Campaign of pressure and threats target Saudi reformers

Saudi Arabia has started, under alleged pressures from religious extremists, to silence certain reformers by banning them from forums to disseminate article that defy the religious establishments.

Ali al-Ahmad, a Saudi opposition member who supports democracy and lives in Washington said "almost some 100 writers were banned. There is an official campaign against reformers from various political sides."

In a unique step, a group of liberals submitted an appeal to the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah to increase citizens' political participation and fair distribution of resources and to make changes in the educational curricula which is accused of feeding Islamic extremism.

An editorialist Mansour al-Nqeidan said that the men of religion who are very influential and who complain directly to the state run papers or to the minister of the interior or that of information have silenced certain writers and some of them received threats of killing. Al-Nqeidan, who took an open vacation from writing in the Saudi daily Riyadh, said that the dailies do not want problems and therefore they agree with any writer on the need to stop writing for a while. He said that the paper was exposed to pressure from senior Saudi men of religion after publishing an article criticizing Imam Ibn Teimeyah.

The Saudi men of religion have fears over the escalation of internal and external pressure and for providing a secular cover on Saudi Arabia. The Saudi religious established was checked following the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the US and it had 15 persons from among the executors of the attack. Since these attacks, the Saudi mass media have become more open to liberal views.

However, analysts indicated a campaign launched recently on articles criticizing the influence of the religious establishments. Most men of religion supported a governmental campaign against Islamic extremism in mosques and schools, in what is described by the liberals as efforts to silence their calls for reforms.

The Saudi writer Hussein Shawbakshi said "they ( men of religion) are scared. They have been for a long time enjoying privileges that are confined to them and now they are shocked for the readiness of TV space channels, the internet and the papers to comprehend their views."

Shawbakshi was banned from writing in the Saudi daily Okza after he had written an article in which he hoped to see the day when the Saudis vote in elections, discuss human rights, and women to be able to drive cars.

A weekly program for political dialogue was also stopped in al-Arabya TV. Writer Dawoud al-Sheryan said that a regular editorial he used to write in the London- based al-Hayat daily -- owned by Saudis -- was also stopped.

Both al-Nqeidan and al-Shawbakshi said they have received death threats.