U.S. Government Pressing Saudi Arabia on Indoctrination

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

One factor that all Islamic terrorists have in common is exposure to radical theology.  Today, Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi sect is the world's biggest propagator of radical Islam.  I've touched on this issue in my recent article "Wahhabi Prison Fellowship," and in an earlier post on the Freedom House's report "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques."  Saudi literature regularly incites readers to fight in jihad against non-Muslims; is filled with virulent anti-Semitism and animus toward Christians and moderate Muslims; condemns secular government as fundamentally illegitimate; and features harsh edicts regarding the treatment of women.

An article by Meghan Clyne in today's New York Sun describes a "flurry of activity" on the issue of Wahhabist indoctrination.  The first shot fired was the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2005, introduced this June, the stated purpose of which is "to halt Saudi support for institutions that fund, train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abet terrorism, and to secure fully Saudi cooperation in the investigation of terrorist incidents."  Clyne reports that last week "the State Department pressed Saudi officials for answers" about Saudi Arabia's distribution of radical material when undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs Karen Hughes visited the Middle East.  After Hughes became the first American official to raise the issue with Saudi journalists, she commented, "We had been raising the issue privately, and as part of raising difficult issues that we need to discuss, I felt it was appropriate."

Also, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold October 25 hearings on Saudi theological indoctrination.  The Committee expects testimony from the State Department, FBI, Freedom House and terrorism experts.  William Reynolds, a spokesman for Sen. Specter, said that high on the agenda will be determining whether the Saudi government has taken steps to stop the distribution of radical materials.

In the past, the White House hasn't done a good job of building a public case against Saudi Arabia's radical Islamist indoctrination.  I'm not convinced that it has turned a corner yet, but there are encouraging signs.  And a little prodding from the Senate can't hurt.

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