"Our Lord, you are peace, from you is peace, make us rest in peace, make us enter into the abode of peace."
- The Holy Prophet Muhammad
Saudi Arabia is being attacked in the US media for adhering to the principles of Islam, and Saudis are being accused of supporting an extremist ideology that harbors terrorists. The people of Saudi Arabia strongly reject these allegations. Although Saudi Arabia is embarrassed by the fact that 15 of 19 hijackers who participated in the Sept. 11 attacks against the US were Saudi, that does not justify the US media applying the principle of collective guilt on a whole nation. The criminals who committed the act do not represent Saudi Arabia or the Muslim world. There is a need for a closure to that horrific event that a put a strain on the strong relations between the US and the Kingdom and dragged the whole world into an escalating conflict that does not seem to have an end. Saudi Arabia is a victim of terrorism. Saudi law enforcement agencies will continue to cooperate with international organizations to confront this global threat and probe the causes behind it. Saudi security forces and citizens in general are united in exposing and arresting those who terrorize innocent people and promote extremist ideologies that are alien to the true faith of Islam. Religious scholars and responsible citizens as well as concerned mothers in Saudi Arabia are determined to guide the unenlightened youth on the moderation of Islam and its teachings and promote the adherence to the true Islamic creed. Therefore to allege that Saudi Arabia supports an evil extremist ideology is unfair. It is also totally unacceptable to target only Muslims for their extremists and neglect all other existing extremists that threaten world peace today. The Likudists in Israel are extremists who defy international law, reject peace and continue to escalate tensions in the Middle East terrorizing Palestinians and enraging the sentiments of Arabs and Muslims everywhere. The neocons in the US with their antagonistic policies and warmongering individuals support an extremist ideology that is a threat to peace. Timothy McVeigh represented extremists who still exist in the US today. There are Christian extremists as well as many other radicals that threaten different parts of the world.
For the sake of world peace and global security we need to have the wisdom as well as the political will to stop all threatening ideologies and not suppress some while allowing others to spread. We need to be aware of the manipulation of the innocent and the uninformed public by certain elements who have their own political agenda.
Saudi Arabia and the Muslim world have spoken out against Muslim extremists but the US and the West have yet to speak out against the extremists in their midst who spread venom against Muslims.
While President Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks on the US had said that Islam was not his target, sadly the media in the US has not heeded his call and continues to antagonize the Muslim world sometimes based on ignorance but more often with malicious intentions.
Furthermore blasphemous attacks against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad by politicians and Christian religious scholars continue to enrage Muslim sentiments and create bad blood and feelings of animosity that do not serve peace and humanity.
I will cite a few of these attacks as an example of the blasphemous rhetoric that is the cause for Muslim rage today:
"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."
- Columnist Ann Coulter, September 2001
"I believe it (Islam) is a very evil and wicked religion."
- Franklin Graham, November 2001
"Muhammad was a demon-possessed pedophile."
- Rev. Jerry Vines, former president, Southern Baptist Convention, June 2002
"I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol."
- Lt. Gen. William G Boyken, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and war fighting
"This is not a war between Arabs and Jews. It is a war between God and the devil."
- Telivangelist Benny Hinn, July 2002
"I believe the Qur'an teaches violence. It does not teach peace, it teaches violence."
- Franklin Graham, Belief net interview, August 2002
"This man Muhammad was an absolute wild-eyed fanatic. He was a robber and brigand."
- Pat Robertson, on (Hannity & Colmes), September 2002
"I think Muhammad was a terrorist."
- Jerry Falwell, October 6, CBS 60 minutes
"You know what we ought to do? We ought to take every single Muslim student in every college in this nation and ship them back to where they came from. And we ought to tell every other Muslim living in this nation, if you say one word, you are gone. You're gone. With a diaper on their head and a fan-belt around their waist."
- Jimmy Swaggart, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, Nov. 10, 2002
"Somehow I wish the Jews in America would wake up, open their eyes and read what is being said about them...this is worse than the Nazi... Adolph Hitler was, but what the Muslims want to do to the Jews is worse..."
- Pat Robertson, Christian Broadcasting Network, November 11, 2002
"Islam is a very destructive type of faith... They are a revengeful people...."
- Paul Mills, pastor of Arlington Faith chapel
These are just a handful of the thousands of malicious attacks against the Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Having gained momentum after Sept. 11, 2001 such blasphemous statements continue to feed the widespread perception in the Muslim world that the war on terrorism is really a Judeo-Christian crusade against Islam.
It is the perception of the people of Saudi Arabia and the Muslim world that there are certain elements in the US administration and the Western media who are bent on driving a wedge between the US and Saudi Arabia and the Western world and Islam. It is not in the interest of the US and the West nor is it in the interest of the Muslim world to continue a policy of demonizing the religion of Islam. What is being perpetrated now poses a great danger for humanity and world prosperity.
