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July 23, 2004 |
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THE KINGDOM IS STRONG WITH GOD'S WILL AND ITS PEOPLE. THE DEEDS OF THE DEVIANT GROUP NEITHER SERVE THE RELIGION NOR THE COUNTRY. THE WANTED IBRAHIM AL-QAIDI SURRENDERS TO THE SAUDI EMBASSY IN DAMASCUS. SAUDI ARABIA CONDEMNS THE INCIDENTS OF MIRAN MOUNTAIN AND STRESSES ITS SOLIDARITY WITH YEMEN. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received at the Royal Court at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah a number of princes, ministers, senior officials and citizens who came to greet him. Crown Prince Abdullah also separately received delegations of the University of Taiba in Madina, the people of Alras province, mosques' imams and preachers, Al Shabanat family belonging to the Rawdhat Sodair center in the province of Majmaa, the tribe of Thawi Hattab from Al Shalawat in Al Harith and the tribe of Quraish belonging to the Taif province. Addressing the audience, representatives of each group denounced the acts perpetrated by the deviating group in the country. On his part, Crown Prince Abdullah thanked them for their noble feelings and support. He vowed to crush the deviating group sooner or later. The receptions were attended by a number of princes and officials. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard received a group of administrators and faculty members of the newly established Taiba University in Madina. Mansour Al-Nuzha, the university s director, expressed in a speech his staff s support of the government s efforts to remove deviant ideas from the minds of youths. Crown Prince Abdullah congratulated them for having the university. You are professors, teachers and fathers I hope that you, and all tutors in all universities, would teach the students whatever is good for their religion, their country and their Arab and Islamic nations, said the Crown Prince. He also received a delegation of the Shabanat tribe, who condemned the acts of Abdul Mohsen Al-Shabanat, who was killed by the police in Riyadh's Muannesyya district. In response to them, Crown Prince Abdullah said: Your son (Abdul Mohsen) will not (tarnish your image and reputation.) You have always been loyal, and so have been your fathers and grandfathers. On the other hand, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has told Imams they are being closely monitored and reminded the Muslim preachers they had to battle extremists. Tell your colleagues, the mosque Imams, that we are keeping an eye on them and we know them, he told a group of Imams in a meeting last Sunday. The Crown Prince said the preachers had a responsibility to fight Islamic militants. I would like to make it clear to you that you have a special responsibility, because you ... influence young people, he said. Some of you have been utterly unsuccessful and we know them. God's wrath will fall upon them, he said. God will order one of his servants (to punish them), and we are amongst his servants, to judge them according to God's law, because they have articulated words unsuitable to a Muslim, he added. Saudi Arabia is battling a wave of extremism led by alleged supporters of Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terror network, which has more recently turned its focus to Westerners. The security services have launched a massive crackdown to try to stem the attacks which have killed some 90 people and wounded hundreds since May 2003. A study by the ministry of Islamic affairs published criticized the performance of many Imams in fighting extremism. Many Imams believe that mosques are not to be blamed for generating what the deviant groups and they consider such thought as a result of the media propaganda as part of the war waged against Islam. There is a noticeable international trend to attack Islam and blame it for whatsoever happened, said Assim Lukman Al-Hakeem, Imam of Jaafar Al-Tayyar Mosque, Jeddah. He said it is not the mosques nor the charity organizations but the impact of a war waged against Islam following the Sept. 11, 2001, attack. He said that the Saudi-American relationship is almost 75 years old. All along those years Saudis have never been accused of nourishing nor practicing terrorism, why now, he asked. Yet Al-Hakeem believes that people with a political agenda are behind the recent terrorist attacks inside the Kingdom. To him the problem is that the public is ignorant of the differences between those who seek positions under the cover of Islam and those moderate Islamic preachers. This does not mean rejecting the idea that there are some extremists among Saudi Imams, he said, but they can be counted one s fingers on one hand and none of them is Jeddah based in my knowledge, he added. Al-Hakeem confirmed that Imams are monitored but said this is not an issue as long as the Imams are saying the right thing. Imams are not informed in advance what to say or what their Friday sermon should include, he added, but we know exactly what is suitable to talk about based on the events that take place and what might concern people. Saad Abdul Rahman, Imam of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque in Khoar, agreed. He said Imams have never participated in prompting those groups to do what they did because it is unacceptable in