswaks, the sticks commonly used by Muslims to clean their teeth. A third child is next to him and says he is nine years old and Burmese.

The boys, who are brothers, say their father prepares the miswak sticks and sends them to the streets to make money. One of the boys says he arrives in the area after Isha prayers [2030] and stays until Dhuhr prayers [1220] the next day selling in the street.

Afterward, he says they sleep until the next 16-hour shift. It is then that it becomes apparent why one of the kids is sleeping in the street even though he has a home. It is also apparent that all of these three children have, at the behest of their father, replaced school with labor.

Child labor is a problem in the KSA, particularly that of illegal immigrants, though there is some Saudi child labor as well. This Arab News article is intended to draw public attention to the problem and encourage the public to militate for government action.