JEDDAH/RIYADH/DAMMAM, 7 November 2003 — Saudis and expatriates across the Kingdom reacted angrily to yesterday’s clash in the holy city of Makkah in which two men blew themselves up as police closed in to arrest them.

“Terrorism in all its forms must be condemned and rooted out. No mercy should be shown to people who indulge in terrorist acts,” said Abdul Jawad, a visibly enraged Saudi who runs a trading company in Jeddah’s Balad district.

“Ordinary people have a role here. We should be on guard and whenever we hear anything about potential terrorists we should inform authorities instead of indulging in rumor-mongering,” said Muhammad Bhuiyan, 44, a Bangladeshi office secretary in a computer firm.

“This has come shortly after some Western countries warned of possible terror attacks during the holy month. What has happened is terrible,” said a Western management executive on condition of anonymity.

“I cannot believe such things are happening in a country considered to be crime-free and secure,” said Abdul Karim, 52, an Indian paramedic at an MOH hospital.

Their sense of outrage was shared in Riyadh.

“The most shameful thing is that they did this in Ramadan,” said M. Kamran, a Pakistani engineer. “The terrorists who blew themselves up have demonstrated that nothing is sacred to them.”

Abdul Karim Refai, a Saudi executive, said the growing violence in the Kingdom and the region in general was the result of US policies in the Middle East.

“Such hatred against the US and the West was never seen in Saudi Arabia before, and the Saudis, who long had a positive image of the US, have been greatly frustrated with the role of America and the UK in Iraq,” he said.

People in the Eastern Province said they hoped the militants would listen to reason and respect the sanctity of Ramadan.

Many people admitted that they are worried over their travel plans to the holy sites for Umrah after yesterday’s incident. “We always believed that the two holy cities are the safest sanctuary in the world, but yesterday’s incident in Makkah makes us think twice,” said an angry Abdul Hadi, a Saudi journalist.

An imam of a Dammam mosque, who preferred not to be named, said that any kind of violence in the Two Holy Cities was unacceptable and urged “the misguided elements” to respect the sanctity of the Haram.

Saeed Al-Ghamdi, a local businessman, said that it was “total insanity” and added he expected the incidents to affect local business.

“Business has already started a downward trend. Many shopkeepers are reporting a decline in sales, and now these incidents will damage sales further,” he said.

Umrah operators report several cancellations of bookings after yesterday’s incident. “This is the one month when we do business for the whole year, and the two incidents will not help our cause,” said the manager of Al-Manarat Haj and Umrah in Alkhobar.

Saudi Arabian Airlines, however, said that there were no significant cancellations for its Jeddah flights.