Islam at any level. Yet if there is a role that the Imams wrongly played with regard to the recent attacks, it must be keeping silent and not interacting with the event to the extent needed. Some of the Imams kept silent waiting for clarification and justification from those groups about the reasons behind what they committed, while they could have strongly condemned it right from the beginning, Abdul Rahman said. He said that they should have probed as to what happened to direct the new generation about the tolerance of Islam and how it deals with such events. He also attributed extremist tendencies to the possible misunderstanding of the interpretation of some verses of the Holy Quran and the Hadith by some students. At the same time, they are being affected by satellite channels that encourage youth to turn against their governments for political reasons in the guise of Islam, he said. He emphasized the importance of questioning any Imam about any word that might be misinterpreted or mistakenly reported to authorities without going deeper behind the words and the context in which it was said. Both Imams agreed on that it is the time for the mosque to replay its historical role in directing youth by focusing on the different meanings of Jihad. Jihad, to them, is not only fighting non-Muslims without taking into consideration the pledges between them and Muslims. It also means fighting Devil and our worldly desire as well as polytheists with whom Muslims have no pledges or those who have intention to fight Islam, Al-Hakeem said. Responding to a speech by Abdul Aziz Al-Askar, orator of the Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud mosque in Dar iyya, Crown Prince Abdullah said that the religious men should think of what would have happened if those involved in terrorist acts were their own kin. I would want you to understand that you have a special responsibility, said Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, because you are the people who can have an effect on the hearts and minds of the youth. Therefore, you should serve your religion first and foremost, then your country, your children and your families. Imagine what would have happened to any of you if those acts were done by one of your sons? Some of you did not do well in your tasks, and we know every single one of them. God will place His wrath on them. You are Muslims, and you are guides. You know how to serve your religion, your country and the whole of the Arab and Muslim world. You should say good words, because good words, as has been said, points out what is right, guide and make people understand. Good luck, and at the same time, I would like you to convey this message to your brethren of mosque Imams, because we are watching them one by one, and we know all of them, and we hope that they have good luck and good guidance. The Imams and preachers said that they stand by the government's procedures to thwart the terrorists who killed protected people, demolished property and disobeyed the rulers. Al-Askar said that the attempts of hateful people will not undermine this country, because its faith is clear, its course is moderate and its leaders are fair. An official source at the Ministry of Interior stated that following coordination between the Saudi and Syrian governments, Saudi citizen Ibrahim Al-Sadiq Al-Bakri Al-Qaidi arrived home coming from Damascus. Al-Qaidi surrendered to the Saudi embassy in Damascus expressing a desire to benefit from the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. Preparations are underway to enable Al-Qaidi's family to visit him, the official source said. The wanted Saudi militant Ibrahim Al-Sadek Al-Qaidi who surrendered to the kingdom's embassy in Damascus under a royal amnesty has arrived in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi ministry of interior said. Al-Qaidi, 33, who surrendered last Thursday, is not on a most-wanted list issued by Saudi authorities. He became the fourth militant to turn himself in under the one-month amnesty. He also confirmed earlier reports that his brother had travelled 'several times to Afghanistan and Bosnia'. Al-Qaidi disappeared from Saudi Arabia after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S., his brother told the Al-Watan newspaper, according to AP. "All measures are being taken to allow his family to visit him", it added. "He returned from Bosnia (to Saudi Arabia) after he was injured ... (He) received treatment here before disappearing again," he said. The limited amnesty offered in the name of King Fahd gave militants one month to surrender or face the "full might" of the state. Under the amnesty, militants who turn themselves in will face trial if they have been involved in attacks, but they will not be awarded the death penalty. So far four militants have turned themselves in since June 23, and Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of the Interior has ruled out any extension of the July 23 deadline. At least two "names" have been netted, though, the most prominent being Khaled Ibn Ouda Ibn Mohammed Al-Harbi, said to be a confidant of Osama bin Laden and described by Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland as a "big fish". Saudi officials say that while Harbi would have information on safe houses and the whereabouts of Al-Qaeda leaders, he