JEDDAH: The Interior Ministry has made significant headway in cracking down on charities being used to seek finance on social networks for terrorists.

This is according to Abdulrahman Al-Hadlaq, director general of the department of intellectual security at the ministry, who said new measures have closed several gaps identified recently, a local publication reported.

Al-Hadlaq was speaking after delivering a lecture at the second annual forum of the religious departments of prisons, organized by the Islamic Affairs Ministry. “The authorities are fully aware of the intellectual clashes occurring on social media. This compels each government body to enforce the country’s laws against violators,” said Al-Hadlaq.

He said that social media sites have opened up room for serious intellectual debates on the financing of terrorism in the Kingdom and globally. “This means that we must deal wisely and rationally with these issues, and must keep a firm grip on local charities and their donors to prevent any possible violations,” he said.

On the number of women joining terror groups, he said this has not yet become commonplace. There were very few Saudi women doing so, compared to what was happening globally, he said.

“The living conditions and lifestyles of Saudi women have placed considerable distance between them and such violent actions. Even Saudi female students on scholarships cannot be affected by such extremist thoughts,” he said.