Posted by NEWS on 10/5/2005, 17:35:28 Saudi Prince Khaled Al-Faisal bin Abd Al-'Aziz, governor of the 'Asir province, is one of the most prominent opponents of the Islamist worldview. He is the owner of the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan, which is considered relatively open to all political views Al-Faisal is also the head of the Arab Thought Foundation, which he founded in 2001 with the goals of raising Arab funds to support Arab culture and of providing a link between intellectuals and decision-makers. [1] In a number of recent interviews Al-Faisal called upon the Saudi public and rulers "to fight against all the hidden deviant ideas that have infiltrated schools, [university] faculties, homes, and society in general, and to fight against extremism and excess of all forms." [2] He warned against the informal education in Saudi Arabia which incites to violence, and called to initiate reforms so as to avoid their imposition on the country from outside. The following are excerpts from recent interviews with Khaled Al-Faisal: In July 2004, Saudi liberal TV moderator Turki Al-Dakhil hosted Khaled Al-Faisal on his weekly program Idhaat on Al-Arabiya TV, which dealt that week with the spread of extremist ideologies in Saudi Arabia. According to Khaled Al-Faisal, "this deviant ideology has begun to spread in the kingdom, in the schools, in the mosques, and everywhere. We now have TV channels which advocate an extremist ideology accusing [other Muslims] of heresy … in our schools and mosques there are young men, 15-20 years of age, who deliver sermons as though they are senior clerics. At times these young men … who call themselves missionaries for Islam, even offend the kingdom's senior clerics and attack them." When asked by Al-Dakhil what has changed in Saudi Arabia in recent years, since Saudi Arabia has always been a conservative religious country, Khaled Al-Faisal answered: "Many things have changed. First of all, the [extremist] ideology didn't exist among us, but came from outside a number of years ago… When it found its way to the Saudi kingdom there were certain people who found it appealing … and they disseminated it … there is no doubt that this ideology found fertile ground, since Saudis are religious. I always say that the Saudi's source of strength [his religion] is [also] his weak point … that is, it is quite easy to deceive a Saudi by means of a religious program or a religious idea… Unfortunately, his good disposition has been exploited in order to propagate this deviant ideology…" The Informal Educational Program is More Dangerous than the Official Curricula Al-Dakhil: "The second meeting on national discourse, which took place in Mecca [in December 2003], discussed the relationship between Saudi school curricula and terrorism, to what extent they feed terrorism, and to what extent they spread an extremist atmosphere of one sort or another. Your Honor, as a citizen you studied from these curricula during a long period in your life. Now, as governor of the 'Asir province, do you think that there is a connection between these curricula and the violent ideology spreading in Saudi Arabia?" Khaled Al-Faisal: "There are some things which I haven't seen myself, but which I have heard have been introduced into the older curricula. These additions were introduced when the jihadist ideology and violent ideas found their way to us from the outside. However, this is not the essential thing; that is to say, it is possible to clean them [out from the curricula] … the problem now is that [this] ideology is spreading in a different manner, [and not by way of] the written curricula. There is a hidden curriculum and an [officially] published curriculum… There is a phenomenon which has spread in the schools, in the universities, in the institutes and in the faculties, a phenomenon in which the educator or lecturer doesn't teach only from the published curriculum, which is approved by the Ministry [of Education] and by the state… Rather, being with the students in a classroom behind closed doors, or through the fact that he is with them in camps and activities, he transmits his ideas … "I will give you an example: last summer I heard that in the city of Abha there is a camp I didn't know about… I sent people to go into the camp and to see what is going on there… [when the organizers heard about it, they] quickly relocated the camp overnight, and left… When the people I sent arrived to ask about them and to look for them, they found that the camp was over and that [its organizers] had taken their cars and left. We found documents that they had left behind in the camp's office in their haste. These documents are filled with sketches of bombs, machine guns, and military plans. And this was supposed to be a camp for youth…" Al-Dakhil: "Do you think this sort [of activity] has done more to foster violence than the school curricula?" Khaled Al-Faisal: "There is no doubt about it… The school curricula constitute 20% of the issue, but 80% is the hidden curriculum and the way in which these ideas of violence and extremism are inculcated by those who are responsible for the students in the schools, institutes, faculties, and universities." Government Employees are Helping to Disseminate the Extremist Ideology Al-Dakhil: "Are you insinuating that are there are people, amongst those who work in official institutions, who allow these ideas to pass and turn a blind eye to them?" Khaled Al-Faisal: "Indeed, there are people in the government apparatus who pass on these ideas, and there are those who help to disseminate them … [I am talking about] the spread of [these] ideas in numerous government agencies which are concerned with youth, with the people, or with public education, such as the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Higher Education, [the Department of] Islamic Affairs Dealing with Religious Outreach … this ideology has spread a lot in the men's and women's charity associations. I think that this ideology exists even in the media institutions, including the Ministry of Culture and Communications." Al-Dakhil: "Do you think then that those who generate an extremist atmosphere have deeply penetrated Saudi society?" Khaled Al-Faisal: "There is no doubt that they have deeply penetrated [both] the official and civil realm… There are large civil organizations which allocate funds for charity programs and religious and Islamic programs. As I have said, it is easy to deceive a Saudi by means of religion… One can easily approach a rich man and say to him: give me such and such an amount to build a mosque in Africa, in Asia, or in any Muslim area. You happily give him the funds, certain that he won't deceive you since he is a Muslim, but in fact … it is possible that these funds are not going to a mosque or to an Islamic project, but to an extremist terrorist plot … I think this is clear. Anyone who is tuned in to what is going on, who monitors or follows what is going on, can easily see and discern this. These things aren't that clandestine and hidden. In many cases they are open for all to see, but many people in Saudi Arabia prefer to disregard them and don't even want to believe that they exist…" A National Agency Should Be Established to Fight the Terrorist Ideology Al-Dakhil: "You pointed out that those with a jihadist ideology … have deeply penetrated many areas of life, official and social… What do you think should be done in such a dangerous situation…?" Khaled Al-Faisal: "The situation is dangerous, and we must acknowledge this. Making light of this matter is unacceptable to me… I drew the ministers' attention [to the problem] and I think that the attention of the provinces' governors should also be drawn to it. The princes, myself included, have an important role in paying attention to the spread of this ideology and monitoring its diffusion. The prince is responsible for security, as well as for the security mode of thinking, which is very important, and is no less important than security in the streets. We want security of the mind and the soul as well, security within the family and tranquility among people. Therefore, it is the duty of the province governor to monitor matters such as these: What is going on in the schools? In the hospitals? In the institutes, and even in the orphanages?" Al-Dakhil: "What do orphanages have to do with a violent extremist ideology?" Khaled Al-Faisal: "There is a video that is currently circulating in the kingdom…a video of a child who I think is ten years old, or less. He is asked, 'who is your role model,' and he answers, 'Osama Bin Laden.' He is asked, 'what is your nationality,' and he answers, 'Islam.' He is asked as to his homeland, and he answers, 'the world' … he doesn't know that Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia. He doesn't know that there is a capital and he doesn't know that there is a country called Saudi Arabia … and this child lives in an orphanage which is under governmental supervision and whose staff are government employees whose salaries are paid by the government… Imagine someone taking advantage of an orphan of this age … in order to turn him into a human bomb that one day will explode in our streets and in our homes."
Saudi Prince Khaled Al-Faisal Against the Islamist Ideology
By Aluma Dankowitz*.
The Extremist Doctrine Came from Outside Saudi Arabia, But Saudi Society is Receptive to it
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