Saudi Arabia and the Rise of the Wahhabi Threat

The Al-Saud Kings
Source: Middle East Forum
http://www.meforum.org/535/saudi-arabia-and-the-rise-of-the-wahhabi-threat

A briefing by Stephen Schwartz

February 27, 2003

Stephen Schwartz is a senior policy analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies based in Washington, DC. As a journalist, he covered the Balkans in the 1990s for the San Francisco Chronicle. His latest book is The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror (Doubleday, 2002). He spoke to the Middle East Forum in New York on February 27, 2003.


Al-Qaeda represents Wahhabism in its purest form – a violent fundamentalist doctrine that rejects all non-Wahhabi Islam, especially the spiritual forms of Islam. Wahhabism is an expansionist sect intolerant of Shi‘ite Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Hinduism; in fact, Wahhabists seek to challenge and destroy these faiths. The Saudi-Wahhabi threat must not be underestimated; it requires our grave attention.

A History of Violence

Contrary to prevalent Western beliefs, Wahhabism is not an old Islamic tradition and the House of Saud does not enjoy a credible historic claim to rule over Arabia. Indeed, Wahhabism emerged only 250 years ago under the guidance of an obscure fanatic known as Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab who later formed an alliance with a group of desert bandits, the Sauds. From the time they established their covenant to the creation of the modern Saudi state, the Saudi-Wahhabi movement spread across the peninsula brutally defeating and enslaving non-Wahhabi elements.

A substantial body of nineteenth century scholarship does exist to confirm the bloody rise of the Saudi-Wahhabi state. Thomas Hope, a British author, wrote extensively about the Wahhabi spread from his travels throughout the Middle East. In his novel Anastasius, he described Wahhabi agents in words that will be strikingly familiar to modern readers: as extremist puritans bent on dominating the Muslim world by adopting tactics reminiscent of Al-Qaeda's calculated savagery.

The theological and political pact between the Saud clan and the Wahhabists resulted in the fall of Mecca for the second and last time in 1924, solidifying their grip on power. After the conquest of Mecca, the vast oil wealth of the kingdom would be used to export a radical Wahhabist ideology across the globe.

Nerve Center of Islamic Extremism

Even after September 11, the Wahhabi bureaucracy in Saudi Arabia continues to foster religious extremism. When bombs go off in Israel, Kenya, Indonesia, and elsewhere, Saudi Arabia is still the main source of the terrorist money. The kingdom is an unwavering nerve center of ideological indoctrination, incitement, and terrorist financing.

From time to time, the Saudi elite attempts to confuse Western opinion by claiming that it too is the target of Islamic terror, a rather hollow gesture to hide its complicity in terrorism. Saudi Arabia, being a police state, the monarchy long ago could have ridded itself of extremist elements. But the sobering reality is that international terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda are directly impelled by Saudi clerics. To recover their credibility in the eyes of more reactionary factions after years of excess, the Saudi family has embarked on an ambitious global campaign to support incubators of violence and extremism from Algeria to the Philippines. In sum, Al-Qaeda would not exist absent Saudi money and membership.

False Arguments

Washington needs to end its delusion that the Saudi royal family is a moderating force within Saudi politics when the realty is that it has produced a well-funded launch pad for a fascist ideology. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of Saudi apologists. The so-called specialists and academics continue to argue that Islamic terror is the consequence of Islam enduring Western humiliation. But in fact, Saudi Arabia has never been subjugated by the West, instead it has only been cuddled and bribed to ridiculous extremes. And in turn the West has received a torrent of violence and hateful venom.

Equally as erroneous is the contention that an accommodation of non-Wahhabi religions is somehow a break with traditional Islam. This absurd notion is blatantly untrue. Qatar, another Wahhabi state, has actually authorized the establishment of churches. Also, neighboring Bahrain contains thriving Christian, Jewish, and Hindu communities. One can even find a Hindu temple in Oman.

The Future

After decades of theocratic oppression, the vast majority of the Saudi people are restive for the following reasons: 1.) The Shiite minority in the southern and eastern provinces are tired of the violent persecution they have suffered at the hands of the Wahhabist clergy. 2.) The young people of Saudi Arabia want to live in a modern society where they can utilize their enterprising talents and energies to build a prosperous future. 3.) Lastly, non-Wahhabi scholars are already calling on the royal family to reject the officially sanctioned intolerant state religion and replace it with pluralistic Ottoman-Islamic traditions. Remarkably, thousands of young people are turning to Sufism as an expression of protest against the entrenched religious establishment.

