MY BROTHER'S A MUJAHID, CONFESSES A SAUDI BANKER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 00593





E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR

TAGS: PINR, SOCI, PGOV, SA

SUBJECT: MY BROTHER'S A MUJAHID, CONFESSES A SAUDI BANKER



1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT.



2. SUMMARY: AN OTHERWISE CALM SENIOR BANKER RECENTLY

REVEALED TO US THAT HIS BROTHER HAD FOUGHT WITH THE

MUJAHIDEEN IN AFGHANISTAN. HIS ACCOUNT ILLUSTRATES THE

DIFFERENT VIEWS OF ISLAM AND SOCIETY THAT EXIST IN

SAUDI ARABIA, EVEN WITHIN FAMILIES - - DIFFERENCES THAT

GO FAR BEYOND THE COMMONPLACE ISSUES OF THE ROLE OF THE

MUTAWWA'IN. END SUMMARY.



3. THE CHARGE RECENTLY TALKED TO A PROMINENT BANK

PRESIDENT AND FORMER FINANCE MINISTRY OFFICIAL. DURING

THE DISCUSSION, THIS SOBER-MINDED PERSON REVEALED THAT

HIS BROTHER FOUGHT WITH THE MUJAHIDEEN FOR FOUR MONTHS

IN AFGHANISTAN IN 1991. AS AN EXPLANATION, HE

DESCRIBED HIS BROTHER AS A 19 YEAR OLD KID WHO HAD NOT

FINISHED SCHOOL AND WHO WAS BORED WITH HIS EXISTENCE IN

SAUDI ARABIA. FOR HIM, FIGHTING FOR ISLAM IN

AFGHANISTAN WAS AN EXCITING ALTERNATIVE, A WAY TO

EXPRESS HIS DEEP PERSONAL RELIGIOUS FAITH.



4. THE BANKER DID NOT VOLUNTEER ANY DETAILS OF HIS

BROTHER'S STAY IN AFGHANISTAN, BUT INSTEAD SKIPPED

AHEAD TO THE POINT OF HIS RETURN. WHEN THE BROTHER

CAME BACK AFTER HIS JAUNT, THE FAMILY WAS WORRIED "THAT

HE MIGHT GET INTO TROUBLE." SO, THE FAMILY QUICKLY

ARRANGED A MARRIAGE - - "TOOK CARE OF THAT RIGHT

AWAY". GRATEFUL FOR SMALL FAVORS, THE BANKER WAS HAPPY

TO REPORT THAT HIS YOUNGER BROTHER HAS NOT EXPRESSED

ANY DESIRE TO GO FIGHT IN BOSNIA.



5. SINCE HIS RETURN, AND CONTRARY TO THE FAMILY'S

EXPECTATION, THE BROTHER HAS DECLINED TO LIVE WITH HIS

MOTHER, WHO LIVES ALONE IN RIYADH. INSTEAD, HE DECIDED

TO MOVE TO DAMMAM. OUR CONTACT EXPRESSED THE FEAR THAT

HIS BROTHER IS TRYING TO SEVER HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH

THE REST OF THE FAMILY. THE BANKER SAID HIS BROTHER,

ALTHOUGH POLITE, AVOIDS TALKING TO HIM BECAUSE HE IS A

BANKER, A VOCATION THAT THE BROTHER FINDS DISTASTEFUL.



6. THE BANKER SAID THAT, DESPITE THE INFLUENCE OF

RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES SUCH AS HIS BROTHER, SAUDI

ARABIA IS A STABLE COUNTRY, IN LITTLE DANGER OF GOING

THE WAY OF IRAN OR ALGERIA. HE CONTINUED THAT, UNLIKE

IN SUDAN AND IRAN, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN SAUDI

ARABIA DOES NOT SUPPORT THE EXTREMISTS. HERE, PEOPLE

RECOGNIZE THAT THE EXTREMISTS ARE ONLY GRABBING FOR

POWER, NOT RELIGION. THE BANKER SAID THAT EXTREMISTS

WERE MORE LIKELY TO BRING ABOUT CHAOS THAN SUCCESS

THROUGH THEIR ECONOMIC PROGRAMS, AS SHOWN IN SUDAN AND

IRAN. THERE, EXTREMISTS DID NOT FIX ECONOMIES - THEY

RUINED THEM.



7. IN SAUDI ARABIA, THE KING HOLDS ALL THE CARDS, AND

IS ABLE TO TONE DOWN OR QUASH SUCH DISSENT AT ANY

TIME. THE BANKER SAID THAT THE KING DID PRECISELY THAT

A FEW YEARS AGO, WITH RAPID SUCCESS. THE DANGER, HE

SAID, WAS NOT THAT EXTREMISTS WOULD TOPPLE THE SAG WITH

FORCE. RATHER THE DANGER IS THAT, BY FORCEFULLY

CHALLENGING THE SAG, THE EXTREMISTS WILL RISK TEARING

THE FABRIC OF SAUDI SOCIETY.



8. THE BANKER DID CONCEDE THAT SOME BUSINESSMEN DO

STAND OUT FOR THEIR SUPPORT FOR ISLAMIC GROUPS, CITING

THE EXAMPLE OF USAMA BIN LADEN. ALTHOUGH MOST KNOWN

FOR HIS FUNDING OF MUJAHIDEEN GROUPS IN AFGHANISTAN,

BIN LADEN HAS GIVEN MONEY TO SEVERAL ISLAMIC CAUSES

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THE BANKER SAID BIN LADEN IS AN

EXCEPTION TO THE GENERAL ATTITUDE OF MOST BUSINESSMEN

IN SAUDI ARABIA. MOST, HE REPEATED, DO NOT SUPPORT THE

GOALS OF EXTREMISTS.



9. COMMENT: THIS GENTLEMAN HAS OBVIOUSLY GIVEN THE

DIFFICULT PROBLEM OF EXTREMISM IN SAUDI ARABIA SOME

THOUGHT. HAVING A TRUE BELIEVER WILLING TO FIGHT FOR

ISLAM FOR A BROTHER HAS GIVEN HIM GOOD REASON. OTHER

SAUDI BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT FIGURES HAVE MADE SIMILAR

COMMENTS ON EXTREMISTS AND THE STABILITY OF SAUDI

ARABIA, AND WE ASSUME SOME FACE THE SAME FAMILIAL

DIVIDE. AT PRESENT, THEIR JUDGEMENTS THAT THE KINGDOM

IS STABLE SEEM CORRECT, BUT THE DIFFERENCES OF OPINION

IN THEIR OWN FAMILIES ILLUSTRATES THE DEPTH OF THE

DISAGREEMENTS OVER THE PROPER ROLE OF ISLAM IN SAUDI

SOCIETY.



10. FOR MANY OF OUR BANKER FRIEND'S GENERATION, IT IS

NOT THE ISLAMIC CONTENT OF THE THOUGHT OF THEIR YOUNGER

BROTHERS (AND SONS) THAT SCARES THEM. SOCIALLY, THEY

ARE, BY AND LARGE, A VERY CONSERVATIVE, DEVOUT LOT

THEMSELVES. RATHER, THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT HOW ENGAGED

THE YOUNG ARE IN SAUDI ARABIA. IT IS THE BOREDOM AND

LACK OF DIRECTION THAT INSPIRED THE YOUNGER BROTHER TO

FIGHT IN AFGHANISTAN, AND IMPELS OTHERS DOMESTICALLY;

THAT IN TURN CAUSES CONCERN AMONG THE OLDER GENERATION,

WHO CHERISH THE STABILITY OF THE KINGDOM. END

COMMENT.





WELCH