Al Qaeda Faces Rejection By Muslims
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now we hear out of the White House that President Bush called the Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah today to offer his condolences and assurances that the U.S. stands with Saudi Arabia in the war on terrorism. Now last night, the Riyadh bureau chief for Arab News told me al Qaeda would pay a price for targeting Arabs. 4600 Saudi troops are protecting Islam's holiest city right now, Mecca. Mamoun Fandy is a senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Mamoun, thank you very much for being here tonight.</s>MAMOUN FANDY, SR. FELLOW, U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE: Thank you, Carol.</s>LIN: Your research focuses on radical Islam, terrorism and politics in the Arab world. Would al Qaeda dare to attack the most holiest site in Islam? And if so, why?</s>FANDY: Well, I think it will be very difficult, Carol. One of the things about the attack in Riyadh yesterday is that it is really very revealing about al Qaeda. First of all, it reveals that Saudi Arabia is really waging war on al Qaeda. And now, there is desperate attempts by al Qaeda. They cannot get a serious target in Saudi Arabia today. This is why they went for a soft target in an Arab neighborhood. Thirdly, it also revealed that American measures, security measures, have been effective as far as our embassies abroad. And in that sense, they could not get any of that. I'm sure Mecca will be -- if September 11th was shooting themselves in the foot as far as al Qaeda's concerned, if they attack anything in Mecca, then they're shooting themselves in the head. Then the whole Muslim world will turn around against the bin Laden, against al Qaeda, and against radical Islam in general.</s>LIN: Well, al Qaeda has to know that. Last night we had our investigative producer on set talking about chatter, actually conversations going on between al Qaeda members on the Internet, concern amongst themselves of what the consequences would be if they struck again in Saudi Arabia. I mean, is it likely that al Qaeda will lose recruiting, as well as fundraising from a very important source here?</s>FANDY: Well, at the heart of terrorism, throughout the Middle East has been really the financial, as well as the propaganda side of terrorism. And really any attack, first of all, on holy sites, in the holiest sites of Islam, the epicenter of the Muslim faith, that will first, you know, dry up the resources as far as any funding for these Islamic groups. And second, it will also certainly undermine their whole propaganda campaign that they are waging a war against America and against the West and against Zionists and all these claims. I think that will end that legitimacy and the recruitment and all of that.</s>LIN: And at the same time, as you mentioned, I mean Saudi Arabia is now rounding up hundreds of suspects from the May 12th al Qaeda bombing...</s>FANDY: That's correct.</s>LIN: ...of another residential compound. Some 600 people are now in custody. They're sending out troops to the city of Mecca, as we've been reporting. Obviously communicating with the Bush administration about what's happening on the ground. Does this mean that Saudi Arabia now is a true partner to the United States and the war on terror?</s>FANDY: I think two important things happened. I mean, since that May attack, Saudi Arabia has had this moment of reckoning and decided yes, this threat is serious. It is home. It is dangerous to us. So indeed, they started waging war on al Qaeda. Another thing that you didn't mention, Carol, that Saudi Arabia arrested 3,000 coming through from Iraq to Saudi Arabia. And some of them are al Qaeda members. And that was published in Saudi newspaper yesterday. So Saudi Arabia right now, and really in an all out war against al Qaeda and its recruits. And the -- also what's happening, what's most important is that Saudi society now had turned its back on all these pretenses of radicalism that they supported in the past.</s>LIN: That's right. They at once denied that there was any radical activity going on in the ground. And now, it's going to be very interesting to see the developments in this story. Thank you very much, Mamoun Fandy for joining us tonight.</s>FANDY: Thank you, Carol. USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com