Saudi Arabia the Central Theme in Global Terrorism

Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao

In today’s world, all sane countries are putting efforts to counter terrorism and Saudi Arabia claims, it is no exception. May 2003 terrorist attacks in Riyadh, alerted the Kingdom highlighting that terrorism was not only a theoretical global problem, but very much a local one. After experiencing many terrorist strikes in the country, the rulers of Saudi Arabia have been illuminated that Terrorism was not restricted to a particular country or group of nations and they too are within its fold and have to guard against it. The United States too went through similar experience, humiliation and national shock on September 11, 2001 and in the following years USA has been hunting down the terrorists across the world using its military might and in the process, it has also drawn severe criticism from some nations and also from its own countrymen.

After Sept 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden a former Saudi Arabian millionaire and related to ruling elite has been made the cult figure and is identified as the central figure of Terrorism. Taliban too are stamped as the abettors and propagators of terrorism along with AlQaeda. The rise of terrorism has also been mostly identified with Wahaabi cult in Sunni Islam that propagates militant Islam. They have found strong bases in countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Afghanistan and some other African nations apart from Saudi Arabia that is a mother country for Wahhabi Islam and the root cause for militant Islam the real source for today’s trouble in the world in the form of terrorism. The Saudis are the ardent followers of Wahhabi doctrine and Institutions within the country are busy propagating this cult. Imam Muhammad University is the known and established factory and a mill of mass production where Wahabism is produced and serviced in Saudi Arabia. Infact, it can be termed as a great Madrasa of University pattern. A large number of the Saudi clerics, Mullahs are educated and trained here. Nearly twenty thousand students study the core teachings of Abdul Wahab, the founder of the Saudi Salafi movement, which is sometimes and often popularly referred to as Wahabism. Infact, Wahhabi doctrine considers all as heretical who do not subscribe to its philosophy of Islam being the mightiest religion that too of Wahhabi type and no other group is entitled to stay. They claim that entire world was created by Allah and hence every one has to be a Muslim.

Saudi Arabia was very self confident and proud of its position by virtue of its oil wealth in the Muslim world, heritage and as holder of the most precious and holiest sites for the Muslim world (Mecca and Medina). But today, sadly they are more confused, unsure, worried, desperate, harassed, hesitant, apologetic and willing to accommodate. Some are belligerent even bellicose. But most people are perplexed by terrorism within Saudi Arabia and by Saudis (1). The kingdom has been accused of being “soft on terrorism”—or even funding “terror” and promoting anti-U.S. hatred via Saudi-supported Islamic schools across the region. The Wall Street Journal editorialized, “President Bush has said repeatedly that countries must decide whether they are for us or against us in the war on terrorism. So far, Saudi Arabia hasn’t made up its mind.”

Most of the terrorists that were involved in the Sept 11, 2001 attack on US main land were Saudis. This has zeroed the world opinion to certain extent that terrorism has its basic roots in Saudi Arabia although the Saudi Rulers are not being considered as the perpetuators of terrorism in the world. They get benefit of doubt. The concept of terrorism is the outcome of Wahhabi teachings that have strong base and origin in Saudi Arabia and on this account there is no disagreement.