The transition to a reasonably open Malaysian parliamentary model from its current medieval state need not be catastrophic. The Saudi monarchy could remain as a symbolic body with power concentrated in a representative legislature. Indeed, the position that a more strict Islamic system might emerge if the House of Saud is brushed aside is ludicrous. Proponents of this view often cite the emergence of an Iranian-style regime as a possible consequence. However, this is a specious historical analogy since the Iranian people never experienced the harsh strictures of Islamic law prior to the ascension of the Islamic Republic. The people of Saudi Arabia know this repression all too well and they are dead tired of it.

Conclusion

Saudi Arabia and its militant Islamic doctrines constitute a clear and present danger to the United States and the international community. The U.S. should demand a full accounting of Saudi complicity in the September 11th terrorist attacks. We should no longer accept the status quo and forcefully pressure the kingdom to cut its ties to terrorism.

* This summary account was written by Zachary Constantino, a research assistant at the Middle East Forum.

Saudi king slams Russia, China for vetoing Syria resolution

Saudi King Abdullah

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226025.html

Saudi Arabia's ruler King Abdullah has criticized China and Russia for blocking a UN Security Council resolution against Syria.

King Abdullah on Friday described Moscow and Beijing's decision to veto the anti-Syria resolution as an “unfavorable move” that undermined world confidence at the United Nations.

“What took place (at the UN Security Council) does not augur well... World confidence in the United Nations has undoubtedly been shaken," King Abdullah said in a short televised speech.

"No matter how powerful, countries cannot rule the whole world. The world is ruled by brains, by justice, by morals and by fairness," the Saudi ruler said referring to China and Russia. He however, did not single out the two countries by name.

King Abdullah's criticism against Russia and China and accusing them of blocking attempts to end violence in Syria comes as Saudi troops are brutally suppressing anti-government protesters east of the kingdom and helping Bahrain in its deadly crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are accused of fueling unrest in Syria by arming and funding terrorist groups to battle the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Earlier this week the members of six-nation [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, expelled Syrian ambassadors from their capitals and recalled their own envoys from Damascus to protest what they called Syrian government violence against its civilians.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March and many people have lost their lives in the violence.

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing protesters. But Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

Saudis face 'hidden energy crisis'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/225438.html

Saudi Arabia is facing a “hidden energy crisis” and its vast domestic fuel consumption threatens its place in the world oil market, a report says.

According to a December 2011 report published by the British Chatham House non-governmental organization based in London, the “unrestrained” fuel consumption in Saudi Arabia shows that the current patterns of energy demand in the country are “wasting valuable resources.”

The patterns of energy demand in Saudi Arabia are also causing excessive pollution and making the country “vulnerable to economic and social crises,” the report adds.

Although Saudi Arabia is a member state of the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20) and the G20 members agreed in September 2009 to phase out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” in the medium term, Riyadh does not have an “overarching policy on energy consumption and claims it has no inefficient fossil fuel subsidies,” according to the Chatham House report.

The British organization also said in its report that the domestic energy consumption in Saudi Arabia could “limit its exports of oil within a decade.”

The Chatham House report added that the limitation in the Saudi oil exports would have “a severe effect on government spending, over 80 percent of which is dependent on oil revenues.”

Ex-German minister slams Saudi deal

A German-made Leopard battle tank (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191864.html

The former German development minister has joined the opposition Green Party, condemning Berlin for a suspected sale of 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia.

"The tank deal with Saudi Arabia is a catastrophic decision," Deutsche Welle quoted Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul as saying on Monday.

She further called on the foreign minister to explain how the government could openly support the Egyptian people while at the same time secretly conduct an arms deal with the oppressive regime in Saudi Arabia.

This "is the exact opposite of the government's public stance on the democratic uprisings in the Arab World," she said.

Her comment comes a day after the opposition Greens announced that it will take the government to the Constitutional Court over the secret deal.

"A suit brought by the members of parliament Christian Stroebele, Claudia Roth and Katja Keul was filed on Friday" a Green party spokeswoman said.

While the Green Party has called for the report to be made public, the government has claimed that on the basis of national security, it will not comment on the matter.