is unlikely to know much about the organization's ongoing operations as he was not an operations planner in Al-Qaeda - he was bin Laden's in-house cleric, a sounding board for the Al-Qaeda chief. The other "name" is Othman Amri, who is No 19 on Saudi Arabia's list of 26 most wanted militants. Of the list of 26 wanted militants, at least 11 have either been killed or jailed. Last month, Saudi police killed Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and a few of his associates. They were wanted in connection with the beheading of Paul Johnson, an American engineer working in Riyadh. Earlier, police eliminated Al-Qaeda's chief of operations in Saudi Arabia, Khaled Ali Ali Haj. On the other hand Al-Watan reported last Friday that authorities had given Al-Harbi's wife Saudi nationality her original nationality was unclear. The unidentified woman was also given a one-time payment of 20,000 riyals equivalent to $5,300 and promised monthly payments of 3,000 riyals, or $800, apparently to cover her living expenses, the paper reported. She had appeared on television as she arrived in Saudi Arabia with her son and wheelchair-bound husband. Al-Harbi, reportedly disabled in both legs while fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, was hospitalized in Riyadh in one of the best hospital, Al-Watan reported. Under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' amnesty offer, militants involved in attacks who turn themselves in will still face trial but the state will not seek their execution if convicted. Those who have surrendered have reported being treated well and at least one has been left in his family's custody until summoned for investigation. The Saudi daily Al-Watan said Al-Qaidi called his family last week about the amnesty. "He called and was wondering, 'Is it true that there is a royal pardon?'" the newspaper quoted his elder brother Abdel Hamid as saying. "We reassured him and told him it was true, after which he called several times to tell us he has decided to surrender before the time was up." Al-Qaidi had travelled to Afghanistan to join the fight against the Soviet Union occupation in the 1990s, and later was wounded in the right hand in Bosnia, his brother Fayez told Al-Watan. He returned home for medical care, but his family reported him missing shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Meanwhile Foreign countries have handed over 27 wanted Saudis to the Kingdom's security forces, a government source said yesterday. In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the source said the authorities had "received 27 Saudi nationals wanted on security grounds from sisterly countries." The statement did not name the countries that handed over the wanted Saudis but said because of investigations under way it could give no immediate details and that new developments would be announced on the appropriate time. Also two terror suspects were arrested after a fierce gunbattle in the capital's northern King Fahd district, security sources and eyewitnesses said. They said there were no immediate reports of casualties in the shootout near Sahara Mall. The shooting came three days before the expiry of a one-month royal amnesty. The two suspects were arrested while trying to flee a villa in a Toyota Hilux pickup. The siege was lifted after the arrests. According to eyewitnesses, a blast inside the villa, in which the suspects were holed up, triggered the standoff. Unconfirmed reports said an explosion was heard in the villa at the intersection of Hisham Ibn Abdul Malek Street and Prince Ahmad Ibn Abdul Aziz Street at around 11.00 p.m. Security forces then cordoned off the area and laid siege to the villa. A shootout erupted and heavy gunfire followed. Residents said they saw one police car with smashed windows while the security forces were surrounding the area. They also said rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) were fired from inside the besieged house. Some 90 policemen and civilians, many of them foreigners, have been killed in a year-long spate of shootings and suicide bombings in the Kingdom claimed by Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile the Ministry of the Interior made the following announcement: The Saudi security forces killed two of a deviant group and wounded three others in a raid on a place believed to used by this deviant group. 'While the security forces were conducting the required investigations at a residence, suspected of being used by a deviant group, at one of the thickly populated quarters of Riyadh on Tuesday, they were attacked by various kinds of weapons including bombs and grenades', said an official source at the Interior Ministry. The security forces returned fire killing two of the deviant group and wounding three others. The members of this deviant group were arrested, while the family of Salih Al-Aufi, who is wanted by the security authorities, was detained. The family of Al-Aufi includes his wife and three children. At the time of the shooting between the security men and the deviant group, another group came from a place outside the site of the shooting in an attempt to distracts the security forces, and help their encircled colleagues, but it was firmly confronted by the security men. Later the members of this group fled, and the security men are