It is being claimed that the Saudi Government has also taken steps to address the more fundamental issue of confronting extremist ideology by waging a campaign within the Saudi Kingdom against those it terms "Deviants" who pervert Islam to preach violence. This campaign has included working with religious leaders to eliminate hatred-filled sermons and repeated statements by the King addressing this issue. But on counter terrorist financing, the Saudis need to do more. This includes taking steps to ensure that Saudi funds are not sent overseas to promulgate the very hatred and extremism that Saudis are confronting at home. Saudi Arabia also has demonstrated serious determination to take aggressive action against al Qaeda. It has been reported by the interior ministry that Saudi Arabian Police have arrested 172 Islamic militants some of whom were being trained abroad as pilots to enable them to fly aircrafts to organize attacks on Saudi oil fields. The ministry however did not say that these pilots were to organize attacks in WTC attack fashion. The militants were also to organize storming of Saudi prisons to liberate the colleagues. Police recovered large quantities of weapons, ammunition explosives and money. The group of the militants was not defined and they were referred as “Deviants” meaning Terrorists. According to Brig Mansour al Turki on Private TV channel Al Arabia , these militants included non Saudis too. It was also revealed that the terrorists planned suicide attacks on prominent figures, oil facilities and refineries and military camps including some outside the kingdom (2). This revelas the extent of trouble in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia faces one of the greatest challenges in the fight against terrorism that is funding the terrorist activities by rich individual Saudis. It should build on its own domestic efforts to exert active leadership regionally, and by enhancing its bilateral counter-terrorist financing relationships worldwide it can help cut down at the root of terrorism. It should go after individual contributors who are donating to extremist organizations and monitor how Saudi funds sent overseas, including Saudi government funds, are being used, misused and siphoned off to fund terrorist activities. As per Under Secretary Levey, wealthy donors in Saudi Arabia are still funding violent extremists around the world, from Europe to North Africa, from Iraq to Southeast Asia. It is hoped that Saudi Arabia will take effective action against these individuals to disrupt their facilitation of violence and to send a clear message that such activity will not be tolerated by the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia at present is aggressively tackling the problem of extremism and terrorism that it is facing within the Kingdom. It has also vigorously pursuing systems to prevent illegal funding to terrorists. These measures include new regulations in the charitable sector, increased vigilance and sophistication in the financial sector, and regional integration on matters of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing. The most public and prominent were joint designations of Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation branches globally for that organization's support to the worldwide al-Qaeda network. These branches were listed by the United Nations as well. Public designations of individuals and entities such as Al-Haramain not only cut these supporters off from the global financial system, but also they send the strong public message that the U.S. and its partners will not tolerate the efforts of charities to disguise their activities while engaging in false marketing. The support of Saudi Arabia in these designations reflected Saudi stand against a common enemy. Daniel L. Glaser, Deputy Assistant Secretary Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes U.S. Department of the Treasury reported that the Saudi Government has also created some useful institutions to aid in the fight against terrorist financing. It recently established a financial intelligence unit (FIU) to engage in the essential process of reporting, analyzing, and disseminating critical financial information within Saudi Arabia and internationally. The FIU became operational as of September 10, 2005. FIUs play a crucial role in establishing the backbone of information-sharing among countries worldwide. It is expected to engage with counterparts in the Saudi FIU to increase effectiveness in preparing reports of suspicious activity for action. We are already actively engaged, moreover, in joint analysis at the Joint Terrorist Financing Task Force in Riyadh where agents from IRS Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID) and FBI sit side-by-side with their Saudi counterparts to analyze important streams of data together (3).

It has to be equally worried and concerned about what happens outside the Kingdom, however, since extremism in one country can easily find its way elsewhere in the world and pose a threat to us, all the efforts should be towards counter terrorism at all places and Saudis therefore have to cooperate with all world actions against terrorism and infact the rulers have stood by America in the fight against terrorism.

However in recent times Saudi Arabian king has also made it clear that when USA withdraws from Iraq, it would directly support Sunni groups in the region to counter Shiite threat inspired by Iran which is waiting wrest over the region under its control. It also expressed unhappiness over reported talks between Iran and USA. It is also against summary withdrawal of American and British forces from Iraq. However this does not mean that it would abet and support AlQaeda activities. There could be some militant tribes in the region fighting Shiite domination and their activities are overlapping with fight against American troops in Iraq (4). This does not mean that the days of relationship between USA and Saudi Arabia are numbered. Of late, it has also been come to light that there is a growing resentment against the American military base in Saudi Arabia and some even view it as occupation. Obviously, those who spread anti American feelings derive benefit out of such feelings and spread further hatred. Terrorist raids on American establishments in Saudi Arabia and at other places are the outcome of such inspired hatred. Obviously, the Saudi establishment has to get worried over the developments.

Matthew Levitt, Director of the Terrorism Studies at the Washington Institute and author of the book Exposing Hamas: Funding Terror Under the Cover of Charity has reported that Israeli authorities on September 27 announced the arrest of an Israeli-Arab Hamas activist who played central militant, political, and financing roles for the group in coordination with what Israeli authorities described as a “Hamas command in Saudi Arabia.” The arrest is just the latest evidence that support for Hamas in particular and Islamic extremism in general continues to emanate from within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia thus also has Hamas office and it as reportedly instructed Yakub Muahmad Yakub Abu Etzev to open a “communications office” to report developments on the ground to Hamas operatives abroad. According to Israeli authorities, Abu Etzev confessed to receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Hamas headquarters in Saudi Arabia as well as instructions that he passed on to Hamas field operatives. The Hamas leaders in Saudi Arabia provided the funding for this venture in addition to money for the families of suicide bombers and imprisoned terrorists and a variety of Hamas institutions. The funds entered the West Bank through human couriers and money changers, often under the cover of charity work. Abu Etzev was personally involved the creation of local Hamas committees in towns and villages with funds from Hamas’s Saudi office (5). The revelation that Hamas operates a command center in Saudi Arabia with close ties to Hamas militants executing attacks and the movement’s political and social-welfare (dawa) operations is remarkable. But neither the fact that individual Hamas operatives are active in Saudi Arabia nor the fact that Hamas receives significant funding from within the Kingdom is news. Although presence of offices of Hamas in Syria, Iran, Yemen, and Sudan, Hamas is fully known it has never maintained a formal office in Saudi Arabia. But individual Hamas activists, as well as many supporters, have long raised funds from within the Kingdom.

