In his weekly Asharq Alawsat column, Mshari Al-Zaydi comments on the recently released list of Saudi Arabia’s ‘Most Wanted’. He finds interesting information about the various individuals, but also something that troubles him. Among those listed are very young men, men who were only nine- or twelve-years-old on 9/11. Clearly, these are not returned ‘Arab-Afghans’! Yet they are taking up the banner of terrorism. Where were they converted from children to terrorism and who converted them?
I think it’s pretty clear how it was done. There are Saudis who do actively support and take part in terrorism. The hundred or so killed in security actions with the police, the thousand or so who have been arrested so far are not the totality of the problem. Government efforts to weed out extremism have clearly had some effect if the Saudi branch of Al-Qaeda feels it needs to join up with the Yemeni branch. But the job is far from done. The efforts to remove extremist imams from mosques, to try to handle school teachers who promote violence are also somewhat successful, but they’re not complete. The media, too, can take a look at itself and see whether in its reporting and the imagery it chooses to use it is just providing information or is inciting hatred.
A Clear Generation Gap in Saudi Most Wanted List
Mshari Al-ZaydiRiyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- Abdullah Al Jebairi Al Shahri is seventeen years old, while Hussein Abdu Mohamed is entering his fifty-second year.
What do these two men have in common?
Their names are both on the Most Wanted list released by Saudi authorities a few days ago, and forwarded to Interpol [ensuring] that they will be pursued wherever they are [in the world].
There is a thirty-five year gap between the birth of Abdullah [Al Shahri] and Hussein [Mohamed]. Thirty-five years separates these two generations, so what are the reasons for the fiery youth [Al Shehri] and the middle-aged veteran [Mohamed] to be included on the same list?
What was noticeable with regards to the Saudi list of 85 suspected on charges of being involved in terrorist activities is the sheer variety of ages, backgrounds and appearance of those included on the list, not to mention their regions [of origin] which comprise Central, Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Saudi Arabia.
According to information, the current location of those listed ranges between Iran and Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and of course Iraq which remains an attractive and romantic destination to these youth who are keen on death and martyrdom.
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In a related story, Saudi Gazette runs pleas to those on the Most Wanted list from families of Saudi security officials who were killed in fighting terrorism. They try to point out that the terrorist acts have real effects on real people and their children:
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February:09:2009 - 09:07
The Google-translated original is here. I find it interesting because, unlike the English version of the article, it includes responses from the Arabic-reading readership. The first comment (from a Saudi) is that it is all the fault of the United States for its policy of “occupation, violence, murder, and torture” since 9-11, and praises the Saudi government by comparison.
To me, that does not speak very well of either Saudi efforts “to weed out extremism” in education and culture nor of Saudi perceptions of how Al-Qaeda was weakened in the Kingdom a few years back. Something more is needed, or else terrorist recruitments would not have picked up again.
February:09:2009 - 09:26
What’s needed are patience and a realistic expectation of what can be accomplished in how much time. Anti-Israeli ‘group-think’ has dominated not only Saudi Arabia, but the entire region for over 60 years. Antisemitism, springing from different sources and refreshed constantly by various actors and speakers adds to the problem. I think that what it says about Saudi efforts (assuming the commenter was Saudi) is that there’s a long way to go and change won’t happen quickly or even universally.
These are not going away because the government says or does something. They are only going to fade over time when the noxious messages are no longer being delivered. Antisemitism in the US was rife until a majority of the population got is knocked out of them by the reality of the Holocaust. Even that, though, did not spell an end to it, did it? Are there still neo-Nazis, Aryan racists, and other antisemitic groups? Yes, there are.
Online comments to newspaper articles are as likely to be informed as uninformed–just like comments on blogs, of course. You might get a reasoned response, but you can also get responses from trolls and fanatics. Mountains of salt should always be kept on hand.
February:09:2009 - 10:36
Are there still neo-Nazis, Aryan racists, and other antisemitic groups? Yes, there are.
The fact that the influence of these groups is small isn’t just a matter of education, but vigilant monitoring of their members for instances of incitement and violent activities by both government and private organizations like the Anti-Defamation League. Thus, not only do they have little opportunity to terrorize others, but few people nowadays feel terrorized by them. In my opinion, the ranks of white supremacists appear to be shrinking, for it seems their new membership mostly springs from the families of current supremacists, and that happens only if the kids are home-schooled.
February:09:2009 - 11:34
All true. But the decline of antisemitism in the US took generations and it’s not reached zero yet. If you believe some, it’s actually resurging. As you point out, the effort took the combined powers of the state, education, and society, with a smack-in-the-head lesson from WWII, to bring this about.
The Saudis need to erase not just a few hundred years of unreasoned hatred toward the Jews, but around 1,400 years’ worth. That government, religion, and society all played a role in creating and sustaining the antisemitism makes it all the harder to defeat.
It can be done, but I don’t expect to be alive by the time it happens.
February:09:2009 - 15:40
I think there are other reasons as well. Disaffected youth, with a poor education, no job or marriage prospects, what do you do? In the US you would turn to crime or gangs- the best option here, for Saudi youth, is terrorism.
February:09:2009 - 16:50
Well, the hopeless also turn to drugs and alcohol, neither of which seems to be unavailable in the Kingdom if I read the newspapers literally.
February:10:2009 - 03:30
John, I personally beg to differ about the 1400 years of hate. I don’t think much of Middle East had problems with Judaism before the colonies and the British mandate. Sure there was historical events.. but if you ask me, I didn’t learn about Black September or the 6 day war or many other recent history events from my history lessons in the Saudi Schools. It was mostly about early Islamic history, Mid ages and Ottman period.. It’s funny that I have little recollection about the Nazi rule or the British colonies.. I doubt they even taught us about them.
I think much of the hate stems from the daily bombardment of events in Israel, you can teach history but that will usually be distant especially since young people get influenced by Media more than education now days.
I think there is a pretty interesting article to read in Wikipedia about this.. I regret that it shows no information about Saudi Arabia..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_exodus_from_Arab_lands
February:10:2009 - 08:19
I’m certainly open to learning something new on this topic. But it seems to me that when both Christianity and Judaism were pushed out of what was to become Saudi Arabia, based on ahadith that said the the Prophet said there was only room for one religion, then the problems started. That’s why the KSA doesn’t show up on the Wiki article list.
Sectarian pogroms, affecting both Christians and Jews have sadly been a part of Islamic history in the Arab world. While ‘dhimmitude’ may have looked okay from the Muslim side and might actually have afforded certain liberties to religious minorities, it also relegated Jews and Christians to second-class status. The history of Palestine and the fact of the intense 19th C. and 20th C. European antisemitism made it worse or at least provided additional reasons for Arab/Muslim antisemitism.