Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979
Saudi Arabia, homeland of Osama bin Laden and many 9/11 hijackers, is widely considered to be the heartland of radical Islamism. For decades, the conservative and oil-rich kingdom contributed recruits, ideologues and money to jihadi groups worldwide. Yet Islamism within Saudi Arabia itself remains poorly understood. Why has Saudi Arabia produced so many militants? Has the Saudi government supported violent groups? How strong is al-Qaida's foothold in the kingdom and does it threaten the...
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Saudi Arabia, homeland of Osama bin Laden and many 9/11 hijackers, is widely considered to be the heartland of radical Islamism. For decades, the conservative and oil-rich kingdom contributed recruits, ideologues and money to jihadi groups worldwide. Yet Islamism within Saudi Arabia itself remains poorly understood. Why has Saudi Arabia produced so many militants? Has the Saudi government supported violent groups? How strong is al-Qaida's foothold in the kingdom and does it threaten the regime? Why did Bin Laden not launch a campaign there until 2003? This book presents the first ever history of Saudi jihadism based on extensive fieldwork in the kingdom and primary sources in Arabic. It offers a powerful explanation for the rise of Islamist militancy in Saudi Arabia and sheds crucial new light on the history of the global jihadist movement.
List of figures and tables viiAcknowledgements viiiA note on conventions xIntroduction 11 The politics of pan-Islamism 16The rise of pan-Islamism 17The Afghan jihad and the Saudi state 24Pan-Islamist bidding games 302 The classical jihadists 38Afghanistan, cradle of the jihadist movement 38Jihad in Bosnia, the anticlimax 48Tajikistan, Chechnya and the minor jihad fronts 523 Recruitment to the early jihad fronts 59Hijazi domination 59For the umma and the afterlife 60Recruitment in the open 654 Opportunities for global jihad 70From the Burayda intifada to the 1995 Riyadh bombing 70Between police oppression and complacency 74New pan-Islamist causes 78The rise of the al-Shu'aybi school 835 Al-Qaida and Saudi Arabia 99The global jihadists 99The global jihadist doctrine and Saudi Arabia 102Al-Qaida central 108Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia 1126 Recruitment to al-Qaida 130Unemployment and 'Najdification' 130Classical jihad exploited 133Gatekeepers 1387 Post-9/11 Saudi Arabia 143New symbols of Muslim suffering 143Al-Qaida's scholars 147From soft to hard policing 1558 The mujahidin on the Arabian Peninsula 161Returning from Afghanistan 161Al-Nashiri and al-Qaida's failed 2002 offensives 166The al-Uyayri network 170Launching the jihad 1809 Recruitment to the QAP 186Boys of Riyadh 186The Afghanistan factor 189Anti-Americanism and companionship 193Persuasion, incrimination and protection 19610 The failure of the jihad in Arabia 199The aims of the QAP 199Evolution of the campaign 202Explaining the downfall of the QAP 217Conclusion 227Appendix 1 Socio-economic data on Saudi militants 239Appendix 2 Chronology of Islamist violence in Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009 244Bibliography 250Index 277
