Incitement to Jihad on Saudi Government-Controlled TV

As part of MEMRI's TV Monitoring Project, Saudi government controlled television channels including TV1, TV2 and satellite channels such as Iqraa TV, are continually monitored. [1] These channels include shows with leading Saudi religious figures, professors, members of the royal family, government leaders and intellectuals. Constant themes within Saudi television shows include: calls for the annihilation of Christians and Jews, rampant anti-Americanism and antisemitism, support for Jihad, incitement against U.S. troops in Iraq, and the coming Islamic conquest of the U.S. Segments from these TV shows can be found at www.memriTV.org .

Saudi Religious Establishment 'Demonstrated that It is the Body Most Competent … at De-Legitimizing Al Qa'ida's Cultist Ideology'

In a June 15 press release, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, maintained that "senior religious scholars in Saudi Arabia have continually and unequivocally condemned terrorism. In our war against terrorism, these condemnations are a powerful weapon."In this statement, as well as in close to two dozen others by the Saudi embassy in Washington D.C. since the Riyadh bombings on March 12, 2003, the government of Saudi Arabia promoted the idea that the royal family and religious establishment have been espousing a message of tolerance. As Nail Al-Jubeir, director of the Saudi information office, said on May 6, 2004: "Our religious establishment has taught moderation to our people. The religious establishment has demonstrated that it is the body most competent and effective at de-legitimizing Al Qa'ida's cultist ideology."

In fact, on June 20, 2004, Saudi cleric Dr. Muhammad Bin Suleiman Al-Mani'i hosted a talk show on Saudi TV 1 and spoke out against killing Jews and Christians. Excerpts of his statements include: " Islamic law in general prohibits any Muslim from raising a weapon against any lover of peace – dhimmi (protected person), Jewish or Christian, a merchant, or anyone who enters (the country) on a work contract. Islamic law permits raising a weapon only against whomever aims a weapon at the Muslim in order to fight him."

While Al-Mani'i's statement against killing Jews and Christians is almost unprecedented within Saudi Arabia, he went on to explain that if non-Muslims are treated well by Muslims, they will eventually convert to Islam: "The Jewish, Christian, and Zoroastrian subjects had their autonomous rule under Islam, and at the same time these Muslim states, and the caliphs, preserved their rights, treated them well, maintained neighborly relations and dealt with them honestly and in good faith, treated their sick, granted them their rights, and called them to convert to Islam. Therefore, the Jewish, Christian, and other subjects converted to Islam."

Saudi Professor: Allah Permits Annihilating Christians and Jews

Sheik Dr. Ahmad Abd Al-Latif, a professor at Um Al-Qura University , was asked the following question on Saudi channel TV1 on May 24: "Some imams and preachers call for Allah to annihilate the Jews and those who help them, and the Christians and those who support them… Is it permitted according to Islamic law?" Professor Al-Latif responded: "What made them curse the Jews is that the Jews are oppressors… The same goes for the Christians, because of their cruel aggression against Islamic countries … while the truth is that this is a crusading war whose goal is to harm Muslims. This is why a Muslim is allowed to curse the oppressors from among the Jews and Christians… Cursing the oppressing Jews and the oppressing and plundering Christians and the prayer that Allah will annihilate them is permitted."

Former Saudi Embassy Official on 'Big Explosion' Coming

Sheik Muhammad Al-Munajid, a disciple of one of Saudi Arabia's most revered religious leaders, Sheik 'Abd Al-'Aziz ibn 'Abdallah ibn Baaz , was identified in a report in the Washington Post on December 11, 2003, as running "a Web site that promotes intolerance of Christians and Jews and calls for holy war on Shiite Muslims," and was included as one of sixteen clerics associated with the Saudi embassy's Islamic Affairs Department who was stripped of diplomatic credentials.

Al-Munajid stated on Iqraa TV on April 15: "The issue is not one person, two, ten or a hundred going out with their guns to support their brothers. Defeating the infidels requires a much greater effort. It requires the mobilization of the nation. How can the nation be mobilized? I believe that the stupid acts of these Jews and Crusaders mobilize the nation. The big explosion will come! In spite of everything, it will happen!"

Much of Saudi TV is based upon religious programming. Many of these programs refer to the spread of Islam throughout the world and the battle against non-Muslims. On a May 20 episode of Iqraa TV's 'Mushkilat Min Al-Hayat ' (Problems from Life), Saudi Sheik Abdallah Al-Muslih, chairman of the Commission on Scientific Signs in the Koran and Sunnah of the Muslim World League, used evidence from early Islam to support his claim that suicide bombings on enemy land are permitted according to Islamic law: "… Regarding a person who blows himself up, I know this issue is under disagreement among modern clerics and jurisprudents… There is nothing wrong with [martyrdom] if they cause great damage to the enemy. We can say that if it causes great damage to the enemy, this operation is a good thing. This is when we talk of Dar Al-Harb. But, if we speak of what happens in Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia … this is forbidden, brothers! This is the land of the Muslims. We must never do this in a Muslim country."

