WRAPUP 1-Arabs struggle to come to terms with Riyadh bombing
10 Nov 2003 15:14:06 GMT
By Nadim Ladki BEIRUT, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Sunday's suicide bombing in Saudi Arabia appeared to go farther toward tarnishing the image of Osama bin Laden in Arab eyes than any previous attack linked to al Qaeda. From Yemen to Egypt, ordinary Arabs struggled on Monday to understand how Muslims could perpetrate such an act against fellow Muslims even if some sympathised with bin Laden's war on the United States and its regional allies. Political commentators said the suicide attack by suspected al Qaeda bombers in Saudi Arabia's capital, which killed 17 people and wounded some 120, mostly Arabs, indicated bin Laden was shifting his strategy towards an all out war against the Saudi government. Across the Arab world, condemnation of the bloodletting came from various quarters: Governments, media and ordinary people. "Al Qaeda is now bombing ordinary Arab people who had been their staunchest supporters. This has undoubtedly dented Arab public opinion towards the organisation (al Qaeda)," said Malik al-Suleimany, an Omani free-lance journalist and political commentator. "They can't express their views in this way. They must try another way," Syrian travel agent Rami Nammour said. "They are doing this to say we don't like your actions. We don't like the Arab presidents' actions." "It is like a message to all the Arabs. They don't like the government actions or communications with the U.S. or the European Union...But they are very bad Muslims. I am sure this is not correct Islam." In Lebanon, newspapers splashed on their front pages pictures of two smiling Lebanese siblings who were killed in the bombings. Seven of the victims were Lebanese. "This was such a wanton act," said Samira, whose son recently returned from Saudi Arabia with his family. "Thank God we didn't know any of those killed but it was so upsetting. Who would do such a thing?" "Of course they are terrorists," said Samer, manager of a Damascus electronics shop. "They were targeting residents, Arabs and Muslims." "These people have no brains. This is not the way." NEW BATTLELINES Arab commentators said the attack took the war between bin Laden and the Saudi ruling elite to a new level. "What terrorists are doing is a new development...an attempt to seize power and widen violence," the leading al-Riyadh daily said in an editorial. Jordanian commentator Taher Adwan said the latest attack was different from bombings in recent years in that it did not target residential compounds for Americans or Western expatriates. "The bombing was well planned and illustrates the confrontation between the Saudi government and the al Qaeda group is now open to all possibilities," he said. "The bombings seek to create a sense of insecurity in the kingdom and to sow fear among residents that disrupt economic activities...it reminds us of the Algerian model," Adwan added. Al Qaeda leader Saudi-born bin Laden, who recently vowed more suicide attacks inside and outside the United States, has repeatedly accused the Saudi government of betraying Islam. Essam el-Erian, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, said the attack was unacceptable morally and according to Islamic sharia law. He said U.S. policy in the Middle East was indirectly to blame for the attack. "The atmosphere supplied by American policy in the region has made the region a theatre for terrible acts of terror and violence." Oreib Rantawi, a liberal Jordanian political commentator, said Arabs had a duty to stop bin Laden and his likes. "Their terror and crimes are all directed against us and fighting them is our responsibility and those silent over this are accomplices to the crime," Rantawi added. "The preachers of darkness are filling our youths with hatred and arms while they hide in the closet to prepare new groups of killers," he added. (Additional reporting by Dubai, Damascus, Amman and Cairo)
