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Some Saudi dissidents view the recent bombings as signals that violent jihadis--those who fight holy wars--are seizing the ascendancy from Islamic moderates who advocate political reform. "After the Dhahran bombing, there was jubilation," says Saad Fagih, a Sunni exile leader in London. "Each of these acts is a kind of recruitment for this violent trend. It says, 'See? We are doing something.'" And in a country where even politically moderate Saudis proudly call themselves fundamentalists, the fundamentalist dissidents among the majority Sunni could be the greatest threat to the throne.
One of the four Sunnis executed for the Riyadh bombing was Khalid Said, 24. He had grown his beard in the Islamic way and cut his white cotton robe at calf length to symbolize the modesty of the Prophet Muhammad. Like 10,000 other young Saudis, he had signed up for Afghanistan and the holy war against the atheistic Soviets that was vigorously supported by the pious Saudi government. For Said, Afghanistan was akin to attending a university for terrorism and extremism. He learned to use a rifle and to prime explosives. He met militant Muslim activists from throughout the Middle East, listening to them preach revolution against corrupt rulers who collaborated with the decadent and immoral West. After returning to the kingdom, Said followed the diatribes of Saudi exiles, including Osama bin Laden, a millionaire stripped of citizenship for denouncing King Fahd and demanding the expulsion of U.S. troops. Soon the thoughts of Said and his comrades turned to rebellion.
His execution has not ended those thoughts. Watchers in Washington insist they do not believe Saudi Arabia is ripe for a takeover by Islamist holy warriors. But some analysts fear the Saudi rulers might have only a few years to find ways to begin reforming their absolute monarchy.
--Reported by Dean Fischer/Washington and Scott MacLeod/Riyadh