However, the sale has been publicly known since early July when the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported the decision by the Federal Security Council's multi-billion-dollar sale.

The deal came while Germany had imposed a ban on the sale of advanced Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, citing fears that they might be used against Israel.

The Saudis are also in talks with American companies to buy nearly USD 60 billion worth of arms, including 84 new F-15 fighter jets and 178 combat helicopters.

The sales come at a time when Riyadh is being roundly censured for its military interventions in neighboring Bahrain and Yemen.

The Saudi army launched an all-out military offensive against Houthi fighters in Yemen's northern province of Sa'ada in 2010. In March 2011, the Saudis deployed troops in Bahrain to help the regime's forces crack down on nationwide protests.

US plans nuclear talks with Saudi Arabia

US President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia's king Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191546.html

Senior officials at the White House have said that the Obama administration is planning to resume talks with Saudi Arabia about a potential nuclear cooperation.

A team of US diplomats are expected to visit the Saudi capital of Riyadh to "discuss the possibility of moving forward on a nuclear cooperation agreement," a congressional aide said on the condition of anonymity, AFP reported.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a lawmaker from the Republican Party has criticized the move, saying that "its ties to terrorists and terror financing alone should rule it out as a candidate for the US nuclear cooperation."

"I am astonished that the administration is even considering a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia," she added.

Washington and Riyadh signed a tentative agreement on developing civilian nuclear technologies in 2008.

The Obama administration, like its predecessor, has sought to promote nuclear cooperation with allies.

Washington also signed a nuclear cooperation deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2009. The deal meant that the UAE would renounce their plans to enrich and reprocess uranium in exchange of having the right to purchase the material from international suppliers.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has also been pursuing nuclear cooperation agreements with South Korea, Japan, France and Russia.

In February, 2011, France singed a nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia, offering the kingdom nuclear know-how.

Riyadh blocks Amnesty Intl. website

Amnesty International's logo

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/190784.html

The Saudi Arabian authorities have blocked public access to Amnesty International's website in response to the rights group's censure of Riyadh's intolerance toward dissent.

"Access to Amnesty International's website has been blocked in Saudi Arabia… following the organization's criticism of a draft anti-terror law that would stifle peaceful protest in the kingdom," the group said in a statement issued on Monday, AFP reported.

The so-called Draft Penal Law for Terrorism Crimes and Financing Terrorism authorizes the kingdom to detain people 'potentially indefinitely' without charge or trial.

It also allows the Saudi authorities to give a 10-year prison sentence to anyone who questions the integrity of King Abdullah or Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.

"Instead of attacking those raising concerns and attempting to block debate, the Saudi Arabian government should amend the draft law to ensure that it does not muzzle dissent and deny basic rights," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa director, said in the statement.

Sporadic protests have been held across the country despite a ban imposed by the Ministry of the Interior on demonstrations and public gatherings.

Saudi citizens have been expressing outrage over the government's imprisonment of people without charge and its suppression of women's rights. The unemployed have been calling for job opportunities and a fair share of the biggest Arab economy's oil income.

In April, the German newspaper Die Welt cited documents showing that 7,000 Saudi princes control the country's oil and business enterprises.

HR activists rap proposed Saudi law

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/190235.html

Saudi and international human rights activists have criticized a proposed Saudi “counterterrorism” law that would mandate long jail sentences for criticizing the Arab country's monarch.

The human rights activists say that the proposed law, which would give Saudi Arabia's interior ministry extensive powers, would allow prisoners to be held either without trials or with trials and appeals that are held secretly, the New York Times reported.

The activists have explained that the law was first proposed in 2003, but was put on hold, and has now been revived due to the sweeping anti-regime rallies across the region.

The law would also allow the Saudi interior ministry to tap phones or conduct house searches without permission from the judiciary.

The definitions of terrorism-related crimes in the proposed law have also been described as vague.

“Ninety-nine percent of the law has nothing to do with terrorism, it has to do with political dissent,” said defense lawyer Bassem Alim.

“Every single thing we criticized them about in the past is going to be legitimate,” he added.

Princess Basma Bint Saud, a niece of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and a social activist and prominent supporter of women's issues in the kingdom, had earlier called on the Saudi rulers to be more open to changes, stressing that no Arab country is immune to the sweeping wave of popular movements.

"No one is immune from the seasonal geographical winds of change that are sweeping our Arab homeland. Those who say we are immune are wrong," she said.

