Friday, March 21, 2008
The Saudis establish remedial imam school
Isn't it a little late for this?
Saudi Arabia is to retrain its 40,000 prayer leaders - also known as imams - in an effort to counter militant Islam.
Details of the plan were revealed in the influential Saudi newspaper Al- Sharq al-Awsat.
The plan is part of a wider programme launched by the Saudi monarch a few years ago to encourage moderation and tolerance in Saudi society.
The timing of this program reveals at least a little something about the Saudi royals; having waited this long since September 11, why are they only now responding to Washington's demand that they crack down on jihadism rather than appease it? One would think that in light of the lame-duckness of the Bush administration and the high altitude of oil prices Riyadh's ability to resist pressure from the United States would be at an all-time high. Could it be that the success of the surge and the recruitment of the Sunnis of al-Anbar in the war against al Qaeda have emboldened the Saudis to increase the heat as well? Is the United States now the strong horse?
Or maybe the Saudis have simply decided that if they keep riding the tiger of extremism they will eventually be ripped to shreds. Either way, faster, please.
8 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Mar 21, 12:54:00 AM:
I hope they have luck to combat the effects of radical islam
By 
randian, at
Fri Mar 21, 01:14:00 AM:
This is fraud. The Saudis aren't combating Islam's war on everybody, they're one of the major funders of that war. What they're doing is "educating" imams not to direct that war against the Saudi royals themselves.
By , at
Fri Mar 21, 06:58:00 AM:
I sure would be nice if someone told the terrorists that chopping off someones head is not an "Allah Akbar!" moment.
By , at
Fri Mar 21, 07:32:00 AM:
Heist on their own petard, the Saudis.
By , at
Fri Mar 21, 09:57:00 AM:
This follows on the heels of their remedial jihadist classes and their allowing women to drive...
By , at
Fri Mar 21, 01:17:00 PM:
Call me when they stop funnelling money and jihadis into the iraq insurgency, and to AQ at large.
15 of 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi, 0 Iraqi or Iranian.
25% of Guantanamo detainees were Saudi, the largest single group.
Iraq Study Group found that the largest source of funds for the Iraq insurgency is Saudi donors.
Call me a cynic but my guess is the re-education will focus on discouraging jihadis from going after the Saudi royals. Israel and "infidel occupiers" will still be fair game.
- mattt
By , at
Sat Mar 22, 03:02:00 PM:
"They" don't think with a single mind, you know. The Saudi govenrment has killed, in combat, hundreds of Al Qaeda terrorists in internal police battles.
By randian, at
Sat Mar 22, 05:25:00 PM:
"They" don't think with a single mind, you know. The Saudi govenrment has killed, in combat, hundreds of Al Qaeda terrorists in internal police battles.
That's not because the Saudis have a per se dislike of Islamic terrorists or have any sort of moral objection to killing unbelievers, heretics (Shia), and apostates. They're one of the major funders of such terror, after all. They're fighting Al Qaeda because bin Laden specifically calls out the Saudis as too corrupt and too close to Westerners. Bin Laden calls for purifying Islam by eliminating un-Islamic influences, including Saudi princes who gallivant across Europe and the US like they were *gasp* infidels.
