Saudis act aggressively to denounce terrorism

[Dr. Shane]

Saudis act aggressively to denounce terrorism

Quote:

When terrorists in the Middle East attack innocent civilians, observers in the West often ask a pained question: Where's the outrage in the Muslim world? Why don't Islamic religious authorities speak out more forcefully against the terrorists and their wealthy financiers?

It remains a potent issue: Terrorism has damaged the Islamic world far more than the West, and too many Muslims have been cowed and silent. But a powerful and so far largely unreported denunciation of terrorism emerged last month from Saudi Arabia's top religious leadership, known as the Council of Senior Ulema...

"There is no gray area here," said a senior Saudi official. "Once it has come out like this, from the most senior religious body in the kingdom, it's hard for a lesser religious authority to justify violence."

The fatwa already seems to have had some impact: "Negative reaction from extremists online shows that they see this as a threat that needs to be responded to," says one senior U.S. official.

The fatwa begins with a clear definition of terrorism, which it calls "a crime aiming at destabilizing security" by attacking people or property, public or private. The document goes on to list examples of this criminal activity: "blowing up of dwellings, schools, hospitals, factories, bridges, airplanes (including hijacking), oil and pipelines." It doesn't mention any geographical area where such actions might be permissible.

What's striking is that the fatwa specifically attacks financing of terrorism. The Muslim religious council said that it "regards the financing of such terrorist acts as a form of complicity to those acts . . . to bring a conduit for sustaining and spreading of such evil acts."

...Given the role that wealthy Saudis have played in financing radical Islamic groups, the fatwa has a significant potential impact. For Muslims in the kingdom, it has the force of law and it will provide a strong religious and legal backing for Saudi and other Arab security services as they track terrorist networks.

It will be harder, too, for renegade clerics to issue rival fatwas that contradict the Saudi Ulema. The signatories are guardians of the conservative Wahhabi school of Islam, which to observers has sometimes seemed to sympathize with the Muslim extremists. The fatwa, dated April 12 but issued publicly in May, was approved unanimously by the 19 members of the council. To implement the fatwa, the Saudi Shura Council is drafting a counterterrorism finance law.

[phkrause]

Shane thanks for the post. I'm wondering if the governments approach to the muslim world is finally getting some results. I know that Egypt has already been helping, and not only with us but with Israel as well. Not sure that the real radical ones will ever come around.

[karl]

I don't think you could call the wait of this many years to denounce terrorism "acting aggressively."

It is loonnnng overdue. Hopefully we will get a turnaround.

[Dr. Shane]

Yes, I think those that criticized President Obama for bowing to the Saudi King are being shown what bowing gets us. This is definitely a feather in Obama's foreign relation's hat.

[karl]

Some Saudi officials were perplexed by the fatwa, noting that there are laws on the books already that make funding terrorism a crime.

But they noted that the fatwa made no distinction between terrorism and the violence that is widely regarded as legitimate and usually called “resistance”. For example, some Muslims regard attacks on US occupation troops in Iraq, or on Israeli soldiers in the occupied territories as acceptable under Islamic law. Time will tell whether this lack of distinguishing some violence as legitimate will decrease overall violent attacks by muslims.

The major stumbling-block to a comprehensive convention against terrorism at the UN has been a concerted effort by Islamic states to carve out an exception for murdering civilians of their choosing. Israelis top the list, but Americans are not far behind.

The terrorism convention of the Organization of the Islamic States accordingly creates an exception to its phony denunciation of terrorism. Exempt from “terrorist crimes” are “peoples' struggle including armed struggle against foreign occupation, aggression, colonialism, and hegemony, aimed at liberation and self-determination.”

[bonnie]

I don't think you could call the wait of this many years to denounce terrorism "acting aggressively."

It is loonnnng overdue. Hopefully we will get a turnaround.

I doubt whether the bowing and fawning performance by the president is behind the willingness of Eygpt.

They have the same enemy in common in Hamas.Eygpt has feared a a Islamic revolution with Hamas involved

[Dr. Shane]

Well, say whatever but Obama is getting results and deserves credit where credit is due. This is a big one and he deserves a high five.