“…arrest of 172 jihadists looks as if it could be a major coup.” — from Jay’s comment here
Why a “major coup”? If the main source of funding, the main Money Weapon, the Mr. Big, of the worldwide Jihad, is Saudi Arabia, why should we consider it a “major coup” to be hailed, presumably, by all of us? It isn’t. It’s a “major coup” only for the House of Al-Saud. Its 30,000-40,000 corrupt princes, princelings, and princelettes can go about their corruption and spending a bit more easily now. But this will not end the billions spent by Saudi Arabia on mosques and madrasas everywhere in the world, but especially in the West. This will not end the Saudi sums that go to assorted campaigns of Da’wa. This will not end the public-relations and other propaganda campaigns by those hired by the Saudis, to make them, and Islam, look good and to keep lulling the publics of the Western world. This will not end those terrorist attacks anywhere in the Western world.
Similarly, the American enthusiasm for and ballyhoo about the Saudi ability to “de-program” terrorists is absurd. The use of Imams to go into Saudi prisons, and very carefully lead these members of Al Qaeda away from the thought of attacking fellow Muslims — that is, the ruling family, the Al-Saud, or other Saudis — is not hard to do. Those imams are trained not to end thoughts of Jihad, but to make sure that the Jihad is always and everywhere conducted against the right enemy, the certified Infidels.
Yet some in the West allow themselves to misunderstand what Saudi “de-programming” means. They even think that if we hire enough imams, or other Muslims, we too can “de-program” would-be terrorists, just the way we think they must do it in Saudi Arabia. (My god, there are so many on the government dole right now, from the assorted informers to all the advisers, to those who appear to have become fashionable minders of generals, that one wonders if, whatever else it has been, the threat of terrorist Jihad has become a permanent and very lucrative source of income for Muslims all over the West.)
No, once again the main point is lost. Once again, the Saudis are able to fool us. Once again, we do not distinguish between their de-programming, which is of no help to us, and our kind — which would require convincing Muslims to ignore large parts, central parts, of the Qur’an, many of the most “authentic” Hadith, and of course the Sira, the life of Muhammad, uswa hasana, al-insan al-kamil.
The description of the Saudi arrest as a “major coup” implies that somehow we and the Saudis are on the same side. We aren’t. They have arrested 172 people who threaten the Al-Saud and their regime. That’s it. They continue to finance, in every way ($100 billion over the past few decades), the Jihad against the Infidels, including of course us.
No “major coup” for us. Only for Saudi Arabia. Only for one group of Muslims. That group, which controls the security services of Saudi Arabia, is much richer and more decadent and, in private, more unobservant of the strictures of Islam, than the other group. But both groups support Jihad against the Infidels. And right now, objectively, whatever Saudi resources are deflected to fighting domestic (Saudi or other Arab) enemies, are resources that are not being spent on the Greater Jihad against us — spent, that is, to spread Islam and to enlarge the number of Muslims embedded deep within the Lands of the Infidels, and to make sure the brand of Islam is the purest and most uncompromising version possible.
It’s something, these arrests. But it is not cause for great celebration. Merely for observation, and always asking ourselves, at every step: What exactly is in it for us? In this case, what’s in it is the possibility that terrorist attacks within Saudi Arabia will divert still more Saudi resources to monitoring and arresting and imprisoning and “de-programming.” The harder it is for the Al-Saud to get a good night’s sleep, in Saudi Arabia or in Belgravia or a hotel suite in Monte Carlo or in a yacht off Malaga, the better for us.
That’s all.