THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, U.S.A.
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume V, Issue # 159, June 18, 2003
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE SAUDI STATE & TERRORISM:
By Dore Gold
The events of September 11th raised a question for the American people: "Why do
they hate us?" Specifically, why did nineteen, mostly Saudi men, led by a Saudi
fanatic, collide commercial airplanes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center?
In search of possible answers, scholars have gravitated towards two schools of
thought. One blames American policies and "arrogance," while the other examines
forces within Saudi Arabia that serve as an incubator of religious extremism.
The latter is definitely the more credible explanation.
A Brief History
The roots of the Saudi-Wahhabi state are found in eighteenth century Arabia. In
1744, a covenant was drawn up between the Al Saud clan and Muhammad ibn `Abd
al-Wahhab, the founder of a militant interpretation of Islam commonly known as
Wahhabism. In exchange for protection, the Wahhabis provided the Al-Saud clan
with religious legitimacy. At its core, Wahhabism is centered on the complete
re- jection of foreign influences, opposition to modern interpretations of the
Koran, and contempt for non-Wahhabi Muslims, who are considered mushrikun
(Arabic, poly- theistists). Indeed, in the early years of the expansionist
Saudi-Wahhabi state, non- Wahhabi Muslims were treated with extreme brutality. In
1802, Wahhabi militants launched a raid on the holy Shiite city of Karbala in
southern Iraq, slaughtering over 4,000 worshipers.
A Deliberate Choice
Today, the Saudi-Wahhabi alliance is still reflected in the political structures
of power. Certain ministries are run by the political appointees of the royal
family and others fall under the authority of the Wahhabi clerics. However, this
theocratic state by itself is not predisposed to committing acts of violence.
Saudi Arabia is a center for religious extremism and hatred because a deliberate
choice was made to pursue this course of action. Beginning in the 1960s,
Islamists from around the Arab world found safe harbor and employment in Saudi
Arabia. These included Osama bin Laden's teacher, the Palestinian preacher Abdullah
Azzam; they were given effective control of the educational establishment,
cultivating the environment of fanaticism from which Osama bin Laden and his
associates emerged.
In the early 1980s, the Saudis began exporting Wahhabism across the globe,
espe- cially Central Asia. Azzam personally went to Pakistan with the support of
the Mus- lim World League (MWL), a massive Saudi-funded enterprise that poses as a
charity. Azzam was aided by a branch of the MWL known as the International
Is- lamic Relief Organization (IIRO), which laid the foundations for the Afghan
resist- ance fighting occupying Soviet forces.
After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the jihadists turned their
attention to the West. Christians and Jews are also seen as practitioners of
polytheism by Wah- habists demanding nothing short of holy war. IIRO offices were
rapidly opened up across the world, stretching from the Philippines to Bosnia,
to provide spiritual and financial support to terrorists. During its Operation
Defensive Shield campaign against the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure in
April 2002, Israel uncovered IIRO documents conclusively proving Saudi financial
connections to the terrorist group Hamas. One released document indicated
allocations totaling $280,000 for Hamas- affiliated "charities." Canada has
initiated legal proceedings against the chief of a local IIRO branch, who
astonishingly proclaimed that he was an agent of Saudi Arabia (ostensibly to
secure diplomatic immunity). Even the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has
written to Prince Salman (a brother of King Fahd and the governor of Riyadh),
complaining about Saudi money given to the Islamic Society, a Hamas organization
that, by its own admission, is preparing the next generation of suicide bombers.
Conclusion
Saudi Arabia's official complicity in terror is undeniable. The government has
and continues to finance international terrorism, even after September 11th. It
exports not only its ideologically intolerant brand of Wahhabi Islam but also
tens of millions of dollars to incite, foment, and inspire political violence.
The U.S. can and must combat this source of terrorism. America's expanded
military presence and greater political influence following the war in Iraq give
it more leverage than ever to in- fluence the kingdom.
The paragraps above constitute a summary account of the April 4, 2003, briefing
by Dore Gold. The summary account was written by Zachary Constantino, a research assistant
at the Middle East Forum. The original version can be found on the In- ternet website
maintained by the Middle East Forum.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Terrorism & U.S. Homeland Security
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Dore Gold is a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. He is the author of
Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism (Regnery
Publishing, 2003). His previous publications include: American Military
Strategy in the Middle East: The Implications of the US Regional Command
Structure (CENT- COM) For Israel (Ministry of Defense Publications, 1993),
Israel as an American Non-NATO Ally: Parameters of Defense and Industrial
Cooperation (Westview Press, 1992), and Arms Control in the Middle East
(Westview Press, 1990). Mr. Gold, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations from
1997 to 1999, spoke to the Middle East Forum in New York on April 4, 2003, and presented
the briefing, "The Saudi State and Terrorism."
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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