still pursuing them. Three of the security men were slightly injured at this incident. A quantity of weapons, explosives and various documents were captured. A statement containing details of the incident will be released later. Then followed another statement issued by the Interior Ministry, which said: "With reference to the statement earlier issued about killing two of the members of the deviant group and wounding three others, an official source at the Interior Ministry said the gun battle erupted when security forces came under heavy fire from hand and rocket-propelled grenades while inspecting a residence believed to be used the deviant group at King Fahd Quarter in Riyadh. When the security men returned fire, the members of the deviant group tried to protect themselves by women and children. But with the grace of Almighty Allah, the security men were capable of killing Eisa Ibn Saad Al-Oshan and Mujab Abu Ras Al-Dosari, who were in the list of persons wanted by the security authorities, said the official source noting that three other member of the deviant group were wounded and other members were arrested and evacuated from the site of the incident. For the sake of the ongoing investigations in this respect, their identities will not be disclosed for the time being, the official source noted, and added 'members of the family of Salih Al-Aufi, who is also in the list of persons wanted by the security men, were rescued. Meanwhile, other members of the same deviant group who came from a place outside the site of the shooting, tried to distract the security men and to help their encircled colleagues, but when they firmly confronted by the security men, they fled, and the security men are still pursuing them. Later three sites were searched and two suspects were arrested, said the official source and added 'with the grace of Almighty Allah no one of the citizens was injured and only there of the security men were slightly injured'. When the site of the incident was searched, the head of John Paul Marshall, the American who was earlier kidnapped, was found after being separated from the rest of the body inside a refrigerator. In addition to that weapons and ammunitions as well as documents were found. The weapons included a Sam 7 missile, two RBG missiles, explosive materials, three hand grenades, 11 pipe bombs of various sizes, 22 gun machines, 11 pistols, more than 30,000 bullets, various telecommunications devices, a number of mobile telephone and cards, a quantity of paper documents and another quantity of magnetized disks, a number of video cameras and computer sets as well as SR 360,370. 'The Interior Ministry would like to reiterate that the security men, with the grace of Almighty Allah, are capable of pursuing and capturing remnants of the deviant group', the official source concluded. In Pakistan Saudi Ambassador Ali Awad Al Assiri stressed that there are no Saudi wanted in Pakistani custody, adding that any of them could be in Afghanistan or in the tribal areas not under the supervision of the Pakistani authorities. The Ambassador also denied the presence of any Saudi detainees in Pakistan. The Ambassador refused to answer question about the presence of Ayman Al Zawahri in Pakistan, and said he does not have any information about this. Assiri denied the presence of Pakistani forces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, or any negotiations concerning sending Pakistani forces to the Kingdom. Ambassador Assiri stressed that military cooperation between the two countries is represented only in the manoeuvres and exercises between the two countries. The Ambassador denied rumours published in some Indian newspapers saying that the kingdom supports the Pakistani nuclear programme stressing that the news are far from the truth. He talked about the guarantees provided to Saudi students to Pakistan so that they are not exploited in political activities adding that the Embassy has opened a cultural office to look after Saudi students. He said the number of Saudi students in Pakistan is around 500 amongst whom 24 who study medicine and engineering. The Ambassador talked about the difficulties Saudi students meet in Pakistan concerning their certificates. He said the Pakistani Ministry of Higher Education does not recognize their certificates while universities such as Oxford and Cambridge do. Ambassador Assiri said a new commercial counsellor has been appointed in Pakistan in order to enhance commercial and trade exchange between the two countries. On the other hand the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has painfully followed the tragic incidents recently committed by a group of extremists in Miran Mountain in the brotherly Republic of Yemen, denouncing these incidents, an official source said in a statement. Emanating from its policy and way to combat terrorism and all forms of violence, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemned the occurrence of these incidents leading to the destabilization of citizens' security and the damage to the economic and social development at a time the Arab and Muslim nations are in a pressing need for developing their capabilities and working for the welfare of their peoples and the interests of their generations, the source stated. The source stressed the Kingdom's solidarity