JEDDAH, 13 October 2005 — Saudi Arabia’s new ambassador to the United States has urged people of all faiths to stand united in the fight against terrorism. Prince Turki Al-Faisal, former Saudi envoy to the UK, said Al-Qaeda’s terrorism was based on a perverted cult ideology.
He also emphasized that the uneven handling of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute by the West had played a big role in damaging Western-Islamic relations.
In a major speech to the Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics Society on the eve of leaving London to take up his new assignment in Washington, D.C., Prince Turki said Al-Qaeda’s terrorism had changed the world and would continue to shape the future of international relations.
A solution to the world’s problems would not bring current terrorism to an end, the prince said, adding that Al-Qaeda was not a religious or political organization, but a cult, which makes use of the suffering of others to further its vested interests.
“These cults claim that if the problems of Palestine and Iraq were solved, then they would be satisfied. I do not believe that is true,” the ambassador said. Al-Qaeda’s terrorism, he added, was not based on Islam, but on a “perverted cult ideology.”
Prince Turki claimed that the only way to fight terrorism was for all faiths to come together since creating divisions among them was what Al-Qaeda wanted. “We must also ensure that no government provides a political haven for those proselytizing extremist ideologies in the false belief that these groups are victims rather than aggressors,” he said.
In his address entitled, “Terrorism: Threats and Challenges,” Prince Turki said: “Terrorism is currently the biggest single threat to international peace and stability. It has ripped communities apart and has tried to turn friends into foes.”
He denounced allegations that Saudi Arabia supported terrorism. “In fact, we are the victims, not the supporters, of terrorism. The fact that they have sprung up within our midst is as horrifying to us as it is to you,” he told the gathering. “Extremism is the mantra of the very few, a tiny group whose minds have been twisted and turned to an evil agenda.”
Prince Turki said Osama Bin Laden had established Al-Qaeda as a guerrilla force, which would come to join him in a fight when he called. “He was intoxicated by his experiences in Afghanistan and wanted more, those who followed him were intoxicated by his passion and were searching for a cause,” he said, adding that Osama used the Internet to spread his venomous ideology.
Speaking about Western double standards pertaining to Arab and Islamic issues, he asked, “Why does the West enforce UN resolutions with untold power and might in the Arab world? Why doesn’t it enforce UN resolutions calling on Israel to move back to boundaries set more than 30 years ago? It is this cause above all others that has given lifeblood to this evil cult of hate.”
Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia, along with other Arab countries, had clearly expressed its interest in reaching a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. “The Arab peace plan initiated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has been welcomed by all countries but rejected by Israel,” he pointed out. “I believe that until Palestinians are finally given justice and their own homeland, where they can live in peace, this will remain not just a tragedy but will provide terrorists with a ready excuse for their terrible actions,” he added.
The ambassador also spoke of Riyadh’s successful campaign against Al-Qaeda and said the Kingdom had arrested more than 500 terrorists. “We have also eliminated the leadership of Al-Qaeda, one by one. And scores of imams found preaching extremism have been dismissed.”
Prince Turki called for joint action by the international community to fight terror instead of blaming one another. “The death and destruction terrorism causes is incalculable as it drives a wedge of suspicion between communities and faiths, stirring up a poisonous diet of mistrust and hate,” he said. “We must cut off any intellectual, financial or political support that feeds these groups. We must ensure that no one twists the words of the Qur’an, or indeed any holy book, to justify their political aims and ends. This is corruption at its worst.”