Several right groups and international bodies including the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have frequently condemned the Saudi regime for their widespread violation of human rights.

UK MPs attack govt. arms sales policy

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/190153.html

Senior British MPs have condemned the country's coalition government for selling crowd control weapons to the authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa.

UK lawmakers challenged the government over its agreement to sell a variety of arms, including sniper rifles and machine guns to Mideast and North African countries where the weapons are used in attacking anti-regime protesters, despite official guidelines blocking the arms exports to the countries where they could be used for internal repression.

Earlier this year, the Commons arms export controls committees asked for an urgent review of weapons exports to the "authoritarian regimes worldwide,” especially to Hosni Mubarak's and Muammar Gaddafi's regimes in Egypt and Libya, also to Bahrain, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Observers have revealed that the military trucks used by the Bahraini forces to repress popular anti-government protests were British vehicles sold to Saudi Arabia.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted that the government had conducted a review. “It concluded that there was no evidence of any misuse of controlled military goods exported from the United Kingdom," he said.

"Consultations with our overseas posts revealed no evidence that any of the offensive naval, air or land-based military platforms used by governments in North Africa or the Middle East against their own populations during the Arab spring, were supplied from the United Kingdom,” Hague insisted.

Meanwhile, Sir John Stanley, a former Conservative defense minister and chairman of the arms controls committees, criticized the review, saying he was not surprised by the result of the review.

"Given that there has been, understandably, an almost total absence of official observers in close proximity to the violent internal repression that has been taking place, and given also the fact that the UK government approved arms exports including machine guns, sniper rifles, combat shot-guns and ammunition were not emblazoned with Union Jacks, it is hardly surprising that the [Foreign Office] could safely conclude 'there was no evidence of any misuse of controlled military goods exported from the United Kingdom',” Stanley said in a statement.

He added the government's decision to revoke 157 arms export licenses to the crisis-hit Arab countries was the most obvious evidence of “the scale of the misjudgment of the risk that arms approved for export to certain authoritarian countries in north Africa and the Middle East might be used for internal repression, a misjudgment by both the present government and its predecessor.”

Stanly urged Hague to provide more information about the government's arms export policy, raising questions why the government had not “revoked arms and arms-related exports to Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen, as well as to Libya, Egypt, and Bahrain.”

Iraq MPs Riyadh fosters terrorism

File photo of Iraqi parliament

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189519.html

Iraqi parliamentarians have accused Saudi Arabia of variously contributing to the deadly terrorist activities carried out on the violence-hit country's soil.

The lawmakers said Riyadh provides financial and moral support for the terrorist groups in Iraq, a Press TV correspondent reported on Sunday.

They said some terrorist elements, who have been detained in Iraq, have referred to Saudi officials as their patrons.

The lawmakers also accused the kingdom of recruiting terrorists and sending them to Iraq in different ways.

Riyadh fosters terror due to its unease with Baghdad's sound relations with its northern and eastern neighbors, the parliamentarians concluded.

Political analysts say Riyadh has failed in its attempts to prevent the coming into power of the current Shia-led government in Iraq.

The official religion in Saudi Arabia is Wahhabism -- an extremely intolerant interpretation of Islam.

The Saudi Wahhabis, also known as Salafis, have been blamed for fueling and funding terrorism against Shia Muslims as well as others across the world.

Iraqi officials have also pointed to fatwas (religious decrees) issued by some religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, sanctioning the killing of Shia Muslims.

The lawmakers' warnings came as the Saudi authorities have deployed forces to the Shia-majority Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, reinforcing Manama's already brutal crackdown on peaceful protests.

Saudi Arabia bribed Germany for tank deal?

A Leopard 2 heavy tank in a military exercise in Letzlingen, Germany on March 9, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/188244.html

A senior German lawmaker has revealed that Riyadh is believed to have paid bribe to Germany in order to convince it to sign a deal to sell advanced military tanks to the Persian Gulf kingdom.

It is likely that Riyadh has bribed Berlin to sign a deal to sell the tanks to Saudi Arabi, Deutsche Welle quoted senior Greens MP Christian Stroeble as saying.

The purchase follows Saudi Arabia's $93 billion handout to Germany in March as a 'stimulus package' from Saudi King Abdullah to Berlin in March that included extra support for police and security forces, the report says.