with Yemen, praying to Almighty Allah to perpetuate its security and stability under the leadership of President Ali Abdullah Salih. The source also prayed for the protection of these nations from evils and conspiracies and for the protection of their security and stability. Meanwhile Yemen's Prime minister Abdul Qader Ba-jammal said that the Saudi support for Yemen in its fight against rebellions in Sa'ada governorate was expected and 'reflects good brotherhood and neighborhood.' Ba-jammal said that what the kingdom's support came at the time Yemen needs to bolster the national unity and that it proved the interest of Saudi leadership in pushing forward the Arab solidarity so that to face the foreign challenges. The army captured more 18 rebel fighters in Saadah including Heleiwah a senior aid of rebel leader al-Hothi, an official source in the northern province said. The source said the captured rebels were immediately taken to Sana'a aboard a military plane. Military sources say tribal gunmen loyal to the army have advanced toward al-Hakami, a most heavily fortified mountain. "The control of the mount is now imminent," says the source. Last Friday the army announced the capture of the commander of al-Howthi's bodyguards. Al-Hothi and an estimated 3000 armed followers are leading a rebellion against the government since June 18. Dialogue with al-Hothi's followers came to no avail as the scholars found that those followers have extremist thoughts and it was useless to hold dialogue with them, according a press report published last Thursday. Last Tuesday President Ali Abdullah Saleh gave directives for religious scholars to start dialogue with those arrested followers the rebel cleric. During his meeting with senior religious leaders, President Saleh delivered an account on the updates in Haidan, in the northern province of Sa'ada,where Hussein Badr Al-Din al-Hothi and dozens of armed militants are fighting security forces. He said that "It is unfortunate that those youths have been deceived by the wrong ideas of al-Hothi, who intends to stir up fanaticism and damage the national unity of the country." "Islam is a religion of moderation, tolerance, unity, mercy, justice, right and peace," he added. On the other hand Bahraini authorities are questioning six Islamists detained on suspicion of plotting a wave of attacks in the small Gulf kingdom. "Prosecutors are continuing to question the six suspects about the accusations against them, which are backed up with strong evidence," attorney general Sheikh Abdel Rahman Ibn Jaber Al-Khalifa told the official BNA news agency. He named the six as Mohammed Saleh Ali Mohammed, Bassam al-Ali, Mohieddin Mahmud Khan, Bassam Abdullah Bukhwa, and brothers Yasser and Omar Abdullah Kamal. Sheikh Abdel Rahman said authorities were no longer seeking a seventh suspect as previously announced by the interior ministry. On the other hand in the United Kingdom, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued the following statement: Foreign Office Amends Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia and Algeria (15/07/04) The Foreign Office revised its Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia and Algeria. We are no longer advising against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia and against all holiday and non-essential travel to Algeria. The decision to make these changes follows a Review of Travel Advice, which concluded that fewer such warnings should be issued. as the Foreign Secretary told Parliament on 22 June: 'In future in the case of intelligence-based terrorist threats, HMG will advise against travel to a specific country only in situations of extreme and imminent danger'. This means if the threat is sufficiently specific, large-scale or endemic to affect British nationals severely. The threat against Western interests in Saudi Arabia and Algeria has not changed. The Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia maintains that there is a high risk from terrorism and that following attacks in May and June 2004, that we believe terrorists are planning further attacks, including against Westerners and places associated with Westerners. The Travel Advice for Algeria maintains there is a continuing threat from terrorism in Algeria and that if you are planning a trip to Algeria you should be very careful about your personal security arrangements. The Travel Advice summary for Saudi Arabia now reads: There is a continuing high threat of terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Following terrorist attacks in May and June 2004, we continue to believe that terrorists are planning further attacks, including against Westerners and places associated with Westerners in Saudi Arabia. If you choose to travel to, or remain in, Saudi Arabia you should take all necessary steps to protect your safety and should make sure you have confidence in your individual security arrangements. You should maintain a high level of vigilance, particularly in public places frequented by foreigners. We have allowed non-essential staff and dependants at our missions in Saudi Arabia to leave if they wish. You should remember that Islamic law is strictly enforced in Saudi Arabia. We strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. |
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