Prominent Saudi Professor: Allah Willing, the U.S. Will Collapse

Supporting Jihad against U.S. troops in Iraq is the topic of many Saudi TV programs. On May 10, Dr. Yassin Al-Khatib, a professor of Islamic law at Um Al-Qura University, declared on the UAE's Al-Majd TV, which frequently has Saudi guests on it, that "the honor, blood, property and mostly the fact that they entered the country [i.e. Iraq] … make it every Muslim's duty to go out against them, not only the Iraqis. This is every Muslim's duty. Jihad today has become an individual duty that applies to each and every Muslim. It is forbidden for a person to remain silent… When the Muslims fought in Afghanistan they destroyed the Soviet Union, which was a superpower. It collapsed and Allah willing, so will this [the U.S.] collapse."

The Coming Islamic Takeover of the U.S.

Saudis often discuss the issue of the U.S. becoming a Muslim state in the future. On a March 17 broadcast on Iqraa TV, Saudi preacher Sheik Said Al-Qahtani discussed this issue, as well as the cases in which Muslims are permitted to declare a defensive Jihad: "… We did not occupy the U.S., with 8 million Muslims, using bombings. Had we been patient, and let time take its course, instead of the 8 million, there could have been 80 million [Muslims] and 50 years later perhaps all the US would have become Muslim… What should a Muslim do if he is attacked in his country, on his land? In this case, there is no choice besides defense, self-sacrifice, and what religious scholars call – Defensive Jihad… We attacked their country, and this caused them to wake the dormant enmity in their hearts… Especially since there is global Zionism, the enemy of Islam, and Judaism, and fundamentalist Crusaders… They interpret this whole incident as only the beginning and thus there is no choice but a preemptive strike."

Al-Qahtani added on another Iqraa TV show on May 5: "Allah said, 'prepare against them all the force and horsemen that you can.' What for? In order to strike fear into their hearts… At the same time, [we should] establish strategies for the future, even if only for the short term, and prepare … so that one of these days, even 100, 200, or 400 years from now, we will become a force that will be feared by the infidel states."

Prominent Saudi Professor: America is on It's Way to Destruction

Saudi professor Nasser Bin Suleiman Al-Omar, who runs a large Islamic internet website, www.almoslim.net , appeared on Al-Majd, on June 13, 2004, to discuss the approaching collapse of the U.S. and the growing strength of Muslims within the U.S. Al-Omar stated: "America is collapsing from within. Where are America's principles of justice and democracy? …Islam is advancing according to a steady plan, to the point that tens of thousands of Muslims have joined the American army and Islam is the second largest religion in America. Today, America is defeated. I have no doubt, not even for a minute, that America is on its way to destruction. But as Ibn Khaldoun said, just as it takes decades for nations to rise, it takes them decades to collapse. They don't collapse overnight. Because Communist Russia opposed reality it collapsed immediately. America may not collapse this way. It will be destroyed gradually. America will be destroyed. But we must be patient."

Saudi Arabia's Highest Ranking Government-Appointed Cleric: Hopefully the Jews' End Will Soon Occur

One month prior to Canada's decision to bar Saudi Arabia's highest ranking government-appointed cleric, Sheikh Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sudayyis, from entering the country, [2] the Saudi preacher gave a sermon on Saudi TV 1 discussing Jihad. Al-Sudayyis, who serves as one of the imams of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, stated: "The history of the Jewish people is written in black ink, and has included a series of murders of the prophets, the Mujaheedin and righteous people… But maybe it is the beginning of their end… You have revived the hopes of this nation through your blessed Jihad… With Allah's help, one of two good things will be awarded you: either victory or martyrdom." On June 11, Al-Sudayyis was given the honor of leading Friday prayers for over 10,000 worshippers gathered in the East London Mosque to hear him call, in English, for interfaith peace and harmony in an event that included Prince Charles via satellite and British Minister for Racial Equality, Fiona MacTaggart . [3]

In reaction to the May 1, 2004 terrorist shooting in the offices of an oil contractor in Yunbu', Saudi Arabia, in which seven people, among them two Americans, were killed, Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah ibn Abd Al-'Aziz stated at a gathering of Saudi dignitaries, including top Muslim clerics and preachers, that "the Zionists" were to blame. The statement was made at a May 2 gathering of the royal family, which aired on Saudi TV 1: "Be assured that the Zionist are behind everything. This is certain. I don't say this with 100% [confidence], but with 95%."

In addition to other leading Saudi officials, such as Interior Minister Prince Nayef, the following day Dr. Salem Al-Aufi, the secretary general of King Fahd Center for Printing the Koran, reiterated on Saudi TV 1: "Yesterday we heard the Crown Prince say that Zionism is behind these attacks. Who helps them carry out these kinds of attacks? Who gives them money? Who gives them weapons? Who presents them with the evil ideology that brought them to this? There is no doubt that behind this, there are international organizations aspiring to undermine this country's security, and terminate its achievements, and at the top of these organizations stands Zionism, the enemy of the religion."

Saudi Royal Family Can End Jihad Programming at Any Time

According to the websites of the television channels mentioned in this article, programming is presented by the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information and is advertised as a "balanced blend of religious and cultural programs." The Ministry of Culture and Information's website indicates that it is responsible for the Kingdom's television and radio broadcasting and publication of printed material, and one of its defined roles includes the undertaking of information campaigns for the Kingdom. Therefore, the Saudi royal family can end its support for Jihad programming at any time.

*Steven Stalinsky is Executive Director of MEMRI.