The German government has come under pressure over revelations of the arms deal in which it has reportedly sold advanced tanks capable of crushing anti-government protests to Saudi Arabia.

Germany's tank deal with Saudi Arabia has caused outrage, drawing criticism from across the political spectrum, Germany's.

According to the report, an informed source recently revealed to media that Saudi Arabia's deal included a bid to purchase 200 2A7+ Leopard tanks from Germany.

"So far, Saudi has bought 44 tanks from Germany and in total wants to buy 200 tanks from Germany," the unnamed source said.

The news caused outrage in Germany where memories of Saudi troops suppressing Bahrain's anti-government protestors are still fresh, and the mood was even aggravated by a video posted on Youtube apparently showing how the 2A7+ could be used to break up demonstrations.

Riyadh is believed to have used the tanks to help crush anti-government protests in Bahrain, a hereditary monarchy in the Persian Gulf island.

"If German Leopard tanks are being used to clear barricades and suppress demonstrations, then we carry some responsibility for violating human rights," says Renke Brahms, a peace commissioner for the Evangelical Church in Germany.

Hans-Joachim Otto, the state secretary for the country's economics ministry, defended Germany's business alliance with Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia has obtained armaments from Germany for many years," Otto told the German parliament on Wednesday.

Opposition lawmakers have blasted the Merkel administration for violating Germany's policies.

"This is a blatant breach of weapons export guidelines," said senior parliamentarian Katja Keul, noting that the sophisticated tanks should not be exported to the country for repression purposes.

In March, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed their military forces to Bahrain to help the government crush the nationwide protests. Yet, the protests have only grown more popular.

Germany to sell Saudi Arabia battle tanks

A German-made Leopard battle tank (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/187273.html

Germany plans to sell 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia after lifting a decades-long ban on selling heavy weaponry to the Persian Gulf kingdom.

The German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported the decision on Saturday, saying the Federal Security Council approved the multi-billion-dollar sale last week.

Saudi officials held talks with the Spanish subsidiary of the US military-industrial complex corporation General Dynamics about buying their version of the Leopard tank, but a larger portion of the order will go to German companies Kraus-Maffei and Rheinmetall, the report said.

Under the deals announced by the German government, Saudi Arabia will receive 200 of the last generation of Leopard 2A7+ tanks -- the upgraded version of the German battle tank first presented in 2010.

Germany imposed a ban on the sale of advanced Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, citing fears that they might be used against Israel.

The Saudis are also in talks with US companies to buy nearly 60 billion dollars worth of arms, including 84 new F-15 fighter jets and 178 combat helicopters.

The sales come at a time when Riyadh is being roundly censured for its military interventions in neighboring Bahrain and Yemen.

The Saudi army launched an all-out military offensive against Houthi fighters in Yemen's northern province of Sa'ada in 2010. In March 2011, the Saudis deployed troops to Bahrain to help the regime's forces crack down on nationwide protests.

'Saudi bid to undermine Iran worries US'

Former Saudi ambassador to the US Prince Bandar bin Sultan al Saud has reportedly been leading Riyadh's anti-Iran efforts

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183780.html

A recent report published on the Wall Street Journal claims Saudi Arabia's efforts to counter Iran's primacy in the Middle East have started to worry the US.

According to the report, Saudi officials have approached Pakistan, Malaysia and other Muslim states to lend military and political support to the Bahraini monarchy, under the pretext of countering Iranian influence in the Persian Gulf sheikhdom.

Saudi National Security Council Chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan al Saud has reportedly told high ranking Pakistani generals that the US cannot be relied on to quell the popular uprisings across the Middle East or protect Pakistan's interests in South Asia.

The efforts have increased strain in Riyadh-Washington ties as US officials have been concerned that the inclusion of Pakistan into the Saudi scheme would complicate their efforts to influence Islamabad's security apparatus.

US officials, who work closely with Saudi Arabia, have acknowledged Riyadh's frustration and added skepticism about the effectiveness of their efforts.

“They (the Saudis) are not happy with us, and are really nervous about Iran… but I don't think they are going to go too far," the report quoted an unnamed US official as saying.

Pakistan receives hundreds of millions of dollars a year in Saudi aid, mainly in the form of subsidized oil. However, a senior Pakistani official said Islamabad has no immediate plans to send soldiers for "operational purposes."

