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August 9, 2006

France: Prince Aims To Challenge Saudi Islamist Tyranny

News from Agence France Presse via Expatica and Al Jazeera states that a Saudi prince has said he is setting up an opposition party against the ruling House of Saud's monopoly on power in the kingdom.

Prince Talal Mohammad al-Rashid (pictured, above left) is not of the House of Saud, which assumed power in 1921 and began to nationally impose the strict and uncompromising fundamentalist ideology of Wahhabism. The House of al-Saud has been followers of Wahhabism since 1744, when Mohamed Ibn Abdul-Wahab, founder of the Salafist-derived ideology, signed a pact with Mohammed bin Saud.

Prince Talal is a son of Mohammad II bin Talal al-Rashid, a ruler of a region of northeastern Saudi Arabia before the Saud dynasty took power. His father was the last king of the Rashidi emirate, which ruled the area from 1835 until 1921, when Ibn Saud occupied Mecca and Medina and consolidated his rule over the kingdom.

Talal's ancestors, the Rashidi emirs, belonged to the Shammar tribal confederation. This Bedouin tribe inhabited northeastern Arabia, and in the mid 17th century some members of this group migrated northwards, settling in the desert region between Iraq and Syria, whence they were driven northward into Iraq itself, where they still exist. He states that the Saudi Shammar tribal confederation are backing his movement.

Prince Talal has lived in Paris since 1980. He said: "We announce the birth of the 'Saudi Democratic Opposition Front' which will struggle by peaceful means for the establishment of democracy in the country. The Al-Saud must either respect liberties and introduce democracy or give up the power they usurped."

Talal claims that he has 2,000 active members for his Saudi Democratic Opposition Front, who would coordinate activities inside the kingdom, with support from himself and the London-based organisation MIRA (Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia).

Though it all looks initially rosy, one should not forget that on July 14, 2005 the US Treasury designated MIRA for providing material support to Al Qaeda. They state of MIRA's founder, Saad Rashed Mohammad al-Faqih: "MIRA's 1995 founding statement explicitly states that the organization is not limited to peaceful means in the pursuit of its objectives. According to information available to the U.S. Government, while head of MIRA, al-Faqih assumed the role of the al Qaida spokesperson in London following the arrest of senior Egyptian Islamic Jihad terrorist Yassir al-Sirri in 2001."

In 2003, MIRA received $1 million in funds from Abdulrahman Alamoudi, who in 2004 admitted that he had a role in an assassination plot against the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (the current monarch, King Abdullah), and was given a 23-year jail sentence.

MIRA is also connected to the extremist group the Muslim Council for Britain via the MCB's finance director, Iqbal Asaria.

MIRA described itself on its website thus: "MIRA seeks major reforms in Arabia; in particular, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the abolition of the Secret Police units subverting political movements and activity."

However, in December 24, 2004 the United Kingdom Treasury also froze the accounts of MIRA. On December 21, 2004, the US Treasury had designated Saad Rashed Mohammad al-Faqih (pictured right) for raising funds for Al Qaeda. Al-Fiqh denied terror links.

Prince Talal's daughter, Madhawi al-Rashid, is an academic based in London, and claims that support from the Shammar tribal confederation is coming from thousands of people, who are based in Iaq, Syria, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.


The regime of the House of al-Saud is odious, and the actions of their "religious policemen" of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice are reprehensible. These officials are shown above destroying the ancient Mosque of abu-Qubais. This mosque, built 1,200 years ago, stood on the site where Ali-Oraid, grandson of Mohammed, had lived. Now it is covered by the King's palace.

As well as destroying Saudi Arabia's cultural and archeological heritage, their oppression of citizens is staggering. We reported recently how they put an 70-year old disabled woman in prison, accusing her of adultery, for going unescorted into a shop where she and the shopkeeper were the only two people present.

The religious policemen, called mutawi, muttawa or mutawi'oon recently caused 69 women to lose their jobs at perfume and cosmetics stores. They frequently detain people without written charge.

But their worst crime against civilized behavior came on March 11, 2002. On this date, at Mecca, a fire broke out at a girl's school dormitory. Several girls tried to escape the burning building, but were met my members of the muttawa. They found the girls were not dressed in appropriate attire, and beat them to send them back into the flames. The muttawa also prevented fireman from approaching to deal with the conflagration. As a result of the actions by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, 15 girls died in a preventable tragedy.

We know that Saudi Arabia's Wahhabist laws means that it is illegal to bring a Bible or a crucifix into the kingdom, and Christians can be jailed, merely for holding a religious service, even if it happens out of public view.

Though the Saudi regime may be incomprehensible to those brought up in democracies, some dissidents who live in London and Europe are even more odious than the regime they seek to destroy, such as Muhammad al-Massari. He wishes to overthrow the Saudi regime, but he also supports terrorism and tried to incite communal violence in Europe during the French riots at the end of last year.

Prince Talal, his daughter and the Shammar tribal confederation may indeed support the notion of democracy and freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia. But they should be extremely careful of those with whom they ally themselves. The case of Saad Rashed Mohammad al-Faqih of MIRA should be a warning sign to be careful of those they get into bed with. They may lie alongside one, but their ultimate agendas could be catastrophic.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at August 9, 2006 10:09 PM

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