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