The official said a Pakistani battalion has been training security forces in Bahrain since before the unrest began in February, but said the battalion has never taken part in the crackdown on peaceful Bahraini protesters.

Bahrain's municipal police force is largely comprised of Pakistani recruits.

'Saudi Arabia seeks to limit MENA uprisings'

On March 14, Saudi Arabia deployed troops to Bahrain at Manama's request to help crush the nationwide anti-government protests in the tiny Persian Gulf sheikdom

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183858.html

Saudi Arabia has been using financial and diplomatic means to prevent the recent uprisings and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) from bringing about further change, a report says।

According to the report published in the New York Times, Saudi Arabia has donated USD 4 billion in aid to Egypt, and has been trying to “ease out” Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh।

Riyadh has also invited the kingdoms of Morocco and Jordan to join the six-member [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC), in an attempt to “create a kind of 'Club of Kings.'”
The moves are intended to “forestall more radical change।”

On March 14, Saudi Arabia deployed troops to Bahrain at Manama's request to help crush the nationwide anti-government protests in the tiny Persian Gulf sheikdom.

According to political analysts, Riyadh fears that the wave of uprisings and revolutions in the Arab world will reach Saudi Arabia, and thus, the Arab kingdom is scrambling to forge a “counterrevolution।”

Saudi Arabia sacks army chief

Saudi King Abdullah has announced the retirement of the chief of the General Staff of the Saudi Arabian Army Field Marshal Saleh al-Muhaya (pictured above).

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/181095.html

Saudi Arabia has appointed new officials to several key posts after dismissing their predecessors.

Saudi King Abdullah issued a decree on Friday, announcing the retirement of the chief of staff of the Saudi armed forces, Field Marshal Saleh al-Muhaya, AFP reported.

The decree, published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, also assigned Muhaya's deputy, Gen. Hussein bin Abdullah al-Qubail, as his successor, and promoted Gen. Khaled bin Bander bin Abdelaziz Al Saud to head the Saudi army.

The order also dismissed the president of the administrative court, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Haqil, and the deputy minister of higher education, Ali al-Attiya.

A cabinet reshuffle has been expected for several weeks in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has not been immune from the wave of anti-government protests that have swept across North Africa and the Middle East.

There have been a number of demonstrations in the country recently in defiance of a ban on any public gatherings.

Human rights activists say thousands of people are held in Saudi jails without charge or access to lawyers.

'Saudi Arabia, US secretly boost military ties'

US President Barack Obama (L) and Saudi King Abdullah

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180767.html

The US is secretly expanding its defense ties with Saudi Arabia despite the apparent anger expressed by the Arab side over America's role in the changes taken place in the Middle East, a report says.

The US and Saudi Arabia are also up to creating for the kingdom an air and missile defense system to protect the kingdom's oil-fields and future nuclear sites, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

The plan is based on a May 2008 deal signed by the then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef, apparently went underway in 2009 or 2010, and is meant to create 'facilities security force,' which would maximally contain at least 35,000 Saudi servicemen.

The collaboration is overseen by the US Central Command and is managed by US Army general Robert G. Catalanotti.

The squad is trained and equipped by American personnel, including staff from energy and defense departments. It is separate from the Saudi military and National Guard, which protects the royal family.

Washington has also offered Riyadh a historic 60-billion-dollar arms package that will provide Saudi with dozens of advanced combat aircraft.

Details about the elite force were learned from interviews with US officials speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of Saudi security concerns, as well as in interviews with private analysts and public statements by former US officials.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to two written requests for comment.

The Saudis want to upgrade their Patriot air defenses to the latest US version, which can knock down short-range ballistic missiles in flight. And they have expressed interest in a more capable system designed to defend against higher-flying, medium-range missiles, the report said.

The economically-demanding cooperation lives on despite the fact that poverty and unemployment are currently affecting the lives of millions of people in the kingdom.

Saudi media face fresh restrictions

The Saudi media is tightly supervised by the ruling Al-Saud dynasty, headed by King Abdullah (center

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/177448.html

Saudi Arabia has imposed new media restrictions, threatening news organizations that allegedly undermine national security, with heavy fines and closure.

Under a decree issued by Saudi King Abdullah on Friday, the media will be prohibited from reporting anything that contradicts the Islamic law or "foreign interests," an AFP report said.

The rule also requires publishers to stick "to objective and constructive criticism that serves the general interest."

