Khaled Al-Faisal

ASIR — We Saudis no longer care about or are amazed by the organized campaigns that certain satellite channels have directed at the Kingdom. They recruit questionable individuals who fabricate and twist the facts to suit the channels’ agenda of titillation. At the heart is a great hostility toward the Kingdom for the security, wealth and national spirit it enjoys and for its unwavering devotion to Shariah law.

The great surprise was a statement made by Dr. Khaled Al-Dakheel, a professor of political science at King Saud University, which was broadcast on satellite television several days ago and in which he claimed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia avoids confrontation. With one fell swoop, the professor nullified the history of an entire nation that without exaggeration has and still does unilaterally confront many of the challenges within the region.

Here are but a few examples to show that truth is not on the professor’s side:

• The first Saudi state confronted bida’ (heresy) in the people of the peninsula and guided them back to the right path in their religion. This work continues in the second state.

• The country confronted the tyranny, oppression and dissent that were rife in the land and with the effort of the reformist King Abdul Aziz succeeded in uniting the various regions. He insisted that the Shariah would form the sole constitution of the country at a time when all other countries where following the Western example.

• Saudi Arabia faced at the time of its inception struggles that brought it to the verge of civil war, with factions saying all doors should be closed and the country should become self-sufficient. King Saud had the vision to take the Kingdom out into the world while upholding the principles of Shariah. The king achieved a balance between truth and modernity and so the modern state emerged — always true to its faith and its principles.

• In the 50s and 60s the Kingdom confronted the socialist and communist threat to which many other Islamic nations gravitated. Its strong resistance to these trends earned it accusations of being old-fashioned, to which King Faisal famously replied: “If old-fashioned means adhering to the right path then we are proud to be old-fashioned.”

• The Kingdom confronted the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1966 by cutting relations with France and Britain and mobilizing its sons — including Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd — who underwent military training in readiness to defend Egyptian soil.

• The Kingdom faced off against Israeli aggression toward Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 1967 through the strongest moral and financial support. Despite all the disagreements between Nasser and King Faisal (which reached a peak when Egypt invaded Yemen and Saudi Arabia defended its neighbor) it was the king who called for funding to rebuild the Egyptian Army, which went on to cross the canal and liberate its land in 1973.

• The Kingdom confronted the US bias in favor of Israel in the war of Ramadan 10. It cut off oil supplies to the US and European countries that collaborated with Israel. It was the first and last time that the oil weapon was used so effectively. Sadat reportedly said: “Faisal is the real hero of the Battle of the Passage.”

• The Kingdom confronted the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and allowed the allied troops passage through its territory despite strong opposition, which regrettably included a number of Arab and Islamic countries. Were it not for King Fahd’s insistence on the return of the rightful government, Saddam’s army would not have retreated nor Kuwait liberated.

• The Kingdom firmly dealt with attempts by foreign ambassadors to interfere in its affairs and requested that the US ambassador be removed twice, the first time during the reign of King Saud and the second time during King Fahd’s reign.

• The Kingdom confronted terrorism before the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and was among the first to put into place and sign an agreement with Arab interior ministers to combat terrorism. It continues unwavering in this battle.

• The Kingdom still confronts Israel by standing shoulder to shoulder with the Palestinians, supporting them morally and financially. It is making every effort with the American side to push Israel to resolve the problem.

• Despite the fierce global campaign against Islam and Muslims, the Kingdom deals with many of the problems of the world by giving what moral or financial assistance it can and looking out for the needs of the nearly seven million Muslims who travel to the Kingdom to perform Haj and Umrah.

• Finally, the Kingdom now confronts a strange alliance between Al-Qaeda and global Zionism, one attempting to unsettle the Kingdom, the other trying to pressure the US into further hostility toward the Kingdom.

The Kingdom hasn’t yielded to either group. It maintains the principle of the founder of the Kingdom — of balance between truth and modernity. Our country advances on the basis of Islam.

These are just a few examples of the confrontations the Kingdom has faced. Does Dr. Al-Dakheel still believe that this country avoids confrontation?

“If you knew then, that is a catastrophe. But if you didn’t know then, that is an even greater catastrophe.”

— Khaled Al-Faisal is governor of the Asir province.

- Arab News Opinion 1 September 2003