CIAO DATE: 07/02

Islamic Extremism in Saudi Arabia and the Attack on Al Khobar

Saudi Arabia does not face major political challenges from progressives, democratic reformers, human rights advocates, Arab socialists, Marxists or the wide range of different "progressive" political movements that shape the political debate and internal stability in most countries. Saudi Arabia certainly has its advocates in all of these areas, and some are quite active as individuals. There are many progressive Saudi individual businessmen, academics, and journalists. The fact is, however, that Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries in the world where the vast majority of politically conscious citizens are more conservative than a conservative regime.

While Saudi Arabia did face a challenge from Nasser and Arab socialism in the past, there is little evidence that such movements retain any political strength. Today, Saudi society is conservative, and Islam, Arab nationalism, and social tradition shape most public opinion. Most advocates of reform have no choice other than to work through the royal family, the government, and the Kingdom's technocrats. It is the royal family, Saudi Arabia's technocrats, and businessmen that had led virtually all of the Kingdom's efforts to modernize and reform Saudi politics and society. At the same time, even the most reform-minded members of the royal family and technocrats make Islamic values part of all their decision-making public speeches, laws, and decrees.

Saudi Islamic practices are also generally more conservative than those of other Islamic states. Both the Saudi interpretation of Islam and the Saudi clergy are still heavily influenced by the values of Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahhab, a conservative and fundamentalist reformer who reshaped the worship and social practices of virtually all elements of Sunni society in the mid-1700s. Wahhab's descendents still have great influence in the clergy, and Wahhabi practices and legal interpretations dominate the legal system and must be considered in shaping virtually every major public policy decision.

This conservatism is not a challenge to the Royal family or Saudi stability. In many ways, it is a binding force that holds Saudi Arabia together, and the Saudi government has long proved able to adapt to most of the challenges of modernization without having the engage in major confrontations with the Saudi clergy or Islamist. At the same time, Islamic conservatives have sometimes slowed the Kingdom's progress, and some aspects of Saudi Arabia's approach to Islam involve customs and practices that affect now affect key areas of reform. Examples are modernization of l the financial services sector, modernizing education, and expanding the role women can play in the economy.

While the West sometimes sees Islam itself as a source of terrorism, this is no more true of Islam in Saudi Arabia than any other country. No one who has had any prolonged contact with Saudis and Saudi Arabia can regard them as part of a violent society. The mainstream of Saudi preaching may be conservative, often critical of the government, and intensely critical of Israel and the West. It almost never advocates violence. Saudis do support Islamic causes, and individual Saudis sometimes support violent ones, but the Saudi government has never supported terrorist movements, or terrorist-like actions by causes it does support.

A case in point is the Palestinians. Sheik Abd al-Aziz bin Abdallah Aal al-Shaykh the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, publicly stated on April 21, 2001, that Islam prohibits suicide bombing. The Saudi government clearly inspired this statement, and it was issued in spite of the fact it provoked considerable opposition in the Arab world. Some senior Saudi clerics - such as Sheikh Abd al-Aziz Bin Baz and Muhammad Bin'Uthaimin -- had blessed Palestinian suicide operations in the past, and some senior Egyptian clerics, and groups like Hamas, had previously defended such actions as permitted by jihad (istishhad). ₁

Islamic extremism does, however, pose problems for Saudi Arabia, and this makes important to carefully distinguish between the almost universal Saudi support for Islam, and the relatively small number of Saudis who have adopted extreme political views in the name of Islam. Saudi Islamic rhetoric often is rarely a sign of active opposition to the government. Most Saudi supporters of the current Islamic revival simply support a strict interpretation of Wahhabi doctrine and pose no threat to the regime. The same is true of most of the ulema, the senior scholars and interpreters of Islam. Both groups may oppose or challenge some aspects of Western behavior and efforts to modernize the Kingdom, criticize some actions of the royal family, but they neither foment violence nor do they threaten the stability of Saudi Arabia.

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Endnotes

Note 1: Reuven Paz, "The Saudi Fatwa Against Suicide Terrorism",Peacewatch, No. 323. May 2, 2001; Agence France Presse, May 9, 2001, 0651; Bloomberg, May 9, 2001, Cairo.Back