Violators of the new decree face fines of up to 500,000 riyals -- which equals USD 133,000.

Saudi authorities can also ban a writer for life from contributing to any media organization.

The Saudi media is tightly supervised by the ruling Al Saud dynasty and most of the country's leading newspapers are owned by people who are a part of or closely linked to the government.

The new restrictions come as the Kingdom tries to prevent the spread of regional uprisings and revolutions to Saudi Arabia.

This is while, during the past months, Saudi Arabia's oil-rich east has been the scene of anti-government protests.

On Friday, Saudi Arabian riot police attacked a peaceful protest rally in the city of Qatif, injuring at least five people while attempting to disperse demonstrators by force.

The demonstrators have poured into the streets to condemn Riyadh's role in the brutal crackdown on Bahraini protesters.

They are also calling for human rights reform, freedom of expression and the release of political prisoners held without trial for more than 16 years.

Human Rights Watch says more than 160 protesters have been arrested since February as part of the Saudi government's crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Among those taken into custody are two prominent anti-regime bloggers, local activists say.

According to the Saudi-based Human Rights First Society (HRFS), many detainees have been subject to torture both physically and mentally.

Several injured in Saudi Arabia protest

Anti-government protesters in Saudi Arabia's eastern region of Qatif demand the release of prisoners held without trial at a march that was later broken up by police with stun grenades and rounds of gunfire. (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170496.html

Several people have been injured after police fired rubber bullets at anti-government protesters in Saudi Arabia's eastern region of Qatif as Friday's million-man-march looms.

On Thursday, over 4,000 protesters thronged the streets in the eastern city of Qatif and clamoured for political reforms and the release of political prisoners, reports said.

According to witness accounts, police forces fired live rounds and tear gas to disperse the crowd, leaving several people injured, while more rallies were held in solidarity with the people of Bahrain in the city.

Demonstrators also called for an end to military incursion in Bahrain, after Riyadh dispatched at least 1,000 troops to the Persian Gulf country to help quell protests there.

Protesters chanted and held signs that urged the government to stay out of Bahrain, and called for a million-man-march for Friday.

Witnesses added that just as tens of tanks were moving to Qatif, thousands of demonstrators including clerics and women continued their peaceful march in the city despite the tight security by riot police.

Anti-government protests have recently flared up in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the eastern parts of the country, despite a state ban on demonstrations in the kingdom.

Riyadh has stepped up its crackdown on anti-government protests in response.

Saudi Arabia's minority Shias has complained of discrimination, saying they often struggle to obtain senior government jobs and benefits available to other citizens -- a charge that the Saudi government has flatly denied.

Protesters call for 'Saudi Revolution'

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168319.html

A group of Saudi youths has called for a “Saudi Revolution” on March 20, using Facebook, to demand democratic and political reform in the monarchy.

The Facebook group, which has over 17,000 members, also called for a “Day of Rage” to be held on March 11, DPA reported.

Activists now allege that state security forces have shot dead online activist Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahadwas, 27, the main administrator of the Facebook group calling for the coordinated protests.

They say the body of Abdul-Ahadwas has been confiscated by authorities to "hide evidence of the crime," and that he was killed because of "his commitment to a better future for his country," DPA stated.

Recent protests have hit the country following uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Demonstrators are demanding the release of political prisoners held without trial, including a senior Shia cleric, Sheikh Tawfiq al-Aamer -- arrested last week after calling for constitutional monarchy.

In Riyadh, security helicopters hovered over a protest site after the Friday Prayers near the al-Rajhi mosque. At least three people were arrested.

Hundreds of people staged anti-government protests in several eastern towns, and some 22 others were detained on Thursday night after holding a protest in the town of al-Hufuf

The Interior Ministry on Saturday announced on state television that security forces will take all measures necessary to prevent any further disturbance of order.

On February 23, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz suddenly promised a 36-billion-dollar package of additional benefits for people. He also ordered the implementation of a 15-percent pay hike for state employees as well as an increase in the cash available for housing loans.

Analysts believe the huge hike in benefits introduced by the Saudi king was intended to avert an uprising in the country.

Saudi Arabia bans protests, gatherings

Saudi citizens stage protests in towns in Saudi Arabia's oil-producing Eastern Province

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168421.html

Saudi Arabia has banned all kinds of rallies and gatherings, as anti-government protests demanding democratic change and the release of political prisoners gain momentum in the monarchy.

