Saudi Arabia on the boil
uploaded 25 Mar 2003
Saudi Arabia Seems Calm, but, Many Say, Is Seething
With war rumbling beyond its eastern border and violent antiwar demonstrations rocking neighbors to the north and south, many people here wonder how long Saudi Arabia can maintain its eerie calm.
"The atmosphere is boiling," declared Mohsen al-Awajy, a tall, angular Islamic scholar, distinguished by a long beard and white head scarf without the usual black headband. He says even his daughters are urging him to join Al Qaeda and follow Osama bin Laden.
"Our children are taking this a step further than us because they are affected by the injustice of the war led by the U.S.," he said, adding that he fears the mood could erupt into violence. "The Saudi street is fertile for any action."
Saudi Arabia's royal family, many of whose most powerful members were educated in the United States, is caught between its longstanding American allies and an increasingly anti-American population deeply opposed to the war. Those tensions have been heightened by the presence of thousands of American troops in the country, including the United States commander of the air war. Though the Saudi government officially denies it, the bombing campaign is being directed from this country — something that few Saudis realize.
"If people knew that, they'd be in the streets," said a senior Arab diplomat in the capital, calling Saudi Arabia a "volcano" that could blow at any time.
The country's leaders are clearly angry with Washington for risking the region's stability to prosecute what they call an illegitimate war. Saudi Arabia has long urged the United States to put its energy into solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rather than inflaming passions with an attack on Iraq.
"We worked very hard to prevent it, and we've worked very hard toward having a soft landing after a mistake that is so threatening to the region," Prince Saud, the kingdom's Princeton-educated foreign minister, said in a briefing Saturday.
He said the public's anger was natural and added that if the war was not concluded quickly and its aftermath handled with care, "this anger will continue to mount and continue to expand."
That anger is increasingly evident in the country's newspapers, currently the only available forum for frank public debate. The front page of Saudi Gazette today carried a photo of two British soldiers staring down at the crumpled bodies of two dead Iraqis with a white flag of surrender by their side. Another photo showed the face of a crying, wounded Iraqi child.
In an open letter to Crown Prince Abdullah, carried in two of the country's largest newspapers, a well-known Saudi lawyer called on the government to lift its restriction on public action against the war.
"It is time for us to move into a new era that will lead the nation from a state of inaction to one of positive confrontation against any aggressor who violates the sovereignty and sanctity of countries and murders our brethren wherever they are," the letter read.
The emotions extend into Saudi Arabia's elite society. Sitting in the hushed lobby of Riyadh's best hotel, a prominent Saudi intellectual received several messages and phone calls on his cellular phone late today from people expressing their support for the Iraqis.
"Pray seven times for victory against the Americans," read one message, which he said had come from a member of the royal family.
So far the Saudi government has kept its populace calm by referring reassuringly to "brotherly Iraq" and declaring that it will not get involved in the war. An active intelligence agency has also rounded up dozens of suspected militants, and armed soldiers keep watch in areas of the city frequented by Westerners.
But the lack of action belies the deep feelings here.
"Of course we don't like the war, but we're not allowed to protest," said Fars Altamimi, 24, sitting in the small living room of his home in a poor neighborhood of Riyadh. He says he believes that the United States has turned against the Arab world.
Mr. Awajy, the scholar, argues that repressing protests is only increasing frustration, particularly among young Islamic extremists.
With the median age in the kingdom 17 and the population growing far faster than the job market, there are plenty of frustrated young Saudis who might turn to action. A slack economy is worsening the situation.
Many of those bored and jobless youths find solace in religion, creating a huge pool of potential militants.
"What we are worried about is the growth of extremism under this repression," Mr. Awajy said. "Not giving people a peaceful way of expressing their outrage is creating an explosive situation."
There is no evidence that any organized network has yet coalesced from the widespread political dissent and anti-American sentiment, but Saudis say such an organization could appear quickly.
"The raw materials are available," Mr. Awajy said, adding that weapons were easily acquired across the Yemen border. "We have thousands of youths well trained in explosives in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and now they are here."
Source: New York Times
