RIYADH/JEDDAH, 8 July 2005 — Citizens and expatriates across Saudi Arabia were saddened by the blasts in London.

Businessmen and diplomats termed the series of explosions in the world’s financial capital as a “dastardly, unpardonable act.”

When contacted, the British Embassy in Riyadh declined to make any statement on the blasts saying it would wait until accurate and final information was available.

“I’m a very sad person,” said a British diplomat. “It’s a tragedy, which is difficult to fathom,” he said.

“I’m deeply saddened that this happened in the world’s financial capital. Unfortunately there is no safe haven. After all that has happened in London, no one can say his city is safe,” Mike Davidson, a British executive in a packaging company, said.

Shoura Council member Ihsan Bouhlaiga strongly condemned the deadly terrorist attacks and offered his condolences to the victims and their families. “The kind of horrific attacks that happened yesterday must be condemned by all peace-loving nations and individuals,” he said, adding that the attacks were a “terrible crime” committed by the enemies of peace and humanity.

“I’m extremely shocked and unhappy after hearing about the terrorist attacks, but I’m sure that good will eventually prevail over evil. It’s a tragic moment for Britain and its people and we stand together with them at this hour of sorrow and grief,” said the Shoura Council member. He wondered how the killing of innocent people would serve the interests of certain people or a terrorist group.

Describing the attacks on the transport network of London as a “horrible and hideous act,” Saudi businessman Fahd Al-Malki said: “We in Saudi Arabia express our full support to the British people and offer sincere condolences to the government, people and families of the victims.

“We condemn the barbaric attacks, which have been launched by the enemies of human beings,” he added.

“Terrorism is harming the business interests of every nation and creating a lot of problems. What has happened in London now is a heinous act in which dozens of innocent civilians have been killed,” said Matin Neil, a European business consultant, who has a number of friends and relatives living in London and other British cities.

Neil expressed his horror and disgust. He said the world is experiencing turmoil and no country, whether in Europe or in the Middle East, was safe.

“Such barbaric acts can happen anywhere and at any time,” said Neil, while narrating the extent of loss a busy city like London will suffer because of such attacks. Neil, who once lived in London, said that the explosions might have disrupted the whole transport network of that city, largely affecting the movement of people across the city.

Nasim Kamran, a Pakistani engineer, also condemned the terror attacks and said that the cowards, who have carried out these attacks, don’t belong to any faith or religion.

“I was scheduled to leave for London this weekend, but now my mother says I should not proceed after terror hit the world’s financial capital,” said Saleh Zahrani, a graduate student at King Abdul Aziz University.

“Clearly, after New York and Madrid, more cities will be taking a leaf out of London’s book to be prepared in the face of more terror strikes,” he said.

News of yesterday morning’s attacks in London spread like wild fire among the British expatriate community. Most of them were at home when the ‘Breaking News’ was flashed across satellite TV channels, interrupting their scheduled programs.

“I was watching Sky News by chance when suddenly news of the attack came. I was devastated. In many ways it was expected, especially after what happened in Madrid. The timing of it is somewhat peculiar. Yesterday the Olympic decision for 2012 was announced and today was the first day of the G-8 summit,” said Janet Bennett.

“Arabs will invariably be blamed. It’s really sad because this just further alienates Muslims and Arabs in the eyes of the world. I know that true Muslims would absolutely not do this. This is just a bad group of people,” she added.

An outraged Carole Jones said: “They’re bloody idiots. What are they trying to achieve. It never stops in England. First it was the IRA and now these barmy idiots. They will never win because (Prime Minister Tony) Blair will never give in to this kind of thing.”

For Marilynn, the explosion on the bus was especially horrific as her daughter is a Red London Bus Driver. “My daughter drives a similar bus on the outskirts of London. I spoke with her earlier and she said that the buses in her area were running, but inside London everything had come to a standstill.

“This attack was not entirely unexpected. Since we went into Iraq, we’ve been expecting something to happen in London — especially after Madrid,” she said.

Steve Jones also echoed a similar message saying that the attack came as no surprise. “It was just a matter of time. Rapid transit is very difficult to secure because of the vast number of people who use it. To check everyone would seriously hinder transportation around London,” he said.

The transportation nightmare that was created by the blasts affected the afternoon commute. With services scheduled to resume in the quickest possible time, many intended travelers to London, are now rethinking and prefer to reschedule their itinerary.

For Yasser, a Saudi who was supposed to leave for London on Wednesday, the attacks have made him change his mind. “I decided to postpone the trip for a while. There may be some angst directed toward Arabs and Muslims resulting from what happened. Perhaps a little later on in the month, I may go.”

For Yousef Al-Shalahi, postponing his London trip was mainly for financial reasons. “When I go to London I depend heavily on the underground system. Since it is partially disabled, I’m going to have to use the taxis, which are very expensive. It would be a waste of money. I am going to rebook, as soon as the tube is back in service,” he said.

(M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan in Riyadh, and Essam Al-Ghalib and K.S. Ramkumar in Jeddah)