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry described protests as “illegal” in a Saturday statement and declared that security forces were "authorized by law to take all measures needed against those who try to break the law."

"Regulations in the kingdom forbid categorically all sorts of demonstrations, marches and sit-ins... as they contradict Islamic Sharia law and the values and traditions of Saudi society," SPA state news agency quoted the ministry as saying.

The decision came after anti-government demonstrations were held after the Friday prayers in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and other cities.

Hundreds of Saudi protesters took to the streets in Riyadh, for the first time, to join anti-government protests in other cities in the country, calling for the release of political prisoners.

Protesters gathered in front of Al-Rajhi Mosque in the eastern part of the capital, chanting anti-government and anti-corruption slogans.

Witnesses say Saudi security forces detained at least three people, who had chanted slogans against the Saudi monarchy, in Riyadh.

At the same time, groups of protesters continued their rallies in the towns of al-Hufuf, al-Ahsa, and al-Qatif in the Eastern Province, with demonstrators demanding the release of political prisoners, including a senior Shia cleric.

In al-Hufuf, the peaceful protest rally, which condemned the Saudi government's detention of Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer, was held following the Friday prayers.

A similar protest, which was held in al-Qatif, was dispersed by Saudi security forces, witnesses said.

The Shia cleric was arrested on February 25 after delivering a sermon, in which he said that Saudi Arabia should become a constitutional monarchy.

In a move to intensify its crackdown on mass protests planned next week, the Saudi government also has decided to deploy thousands of anti-riot police to northeastern Saudi Arabia.

This comes against the backdrop of growing calls on Internet for a massive anti-government protest expected later in March.

A group of Saudi youths has called for a “Saudi Revolution” on March 20, using Facebook, to demand democratic and political reform in the monarchy.

The Facebook group, which has over 17,000 members, also called for a “Day of Rage” to be held on March 11. Tens of thousands of Saudis have already joined the drive.

Protests and public displays of dissent are forbidden in Saudi Arabia. The government has become increasingly nervous about the protests that have taken the Arab world by storm, toppling the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents, and recently reaching Oman, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya.

'Massive protests loom in Saudi Arabia'

A photo of a street in the Saudi town of Awwamiya where a rally was recently held to demand the release of political prisoners

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168262.html

Massive anti-government protests are impending in Saudi Arabia following the arrest of a senior cleric who called for political reform in the country, an analyst says.

The recent "crackdown” in the city of Qatif on a protest for the release of political prisoners will have dire repercussions for the government in Saudi Arabia, political analyst Mohamed al-Massari told Press TV on Saturday.

“They made a stupid mistake by attacking women and so on because they think Shia women do not have ... the honor protection like the rest of the women in the country. But attacking women in Saudi Arabia, in an Islamic country is very severe, very negative and catastrophic ... and this will have dire repercussions,” al-Massari said.

On Thursday, hundreds of protesters in the cities of Qatif and Awamiyya took to the streets and called for the release of Shia prisoners, who they say are being held unjustly, some as long as 16 years.

"We want the prisoners free but we also have other demands. We want equality," a protester in Qatif said.

Saudi authorities arrested 22 people for taking part in the protest in Qatif.

Witnesses say Saudi security forces detained at least three people after repeating slogans against the Saudi monarchy.

On Friday, a peaceful protest rally was also held in al-Hufuf district in the Eastern Province after the Friday prayers to condemn the Saudi government's detention of Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer who had called for a constitutional monarchy in the kingdom.

Al-Massari predicted that the government's latest clampdown would bring “thousands more” into the streets on “the eleventh of March” against the government move.

He further noted that the authorities will face a catch-22 in the situation should they resort to force.

“If they use force there will be counter-force,” said the political analyst, adding, “We still have people who are willing to defend their honor with arms.”

Saudi youths have named March 11 the Day of Rage on the social networking website, Facebook.

On February 23, Saudi King Abdullah suddenly promised a $36 billion-package of extra benefits for his people, upon his return from a long medical trip to the US.

Analysts believe the huge hike in benefits introduced by the Saudi king is actually intended to avert an uprising in the Arab country.

Protests and public displays of dissent are forbidden in Saudi Arabia. The government has become increasingly nervous about the protests that have taken the Arab world by storm, toppling the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents, and which recently reached Oman, Bahrain, Yeman and Libya.