Saudi Paper Identifies Leaders of 'Jihadist Trend', 'Al-Qa'ida' in Saudi Arabia

No sooner had the wave of incitement in Saudi Arabia subsided -- after the arrest of a group of instigators and the retraction by two of them of their fatwas (religious edicts) containing takfir (a declaration that a Muslim has ceased to be a Muslim and has departed into unbelief, i.e. has become a kafir) and incitement -- than another personality appeared in the religious arena. This personality was secretly active in the past but is now considered the leader of the terrorist trend.

The instigator is Abdallah Muhammad al-Rushud, a fugitive from justice who is hiding somewhere in Saudi Arabia. Al-Rushud, who is in his thirties, was born in Al-Aflaj town. He moved to Riyadh for university study in the College of Shar'iah. He worked as a teacher in the Shari'ah Institute in the southern province of Al-Nammas. He then moved to the Al-Quway'ah Institute near Riyadh. Afterward, he moved to Riyadh, but he resigned from his government post for no clear reasons, and was imprisoned for two months in 1997.

According to various sources that have spoken to Al-Sharq al-Awsat, the hiding place of Al-Rushud is still not known and there are no confirmed reports that he has escaped to Iraq. The most likely possibility is that "he is still hiding somewhere in Saudi Arabia." He escaped from the security services after leading a gathering in Riyadh outside the house of Shaykh Abd-al-Aziz Al al-Shaykh, mufti of Saudi Arabia and head of the Senior Ulema Authority, less than a year ago. With him at the gathering was Ahmad al-Dakhil, one of those killed in the confrontations between the security services and terrorist elements in Hijrat Ghadiy in Al-Qasim on 28 July 2003. Al-Dakhil was one of those wanted on the famous list of 19. After the end of the gathering, Al-Rushud delivered an incitement speech in one of the mosques of Riyadh and then escaped from the security forces.

According to those close to the radical religious trend, "Al-Rushud was not a known figure in the past. His activity was confined to delivering sermons in the mosques after prayers and gathering a group of youths and speaking to them. But he totally embraced the jihadist thought." After his escape, there was no news about his whereabouts. His absence raised questions among those interested in the news of the so-called "jihadist trend." However, he suddenly appeared during Ramadan (December 2003) through a two-part interview conducted with him by the magazine Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Jihad) in which he continued his incitement of the groups wanted by the security forces and in which he also attacked religious figures.

In a speech aired on an Internet site that follows the news of the so-called "jihadist trend," Al-Rushud launched an attack on Shaykh Ali al-Khudayr, who had retracted his previous fatwas and views in which he practiced incitement, takfir, and support for the terrorists. Al-Rushud spoke about the stand taken by Nasir al-Umar, who supported Al-Khudayr's retraction of his previous fatwas. Al-Rushud spoke about the meetings that took place between him and Al-Umar, whom he called "Shaykh," and also his meetings with Salman al-Awdah, whom he refrained from calling a "Shaykh." Al-Rushud claimed that Al-Umar and Al-Awdah "are both avoiding facing questions by shabab al-sahwah (youth of the awakening)," and he directly attacked them. He did not hesitate to accuse Al-Awdah of lying and of retracting some of his views, which he (Al-Awdah) mentioned in a private meeting between the two of them.

According to one of those following the dismantling of the so-called "jihadist current," in his speech Al-Rushud raised questions, leveled accusations, and tried to capitalize on the repentance of Ali al-Khudayr and Nasir al-Fahd. The man (Al-Rushud), it seemed, was searching for "stardom." However, it appeared from his speech that he lacked deep Salafist thought or what the Salafists call "al-Ta'sil al-Ilmi" (genuine learning).

A reading of the two-part interview conducted with him by the magazine "Sawt al-Jihad," the mouthpiece of the groups wanted by the Saudi security services, clearly shows that Al-Rushud directly supported the terrorist operations that were carried out in Saudi Arabia in 2003. Although he did not mention each incident by its name, he clearly supported these incidents by supporting those whom he called the "youth of jihad" in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Rushud's relationship with the terrorist elements wanted in the famous list of 19 was not confined to his participation with Ahmad al-Dakhil in demonstrating outside the house of Mufti Shaykh Abd-al-Aziz Al al-Shaykh. He also spoke about Abd-al-Aziz al-Muqrin, alias "Abu-Hajar," whom he considered one of the "jihadist" leaders inciting to jihad in Saudi Arabia. He said that these "jihadist" leaders have spread "the doctrine of jihad among many Muslim peoples." Foremost of these "jihadist" leaders, according to him, are "Imam Abu-Abdallah Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, may God grant him victory, and his companions, and triumphant commander Khattab, may God have mercy on his soul, and his deputy the Lion of Battles Abu-al-Walid al-Ghamidi and his companions. They also include Abd-al-Aziz al-Muqrin, alias Abu-Hajar, in the Arabian Peninsula, may God safeguard him against any harm."

According to security sources, Abd-al-Aziz al-Muqrin is the mastermind and current leader of the Al-Qa'ida organization in Saudi Arabia. He led the bombing operation against the Al-Muhayya residential compound in Riyadh on 8 November. He is still at large.

(Description of Source: London Al-Sharq al-Awsat (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic -- Influential Saudi-owned London daily providing independent coverage of Arab and international issues; editorials reflect official Saudi views on foreign policy)