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Saudi Jihad
ALCON,
I have been lurking here for a while now but I wanted to get your opinions on this article I happened across in our daily unclass read file (see below). I knew that the anti-western sentiment was growing in Saudi since they no longer need to fear Iraq but it surprises me that the clerics would make such a public demonstration of support for the insurgency. This does not bode well for our comrades in the area. Does anyone think that perhaps this is setting a dangerous precedent of the "moderate" Islamic states jumping on the jihad band wagon? Is this perhaps an attempt by the ruling family to regain some of the national support it has been letting slip away? Any thoughts on this matter ladies and gentlemen?
SAUDI ARABIA (Security Rating: 5), Muslim Clerics Call for Jihad Against U.S. Troops in Iraq: Twenty six prominent Saudi clerics issued a fatwa (religious edict) Nov. 6 calling on Iraqis to wage holy war against U.S.-led forces in Iraq, saying Iraqis are duty bound to drive occupying troops out of the country. Some of the clerics who issued the fatwa, which was posted the Internet, are reportedly close to the Saudi ruling family, while others teach at prominent universities across the kingdom. One of the clerics, Jafar Al-Hawali, was jailed for five years in the mid-1990s for vocally opposing the presence of U.S. troops on Saudi soil and was once an associate of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. iJET: Many of the clerics are considered to be part of Saudi Arabia's clerical "main stream," which illustrates how widespread anti-U.S. sentiment in the kingdom has become. The fact that the clerics felt secure enough to publicly sign their names to such an edict suggests they have support from high ranking members of the Saudi royal family, which even five years ago probably would have arrested clerics for issuing a statement that would embarrass Riyadh in front of its key U.S. ally. While the fatwa called on Iraqis, not Saudis, to fight U.S. forces, it is safe to assume that privately issued fatwas are calling on Saudis to join the fight against coalition forces as well.
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