RIYADH, 1 April 2003 — A trucking company has refused a SR240.5 million deal to provide the US Army with trucks to be used in the war in Iraq, a Saudi contractor said on Sunday.
“I convinced the company to refuse the deal,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijri, a contractor who was asked to mediate with the company. He refused to disclose the name of the company, which is based in Hafer Al-Baten.
He said the deal involved providing 1,300 trucks, and would have been profitable for the company and himself.
“The reasons are as clear as the sun. I could have made SR1.5 million in commissions, but life is not only about money. This is a dirty war and we will not take part in it,” he said.
He said the trucks would have been used to transport weapons and machinery into Iraq. “There are war dealers exploiting the situation, and there are companies that have provided trucks and other products and supplies,” he said.
Al-Tuwaijri said a number of businessmen had referred to fatwas from several Muslim scholars in refusing to sign deals with the US Army.
A number of scholars have been calling on Muslims not to help coalition troops in the war.
A fatwa issued recently by scholars banned Muslims from “helping the US and British troops and those who came with them to strike Iraq and occupy it with any kind of help.”