As early as 1994, Palestinian scholar Ziad Abu Amr noted, “The widespread belief is that Hamas has received money [from] the governments of Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states,” adding that such support is believed to have continued after the 1991 Gulf War to punish the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for its support of Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait. In 1997, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera cited unnamed Palestinian officials who complained, “Riyadh’s help to Hamas has grown with the opening of new [financial] channels,” and revealed that “over 140 billion lire [$37.32 million] has been collected in Saudi Arabia and the other oil monarchies.” In September 2003, David Aufhauser, general counsel to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, said in congressional testimony that despite some success in curbing terror financing, “by no means have we crossed the bridge of the issue of terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia.” Aufhauser noted that not only is it donating to Hamas not a crime in Saudi Arabia, but Hamas raises “enormous amounts of money” during the month of the Hajj alone—a period so lucrative for Hamas that it sends its political director to the Kingdom (6).

Individuals, charities, and banks tied to the Saudi ruling class are among the most prolific supporters of Islamist extremism, of both the Palestinian and the global varieties. The al-Raji family has been tied to Hamas funding, as have other members of the Saudi elite, such as Khari al-Agha and Abd al-Rahim Nasrallah, who is believed to have laundered and transferred funds through charitable organizations fronting for Hamas in Europe. Together, Nasrallah and Zayd Mahmoud Zakarna, the head of Hamas’s Jenin charity committee, are suspected of arranging the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas. Individual contributions from Saudi Arabia were instrumental in helping Hamas develop the Qassam rockets it routinely shoots into Israel from Gaza. In December 2001, Israeli authorities arrested Hamas operative Osama Zohadi Hamed Karika as he attempted to cross the Rafah border crossing at Gaza. He had on his person documents detailing the development of the Qassam rockets. Under questioning, he admitted that he was on his way to Saudi Arabia to brief unidentified supporters on the development of the rockets and to obtain their continued funding for the project. Karika also told his Israeli interrogators that he had personally secured initial funding for the rocket program in Saudi Arabia. What is perhaps most disturbing is that such activity persists despite repeated Saudi pledges to curb terror financing and the promotion of Islamist extremism from within the Kingdom. Unfortunately Hamas is being funded from the kingdom although now at depleted quantity and at a slower pace than previously. But the most disturbing factor is the presence of Hamas offices in the Kingdom and the flow of funds from these offices. This amounts to abetting international terrorism from Saudi Soil although it is the staunch ally of America that is waging a relentless struggle against the militants world wide. Thus Saudi Arabia literally stands on the same platform as Pakistan that abets terrorism clandestinely. Still, there is good news. It is also believed that the presence of Hamas command center in the kingdom is the result of international pressure and attention now focused on Syria, where Hamas leaders have based themselves since being expelled from Jordan in the 1990s. The revelation shows that Hamas terrorism aimed at undermining the regime of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is being organised from Saudi Arabia and this should give Washington sufficient motivation to press Riyadh for tangible action to put a quick end to such activity.

Thus Saudi Arabia today is facing a crisis in its relationship with USA. It has to play a double role. One is to appease its God father i.e. America and the other is the Arab world in the role of defender of Islamic faith. The kingdom has been accused of being “soft on terrorism”—or even funding “terror” and promoting anti-U.S. hatred via Saudi-supported Islamic schools across the region. The Wall Street Journal editorialized, “President Bush has said repeatedly that countries must decide whether they are for us or against us in the war on terrorism. So far, Saudi Arabia hasn’t made up its mind.” (7)

Bibliography

1. Dr MA Muqtedar khan, Saudi Arabia rethinking its soul, this article was syndicated in North America by Progressive Media Project. It was published by
Al Ahram (Egypt) May 6-12, 2004. The Daily Times (Pakistan) 05.06.2004, The Daily Star (Lebanon) 05.06.2004, The Globalist (USA), Q-News (UK) June/2004, The Muslim Observer (Michigan) and The Minaret (CA), The Providence Journal (RI) 05.15.2004, The Saudi-American Forum 05.07.2004.

2.Abdullah Shihri, 172 Militants arrested, Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad, AP, India, Date April 28, 2007, PP 9

3. Testimony of Daniel L. Glaser, Deputy Assistant Secretary Office of
Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes U.S. Department of the Treasury
before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, November 8, 2005
JS-3011

4. Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao, Are the relations between Saudi Arabia and USA getting strained? www.faithcommons.org, April 24, 2007, 09:11

5. Mathew Levitt, A Hamas Headquarters in Saudi Arabia, Peace Watch #521, Sept 28, 2005, http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2378

6. Ibid

7. Larry Everest & Leonard Innes. US ally an enemy, US war plans and the Saudi Arabian debate, Z features outline, December, 2002, Volume 15 No.12 http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:MfEf7uKz7u8J:www.zmag.org

/ZMagSite/Dec2002/everest1202.htm+Terrorism+within+Saudi+Arabia&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10

Bookmark/Search this post with: