the Saudian Opposition in the 20th Century

by :Dr.Ahmed Subhy Mansour

The Religious Sunni Opposition in the Saudi Kingdom in the 20th Century was written in Arabic in June 2001. The book is 471 pages which does not include the attached documents.

The Religious Sunni Opposition at a Glance

Both the Saudi regime and its religious Sunni opposition maintain the same beliefs and ideologies. Together, they represent the fanatic Muslim Sunni , who are against other Muslim sects such as Sophy and/or Sheeah.

.Inside the fanatic Sunni sect they –together- uphold the most fanatic jurisprudence known a Hanabela. Hanabela is more fanatic than the other Sunni schools such as Ahnaf, Malekia, Shafeiah, and Zaheria.

Inside the radical school of Hanabela they –together- maintain the hardest line of Hanabela that belongs to the famous scholar, Ibn Taymeia, who died in 1327. Ibn Taymeia revolted against the Mameluke regime in Egypt and Syria during the 14th century.

Inside the teachings of Ibn Taymeia ,they- together - follow the hardest line that was written and applied by Ibn Abdel Wahab, who cooperated with the Saudi family in establishing the first Saudi state in the 18th century. Wahabia is the official belief of the current Saudi state and the Saudi opposition. In representing Wahabi they oppose other Muslim sects and non-Muslim nations, especially Europe and America. They believe that the non-Wahabi are infidels who should be killed or fought as a Jehad. ,sooner or later.

Within the Wahabi belief, there is only one aspect of the ideological conflict between the regime and its religious Wahabi opposition. What is that ideology? This book answers that question through an analytic study of the fundamental and historical roots of the Saudi Wahabi opposition in the 20th century, from King Abdel-Aziz until his son King Fahd. This book also analyzes the culture of terrorism, which produced Osama bin Laden and his Al Kaeda network. Moreover, this book presents how one can face this religious culture from inside Islam.

The Religious Sunni Opposition in the Saudi Kingdom in the 20th Century consists of an introductory chapter and three sections. The preliminary chapter explains the historic and dogmatic roots of the Wahabi doctrine. The following three sections contain ten chapters.

The first section consists of five chapters that explain how Abdel Aziz established the Saudi state through utilizing his radical tough warriors, the Mojahedeen. The Mojahedeen are known as Ikhwan which means Muslim brothers. They were young Bedouins or nomads, but Abdel Aziz taught them how to uphold and to absorb the Wahabi doctrine. By engaging in Jehad or self sacrifice, Abdel Aziz had established the third Saudi state from 1902 to 1926. Abdel Aziz wanted to modernize his state by dealing with Egypt and with countries in the West. The Ikhwan revolted against him because he became an ally of the infidels. Abdel Aziz defeated them but he kept their ideology alive since it correlated with his own beliefs.

The second section deals with the Saudi Wahabi opposition during the time of King Saud –son of Abdel Aziz-. Then, the second chapter addresses the Saudi Wahabi opposition during the time of King Faisal and his brother King Knaled.

Chapter one analyzes the opposition to Naser Alssaed who was the labor leader of the Aramco Company workers. He successfully conducted many strikes and established a new movement in the kingdom which angered King Saud. Naser Alssaed was inspired and influenced by Abdel Nasser and the Egyptian revolution in the 1950’ Yet his own moderate religious dogma, made him different from both King Saud’s beliefs and Abdel Nasser’s beliefs. Actually, Naser Alssaed is the only one in Saudi’s opposition groups whose complete political program is to peacefully reform the state from within. Despite being a peaceful moderate, in 1977, the Saudi Service assassinated Naser Alssaed in Lebanon. During his life, after his death, and despite the blackout, Naser Alssaed was the leader who inspired and encouraged many opposition groups from within the Saudi family, Saudi Army, Saudi intellects, and the masses as well.

The second chapter of the second section analyzes the big movement of Johiman Alotaybi and his group. They occupied the sacred holy Mosque in Mecca on November 22, 1977, which according to the Muslim calendar was the first day beginning the 15th century. Johiman’s grand father was one of the [Ikhwan ] of Abdel Aziz , who revolted with them and was killed in the famous battle of Al Seblah on March 30, 1929. Johiman was a scholar who had his own secret organization. However, his effective weapon was his secret messages, which were compiled in an unpublished book entitled The Messages of Johiman Alotaybi. The Saudi authority still pursues the book. In Johiman’s messages he called for a fight with the Saudi regime, which represented an ally to the infidels and an enemy of Islam.

The last section analyzes the current opposition, which has emerged after the Gulf War and has produced Osama bin Laden and his Al Kaeda network.

The first chapter of this section gives a historic profile of this opposition group and its struggle against the Saudi state during 1990 to 2000.

The second chapter analyzes the ideological conflict between the independent religious committee, which leads the opposition and the Saudi state. In this dogmatic conflict, the official scholars of the Saudi state were completely defeated because the religious oppositions have their own arguments from inside the teachings of the sacred old [Imams] or scholars, including Ibn Taymeya and Ibn Abdel Wahab, who are idolized by all the Saudis.

The third chapter analyzes the main religious discourse of the current opposition,[Al amr bel maaroof Wa Al nahy an Al monkar] which means advocate what is good and forbid what is evil. The chapter further dissects how the current opposition use the Wahabi dogma to criticize the Saudi family, which mandates destroying their kingdom as the enemy of Islam.

The final conclusion of this study analyzes the future of the Saudi state--state that has been established three times and destroyed twice in the last four centuries. The future is influenced by its critical situation between the two long established states, Egypt and Iran. The future of the Saudi state will also be influenced by the regime’s need to reform and to moderate its religious dogma, along with a political, social, and economic reform. These reforms will be necessary for the state to survive longer than the former two Saudi states in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The attachments to this study include many pages from the confiscated and secret materials which are written by Saudi opponents. Since the documents are prohibited inside the Saudi kingdom, they have been compiled and published outside the kingdom. Consequently, some of the documents were published through the internet. Possessing some of these materials could lead to punishment by prison or death without a real trial. The documents include pages from Naser Alssaed’s book History of the Saudi Family; pages from the secret messages of Jehiman Alotaybi; messages from the internet of Al Masary, the leader of the religious committee, who is exiled to London and who has inspired Osama bin Laden; and documents of the human rights reports, which indicate the violations that exist within the kingdom.