Posted on 06/18/2003 11:28:40 AM PDT by bedolido
Saudis are aghast at plans to carry out bomb attacks in the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad; more arrests made
JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Saudis have reacted angrily to the threats that extremists could launch attacks in Mecca, the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad, as police made more arrests in an alleged terrorist plot to bomb sites in the holy city.
Mecca, 700km west of Riyadh, is the birthplace of Islam's seventh-century prophet and the heart of the annual pilgrimage that every able-bodied Muslim is required to perform at least once.
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The legitimacy of Saudi rulers rests in part on their custodianship of the holy city, which is off-limits to non-Muslims. A strike on it could be seen as a strike on the regime, but would also be profoundly disturbing to Muslims.
During a Cabinet meeting on Monday, King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah vowed to apply an iron-fist policy in the fight against domestic terrorism.
The Crown Prince also emphasised it was 'a war that must be fought by all methods and means', noting that terrorists had not refrained from carrying out their plots in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Hundreds of Saudis braved the heat to attend funerals on Sunday for two police officers slain during shootouts in Mecca over the weekend.
Mr Khaled al-Maeena, editor-in-chief of the Arab News, said the strong turnout at the funerals indicated Saudi support for the crackdown on terrorism and disgust with the violence.
'Saudi Arabia used to have one of the lowest crime rates in the world. We're very disappointed and upset by all this violence,' he said.
Newspapers on Monday published pictures of the police officers, the children they left behind and the bodies of some of the suspects covered in blood-splattered cloth.
'Mecca is our spiritual haven. We go there for peace of mind. It's the last place you expect violence,' said marketing executive Khlood Nazer.
'Knowing that these people were there with large quantities of explosives and bombs is very scary.'
Saudi analyst Jamal Khashoggi said alleged plans to attack sites in the birthplace of Islam might also turn off potential recruits, who often subscribe to radical beliefs.
'The religious credibility of the extremists will be hurt by the purported Mecca attacks,' he said. 'The idea of violence in holy Mecca is abhorrent to Muslims. It's a sin to commit violence in Mecca, and the religious credibility of anyone who plans attacks there is weakened.'
The Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that police had foiled an 'imminent terrorist attack' the day before when they raided an apartment in Mecca that had been rigged with explosives.
Saudi television said five 'terrorists' and two policemen were killed in a shootout in the middle-class al-Khalidiya district.
Found in the booby-trapped apartment were 72 bombs of different sizes, semi-automatic rifles, knives, communication devices, bomb-making materials and masks, the statement said.
The terror suspects' hideout was in a neighbourhood just 5km from the Grand Mosque area where the holy 'Kaaba', a cube-shaped structure of marble and grey stone, is located.
Officials declined to say if the militants were linked to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, which has been blamed for three suicide bombings in Riyadh in May.
The Saudi authorities have questioned 1,000 people and detained 300 since the attacks, an official said. -- AP, AFP, Reuters
If that's true, they could have done it to look like they were fighting "Terrorists". Maybe even trying to improve their image to the USA.
I guess this is a good place to bring up something I have often been curious about: Just what is inside the Kaaba?
I have heard that some sort of meteorite is built into the wall and that there is a door. But what is inside and who is allowed to go in there? Is anything known about the true history of this building?
You could be right, however, let's let them blow up Mecca and see what happens.
In India, sculptured black
I'm not sure I agree with you there. The recent suicide bombing in the residential complex killed Saudis. Al Qaeda are not rational people, they are psychotic, murderous lunatics. If they can justify flying commercial airliners full of innocent people into skyscrapers they can certainly find ways to justify killing innocent Saudis.
To suppose that they are just fighting against the House of Saud and the Americans is almost to lend them an air of credibility- like their cause is somehow noble and legitimate. These people are brainwashed madmen. I would insult myself by trying to make my rational mind think the way they do. Who knows what the heck's going through their perverted little brains? All I know is they need to be exterminated.
I agree with some of the other things you're saying though. I imagine the symbolism of protecting Mecca from those Saudis they deem unworthy of it is not entirely lost on them. The important thing they're missing though is- they are going to lose. That is as certain as the sun coming up tomorrow.
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