Austin Bay says the Global War on Terror is shaking the foundations of Islamic rule in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis know The War on Terror is an intra-Islam and Arabian Peninsula war writ large. The Saudis certainly understand the intersection of theology and psychological warfare, and are exploiting ideological-theological cracks in al-Qaida that are extremely difficult for the United States to leverage.Posted by Alan at January 17, 2004 08:24 AMThe London Times reported that Sheikh Nasser al-Fahd, one of al-Qaida's key religious backers, appeared on Saudi TV last November and denounced al-Qaida's attacks in Riyadh. Though jailed for issuing "inflammatory fatwas," he insisted that his comments were voluntary.
"Blowing oneself up in such operations (on Muslim soil) is not martyrdom," al-Fahd said, "it is suicide." Islamic law forbids suicide. He added that Islam forbids attacks on non-Muslims who go legally to Islamic countries -- meaning they are invited "guests" and, as legal visitors, should enjoy protection. The Times noted: "Although he raised no objection to attacks on America or other non-Islamic countries, his denunciation of bombings on Islamic soil known as internal jihad appears to have caught al-Qaida off guard."
Al-Qaida websites now confront al-Fahd with statements like, "The new strategy for us in our fight with the Americans is based on the expansion of the battlefield and the attrition of the enemy, who has spread his activities all over the globe."
Al-Qaida's response demonstrates more than theological argument, it is also an inadvertent admission that the U.S. strategy of returning the battlefield to the Middle East has worked. Waging the war at its source instead of in Manhattan has exposed Arab and intra-Islam quarrels.
Al-Qaida faces bad choices. In Iraq, al-Qaida infiltrators are unpopular foreigners. Attacking "soft targets" in the Middle East -- like the Ramadan revelers -- means killing Muslims and guests, further damaging pan-Islamic appeals.
The House of Saud also faces the choice of political evolution or potential revolution. A successful democratic government in Iraq will empower pro-democracy activists throughout the Persian Gulf. This time, saving The Kingdom may mean establishing a constitutional monarchy.
via the Houston Chronicle