Has Saudi funding for Wahhabistic Madrassa schools been affected since 9/11?  

A madrassa is a religious school. Some of the extremists have been incubated in
Saudi-financed madrassas that teach a fanatical denomination of Islam
known as Wahhabism.
If one views the war on terror as a contest of ideas, like the Cold
War, rather than a struggle against organized crime, like the Drug
War, then presumably countering the inculcation of Hate into young
minds is essential.

Hence my question:  Has Saudi funding for Wahhabistic Madrassa schools
been impacted up or down since 9/11?  Please limit the scope to
funding such schools *outside* Saudi Arabian territory.

---

Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 17 Dec 2003 23:27 PST

Dear grthumongous, 

I think I understand what you're looking for, but am not sure, and
I'll explain. Wahhabbism is the ruling stream of Islam in the Saudi
Arabia, so theoretically - all Islamic schools there are Wahhabi and
get accordingly supported. Do you refer to specific schools? To the
general support of the Saudi regime in "extremist"/militant Wahhabi
ideas in schools? To their level of commitment to reform in these
schools?

---

Clarification of Question by grthumongous-ga on 17 Dec 2003 23:54 PST

Gday,
I was referring to the particular support for *exported*  extremist
Wahhabi ideas in foreign-based schools.   I have seen a few news
reports where desperately poor families enrolled their boys in
Madrassas located *outside* Saudi Arabia in order to obtain  a free
education.  These may even have been boarding schools so the boys were
also fed.  I believe the example depicted was in Pakistan.
So I meant to refer to such Wahhibi schools, funded either by the
Saudi  government or by Saudi charities, located outside Saudi Arabia,
that tap a reservoir of young people with few options and deliver an
education that emphasizes religion and de-emphasizes the 3Rs (reading,
riting, rithmitic).

---

Clarification of Question by grthumongous-ga on 18 Dec 2003 00:00 PST

Without limiting the generality of the above clarification I refer to:
"the general support of the Saudi regime in "extremist"/militant Wahhabi
ideas in schools located *outside* Saudi Arabia?

Dear Grthumongous, 

I will be very careful in my answer, and will say "probably yes".
Naturally, I am not basing my research on intelligence reports or the
Saudi budget, and the Saudi government, as you can see later, could
deny any connection to the incidents mentioned bellow, and claim that
there are isolated incidents that do not represent Saudi policy.

Just recently (about a month ago), expert witnesses testifying in the
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said that the
Saudi Arabia continues to support extremism through schools and
mosques. (See U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom "Is
Saudi Arabia a Strategic Threat? November 18 hearing (11/17/03)"
<http://www.uscirf.gov/hearings/18Nov03/saudi.php3>). The Baptist
Press reports, that "The commission also has proposed a
congressionally funded study to determine if Saudi Arabia is directly
or indirectly funding the spread of Wahhabism to other countries.". I
guess that this report - if publicly available (unlike the reports on
possible Saudi involvement in the September 11 attacks) - will give
you an exact answer. [See also: Tom Carter, "Saudis' strict Islam
called a 'threat'" Washington Times,
<http://washingtontimes.com/world/20031118-113127-4259r.htm>].

A recent Newsweek/MSN investigative report reaffirms, that the Saudi
Arabia continues to support such schools, although sums are not
mentioned, and it is noted that the Saudi Arabia committed to fire
teachers who preach for extremism in schools funded by the Kingdom
(Source: Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball "Are the Saudis funding
schools devoted to fomenting radical Islamic ideology?" MSN Newsweek
Web Exclusive, Dec. 3, 2003
<http://msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3660811&p1=0>).

The Saudi government officially established five Islamic academies, in
Germany, the US, the UK, Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (see: King Fahd
bin Abdul Aziz
Website, "Academies"
<http://www.kingfahdbinabdulaziz.com/main/m100.htm>). In addition, the
regime funds - in $87 Billion - "religious propaganda", which includes
funding to schools and mosques (See: Mark Silverberg, "The Wahhabi
Invasion of America",
<http://jfednepa.org/mark%20silverberg/wahhabi.html>). Moreover, "In
March 2002, the official Saudi newspaper Ain Al-Yaqeen described royal
expenditures abroad for spreading the faith as "astronomical." It
traced to Saudi funding no fewer than 1,500 mosques, 202 colleges, and
some 2,000 schools for Muslim children "in non-Islamic countries in
Europe, North and South America, Australia and Asia."  (Source:
Stephen Schwartz, "Reading, Writing, and Extremism - What they are
teaching in Saudi-financed American schools" , Weekly Standard -
06/02/2003, Volume 008, Issue 37,
<http://www.geocities.com/arabracismplusjihad/SaudiFinancedSchoolsInUS.html>
- please note, that this GeoCities site seems to me to have an
anti-Muslim bias. However, Schwartz is a renowned expert on
Wahhabism).

