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From: gt8145a@prism.gatech.edu (FADEL,AYMAN HOSSAM)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Dissent in Saudi Arabia to US presence
Message-ID: <1990Dec17.205448.6563@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 17 Dec 90 20:54:48 GMT
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According to Mamoun Fandy, a journalist and a doctoral candidate at
Southern Illinois U. in political science, the dean of Islamic studies at
Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, Safar al-Hawali, is distributing
cassette tapes a la Ayatollah Khomeini denouncing our deployment in
Saudi Arabia.  In an article entitled, "The Hawali Tapes,", Fandy writes:

	Dr. Hawali is one of Islam's most respected theologians and the
primary spokesmen for the Wahabi sect.

	Dr. Hawalis stops short of calling for the overthrow of the Saud
family and advocates no violent actions.  Instead, he says that the Saudis
and their clergy have gravely misunderstood their religion and must atone
before God.  It is contrary to the laws of Islam, Dr. Hawali says, to join
with non-Muslims in a battle against Muslims.  His command of Islamic
theology is so comprehensive that any Muslim would be obliged to weigh
his arguments.
	Finally, he accuses all who have accepted the deployment of an
impiety verging on idolatry.  "When the mujahideen drove the Russians
from Afghanistan, you did not say, 'God helped them.'  You said, 'America
helped them.'  Now, when we are threatened by war, you do not say, 'God
will protect us.'  You say, 'America will protect us.'  America has become
your God."


I have a couple of questions:

Does anybody know who Safar al-Hawali is?  How popular he is in Saudi
Arabia?  Why the government tolerates such dissent?

If what Fandy writes is true, then our presence in the area is very
dangerous to the Saudi regime and consequently to ourselves.  I have
nightmares of the Saudi government being overthrown, and the new regime
cutting off logistical support to our troops in the desert (i.e., no water.) 
Is this possible?  What would we do if something like this happened?

If the above is true, we should immediately begin scaling back our troops 
and replace them with troops from other countries.

Ayman