The war on terrorism is a global war and we need to be united and work together to protect our children from the deadly pursuits of terrorists, supremacists, racists, and xenophobic minorities that have robbed us of our peaceful worlds.
Stop the Attack against Islam
Feelings of injustice and frustrations are driving more Muslims into the arms of extremist groups. The distorted facts that Israel and the US media are selling to the American public portraying the Muslim as the enemy and the Arab as a threat is the reason behind the conflict between the US and the Arab/Muslim World. The practice of anti-Islam in the US needs to be addressed. The Muslim is not plotting to kill the infidel. The Arabs and Muslims are not all secretly plotting to take over the world in order to establish an Islamic caliphate. This rhetoric is emanating from suspicious individuals who are outlawed in their own countries but are given safe haven in the West. They don't represent the over one billion Muslims of the world and are not tolerated in any Arab or Muslim country. And Muslims should not be blamed for this absurd and ridiculous rhetoric. The policy of discriminating against Muslims and Arabs must stop. According to the Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), there exists a negative US stance toward Muslims and Arabs on the educational level following the Sept. 11 events. American education curricula depict Muslims as butchers, terrorists, rapists and oppressors of women, and believers in holy war (jihad). The curricula portray Arabs as camel riders and sand slaves. The Arab man is depicted as an oil sheikh who is wealthy, extravagant and wants to buy the USA with his money. All this only augments the deep anti-Arab bias that has existed in Hollywood movies and Western media for decades. We strongly denounce this distortion of the image of Islam and Muslims. This harmful stereotyping of 1.25 billion Muslims of the world and of Arabs in general will only escalate tensions and will add fuel to the fire. To put an end to the state of terror we need tolerance and goodwill. People of different faiths and cultures need to coexist and respect each other's beliefs and lifestyle.
Stop the attack against Islam. The conflict between the West and the Muslim World is over interests and is politically motivated. Saudi Arabia does not harbor terrorists and all the Muslim countries have condemned and continue to condemn terrorism. Saudi Arabia is being attacked in the US media for adhering to the principles of Islam. Islam is not a threat and Saudi Arabia is a victim of terrorism and has been even before the Sept. 11 attacks against the US. Today the fight against terrorism goes on and Saudi security is tighter. All borders and entry points to and from suspected regions are secured by checkpoints that are heavily manned and armed 24 hours a day. No chances are taken. Because of the tighter security vehicles with material that could be used for terrorist activities are discovered before they could do any harm. The security forces and the police have been able to contain internal terrorists with good intelligence and professional surveillance. Citizens are encouraged to cooperate with the security forces and the authorities to identify the terrorists and handsome rewards are offered for any information leading to their capture.
The radio, television and the newspapers are geared to inform the public about the way to report to the authorities and assist them with guidelines and safety precautions.
Links with regional and international security forces have been strengthened.
The Saudi police are now in a better position to deal with terrorists following a significant improvement in both manpower capabilities and facilities.
There are more police cars patrolling the streets of the Kingdom today, security around the compounds has tightened. The show of force and the visibility of security forces have deterred terrorists in Saudi Arabia and continued efforts will prevent bad elements that would try to sow terror among citizens. Saudi Arabia has enforced new laws and regulations to make the country more secure against terrorist attacks. For example, Saudi Arabia has a culture of the possession of guns as a token of strength, as it is the case in many countries. Many Saudis, especially those living in the villages and remote areas, thought that carrying weapons was not illegal. Now things have changed since arrests have been made and weapons confiscated. People now realize that they cannot carry guns.
The national borders of the Kingdom, its land and sea borders are well protected and secured against infiltrators and terrorists and smugglers. Officials from the Ministry of Interior stated that Saudi Arabia has been successful in arresting many infiltrators and smugglers. The ministry also reports that since the global problem of terrorism Saudi police have embarked on training programs. Police are now physically present on the streets to secure lives and property and to show force against any terrorist planning .The Saudi intelligence is relentless in its cooperation with international anti- terrorist agencies.
Saudi Arabia cannot afford to appear weak in the fight against terrorism. The Kingdom is an oil-rich country and its natural resources need to be guarded against any possible terrorist attacks. The security forces are confronted with the major task of protecting economic facilities to ensure that the sources of oil plants, pipelines, energy lines, transportation of the vital resources are secured. God willing, Saudi Arabia will overcome the threat of terrorism and Saudi citizens will maintain their security.
There are obviously concerns about fundamentalist Islam in different parts of the world. Muslim countries are well aware of this. However, the solution is not for Muslims to be forced to Westernize or for Muslim countries to be secular. The solution is to address issues that divide the Muslim world and the West. People of goodwill, whether in the East or in the West, must speak out against their own extremists and radicals. Targeting only the Muslim radicals while giving a free hand to other radicals in the world, whether Christians, Jews or otherwise will only create more barriers and suspicions that will further divide our world. Fighting terrorism should not be used as pretext to launch an attack against Islam.