On February 2002, the Saudis published themselves a long list of
institutions enjoying their support.

The Saudis of course deny that such activity occurs in the schools
they fund. "Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin sultan bin Abd Al-Aziz
replied to that statement on January 15, 2002, in a press release
posted on the Saudi Arabian Embassy website, "The Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia prohibits the teaching of hatred and violence. Charges that
Saudis fund schools that do so are baseless and lack an understanding
of our society, culture, and laws? I have great respect for Senator
Levin but I am surprised by his statement. If he has any concerns, I
urge him to visit Saudi Arabia..." (Source: Steven Stalinsky, "Saudi
Arabia's Education System" December 30, 2002, as published in Front
Page Magazine, <http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=5243>
- see note on the research conducted by MEMRI bellow).


Of the five officially funded King Fahd academies: 

Islamic Academy in Washington
<http://www.washingtonislamicacademy.org/> is ran by the Dar al-Hijrah
Islamic Center. The school "[..] uses textbooks imported from Pakistan
and Saudi Arabia that are laced with anti-Christian and anti-Semitic
dogma, observers say" (Source: Paul Sperry, "WAR ON TERROR
Imam tied to hijackers weighing Saudi job offer One-time subject of FBI probe 
headed hard-line mosque in D.C." World Net Daily,  August 5, 2003,
<http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33932>).

Schwartz adds, that "ISA withdrew from the Virginia Association of
Independent Schools in 2002 after an inquiry into its funding and
administration, as well as publicity in the Washington Post about the
harshness of its Wahhabi curriculum. A February 25, 2002, story in the
Post quoted an 11th-grade textbook, for example, to the effect that on
the Day of Judgment, the trees will say, "Oh Muslim, Oh servant of
God, here is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him." 
(Source: Schwartz, ibid).

"Front Page Magazine" published a year ago an interesting review of
Saudi funding for their schools (which was, according to this article,
not affected by the 9/11 tragedy). The article and research were not
conducted by the conservative magazine itself, but by MEMRI (Middle
East Media Research Institute), a research institute:
Steven Stalinsky, "Saudi Arabia's Education System" December 30, 2002,
as published in Front Page Magazine,
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=5243 

In Bonn, as stated in the abovementioned Newsweek article, a teacher
in the school called for Jihad in November 2003 and was dismissed.
However, Newsweek claims that the real reason for lack of action
against the school, is German concern regarding its foreign relations
with the Saudi Arabia, and due to messages implying that German school
children in the Kingdom will be harassed (ibid).

In Australia, schools funding reaches millions of dollars (since the
report is Australian, it could be Australian Dollars): "Canberra is
also concerned about Saudi funding coming directly into Australia.
Some of this money passes through the Saudi embassy and some of it
goes direct to Islamic schools, study centres, mosques etc in
Australia. [...] Sources say it runs into millions of dollars."
(Source: "Saudi funds stretch to extremes of our shores" The
Australian <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,7728127%255E25377,00.html>).

I hope this answered your question. 

Search strategy: 
[name of institution] + [extremism/funding] (this seems to be the most successful)
wahhabi funding schools 
Saudi support schools wahhabi continues 
Saudi support schools wahhabi "after September" 
Saudi support schools wahhabi "after 911" (not successful)
Saudi support schools wahhabi 
Saudi support schools outside wahhabi

Please contact me if you need any further clarification before you
tip/rate this answer.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by grthumongous-ga on 18 Dec 2003 06:24 PST

Good references.  Please clarify:
when you say "probably yes" at the beginning of your answer do mean
you funding is probably UP or probably DOWN or that scrutiny is
up/impact on funding level unknown.   Please elaborate.

---

Clarification of Answer by politicalguru-ga on 18 Dec 2003 07:18 PST

Dear Grthumongous, 

The change of the level of funding is unknown, but from the sources,
there is no indication of substantial change in funding of schools and
other cultural/religious activites neither in the West/non-Muslim
countries nor in Muslim countries.

