From the Stop the Presses Department, via MSNBC, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
Inside Saudi Arabia today there’s a national campaign against extremism. Television ads, billboards and even ATM machines drive home the toll of terror.
The Saudis recently hosted a worldwide conference condemning all terrorism and declaring they’ve cracked down.
“When imams preach intolerance or hate towards others, they are dismissed or punished,” says Adel Al-Jubeir, a Saudi Arabian foreign affairs advisor.
Senior U.S. officials say the Saudis have changed significantly. Many clerics now speak out against jihad. Yet when it comes to killing Americans in Iraq, some send a very different message.
“I praise the jihad against the occupiers in Iraq,” said Sheik Ai’dh Al-Qarni on Arabic-TV. “Throats must be split and skulls must be shattered.”
Ah, what a holy man!
Another cleric says suicide bombings are forbidden inside Saudi Arabia, but outside they can be “a good thing.”
“There is nothing wrong with [suicide attacks] if they cause great damage to the enemy,” said Sheik Abdallah Al-Muslih, also on Arabic-TV.
In fact, in November 2004, 26 Saudi clerics published a religious statement urging Muslims to wage holy war in Iraq. “Jihad against the occupiers is a must,” said the statement. “[It is] not only a legitimate right but a religious duty.”…
However, a senior Saudi official insists that these clerics represent “a vocal fringe minority,” whose views do not represent the Saudi government or religious establishment. He says the government cannot control these clerics because most are not on the payroll, and they are exercising their rights to free speech.
What’s that? A “vocal fringe minority”? So out the window again goes that media talk of “Wahhabi dominance.” That was fast.