9/11 was a great embarrassment for the Saudi leaders, but terrorist attacks inside Saudi Arabia in 2003 underlined the need for the kingdom to reinvent itself from an incubator for terrorists to promoting a more pluralistic view of Islam
Depending on whom one asks, Wahhabism is either a puritanical brand of Islam that adheres to a strict interpretation of the Koran and Sunna, the life of the Prophet, or it's a radical interpretation behind the rise of Islamist militancy and terrorism worldwide.
The central region of Najd has been a stronghold for Wahhabism since 1744, when the Saudi patriarch Muhammad Bin Saud concluded an alliance with a religious reformer, Muhammad Bin Abdul Wahhab. Abdul Wahhab was on a quest to spread an interpretation of Islam that emphasized Tawhid, or the oneness of God. His mission entailed eliminating many of the common beliefs and rituals which he regarded as apostasy. He found a willing partner and able leader in Muhammad Bin Saud.
The founder of the modern Saudi State, Abdul Aziz Bin Saud not only adhered to his ancestors' vision, but made it a reality. Today, the kingdom is committed to both protecting holy sites in Mecca and Medina and to the Dawa, or call to Islam of Abdul Wahhab. Islam remains the prism through which everything is seen in the kingdom.
Like other militant groups across the globe, Saudi militants never fully articulated a political program. Clearly they despise the West in general and the US in particular, whom they see as spearheading a global campaign to oppress if not annihilate Muslims. They also consider the Saudi government as nothing more than a pawn of the US that had abandoned its Islamic roots long ago. Militants strive to expel the US from Muslim lands and replace US-friendly regimes with a truly Islamic caliphate by force.
The announcement by the Saudi interior ministry in early December 2006 of the arrest over the previous months of 136 Islamist militants who were in different stages of planning terrorist attacks inside the kingdom indicates an ongoing threat from terrorism. It also confirms what many security analysts have concluded, mainly that increased funding and training for the internal security apparatus has given the government the upper hand, in thwarting recent attacks and apprehending many militant leaders during security operations.
Other moderate clerics have reached out in person and through Islamist websites to radicals and militant sympathizers to convince them to renounce violence and embrace moderate, mainstream Islam. The government has also promoted"moderate" Islam through a comprehensive media campaign. Newspapers, television, radio and billboards expose Saudis to firsthand accounts from ex-radicals who described how their ignorance of"true" Islam made them easy prey for militant recruiters. The Saudis also used many prominent clerics to debunk the militants' religious claims.
Just as importantly, the Saudis realized that their schools and curricula needed serious reevaluation. Saudi writers, academics and some officials acknowledged that parts of the curriculum promoted intolerance of non-Muslims and propagated extremist interpretations of Islam. Some teachers were radicals themselves and were either removed or retrained. Officials report that they are in the process of revising curricula after scrutiny by Saudis inside the kingdom and outside organizations. In addition, they explore ways to introduce new teaching methods to promote critical thinking among Saudi students as opposed to simple rote learning. Saudi youths learn that Islam has different schools of interpretation, or mathhabs, which should promote a more pluralistic view of Islam and delegitimize radical clerics who practice excommunication.
The shooting of four French tourists in late February leaves little doubt that Saudi Arabia will continue to battle Islamist militants for the foreseeable future. The Saudi government has undertaken a range of first steps to win the ultimate battle for the hearts and minds of the Saudi people. Not only peace and stability of the kingdom but to a large extent the prosperity of the oil-hungry world hangs by the thread of Saudi success.
Fahad Nazer is a fellow at the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, DC, and coauthor of an upcoming monograph entitledInside the Kingdom: Saudi Arabia's people, Its Politics and Its Future, to be published in late 2007 by the American Enterprise Institute.Rights: © 2007 Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. YaleGlobalOnline.