Thanks. Good work. I think this will become a bigger media "story".

Thank you for the rating and the kind tip! 

Seasons Greetings!

I have to tell you that you have been bamboozled by the media in their
attempt to cast a negative light on Islam. Wahhabism is a very simple
and misunderstood concept. You will rarely hear a Muslim refer to
themselves as Wahabis and this is because the concept of Wahhabisim
only means that all Muslims should return to worshiping One God and
quit worshiping other deities as has occurred throughout many so
called Islamic sects. So, while a wide variety of Muslims will claim
to agree to the concept of Wahhabism, the fact is that they still have
cultural influences that overshadow their understanding of the Oneness
of God. This is where the likes of Osama Bin Laden and other terrorist
organizations go afoul of Islam. They derive extremist ideas that have
no basis in Islam as a means of gaining power. They are not interested
in pleasing their Creator. They are unable to correct their own
understanding of Islam so they instead focus their energy thinking
that the rest of the world needs to be corrected. The Prophet of
Islam, Muhammad taught his followers that change starts at the
individual level.

Saudi Arabia does tend to follow the interpretation of Islam that
focuses on maintaining belief in one God, but this is not the source
of extremist ideas. The government and the Scholars of Saudi Arabia
are against terrorism and continue to be vocal in this regard. The
following excerpt was taken from a recent article published on
http://www.fatwaonline.com.
?In a lengthy statement, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh told
Saudis to listen to their religious authorities and ignore fanatical
interpretations of Islaam.
?One of the fallouts from extremism in understanding Islaam is that
some people call for jihaad for the sake of God without
justification,? Sheikh Abdul Aziz said.
?These people raise the banner of jihaad to draw the young into their
ranks and not to fight for God,? he added.
Militants like Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden have often called for
jihaad against countries they consider ?infidel? such as the United
States, urging his followers to target Western interests in Saudi
Arabia and abroad.
Other militants have also used Islaam as a rallying cry, justifying
attacks by saying they are doing God?s will.
?Young Muslims must try and better themselves and their country but
not through violence, because Islaam is not a violent religion, it is
a merciful religion,? he said.
?A Muslim must understand his religion. It is the duty of the young
and the whole Muslim world to know that violence is not a way to
achieve reform,? Al-Sheikh said.?
 Now that you have some background information, let me specifically
address your question. The question of whether some so called Muslims
knowingly fund terrorism can be answered with a simple yes. Has their
desire to do so increased? Yes, it has, however their means of doing
so has decreased thanks in part to the government of Saudi Arabia. The
world has political problems beyond a simple solution. They key to
making American Muslims better understand these beliefs is to not
categorically put them all in one melting pot of beliefs. The media
should be more active in identifying these often slanderous terms that
are being thrown around when the topic of Islam comes up.
I am an American Muslim. I follow the original interpretation of Islam
according to the first three generations (otherwise called the Salaf)
I can assure you based on my own experience with others who follow the
salaf that terrorist acts are strictly prohibited. In fact even
demonstrating that you disagree with the U.S. is not allowed under the
interpretation of Islam according to the Salaf. The Saudi government
has gone through great lengths to promote this very same version of
Islam. It is a terrible misrepresentation to say that because many
Saudi?s have a different agenda the government and Scholars follow
that same agenda.

More news on the subject: 

Newsweek: Saudi Money Tied to Radical Clerics , NewsMax Wires, Monday,
Apr. 05, 2004 <http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/4/4/165946.shtml>

Newsweek: "Exclusive: New Questions About Saudi Money?and Bandar"
<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4661093/>

Also some more news showing the Saudi side of the prevention of
terrorism. My only purpose in these posts is to add some balance to
the onslaught of negative Saudi press. It is unfair to say that
because some Saudi's are terrorist that the whole country is somehow
responsible for terrorism. Also, when people think of Saudi Arabia
they think of Islam and terrorism has no place in Islam regardless of
what the media trys to potray.

Saudi Arabian banks begin freezing irregular accounts -
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2004/April/business_April72.xml&section=business

Officials cite Saudi aid in curbing terror funding
http://www.iht.com/articles/511894.html

Kingdom Gets Clean Bill of Health From FATF - KSA 
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=46144

Leading al-Qaida Militant Reportedly Killed in Saudi Gun Battle
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=1ABBA807-BD51-4E57-9D69759FD5DD0677