Free Republic

Over five years, the Saudi crown prince has steadily accumulated power by ruthlessly targeting perceived rivals and critics. Here's an overview of the hundreds of Saudis impacted When Saudi Arabia's King Salman ascended to the throne in 2015 and named his 29-year-old son, Mohammed, as defence minister and then as deputy crown prince, there was talk of the rising star who would reshape the kingdom. Five years later, Mohammed bin Salman, now apparently poised to become king, has consolidated his control and shaken the foundations of the House of Saud by ruthlessly eliminating or neutralising his perceived rivals and vocal...

ABU DHABI — Qatar, under pressure from the Arab League, is said to have expelled the Muslim Brotherhood. Diplomatic sources said Doha deported dozens of exiled Brotherhood leaders who escaped Egypt in 2013. The sources said the Brotherhood operatives flew to Egypt’s neighbor Libya and joined Islamist militias. “The Brotherhood people were given three days to pack their bags and get on the plane to Tripoli,” a source said. The sources did not identify those deported. But they said several of them were on a list of 15 Brotherhood and Hizbullah operatives submitted by Saudi Arabia last month. In March...

From Riyadh to Ramallah to the Ivy League, Saudi Arabia’s “Wahhabi Lobby” is funding the goals of radical Islam and undermining America’s War On Terror. The press has reported the Department of Justice’s closures of Saudi “charitable” fronts like the Muslim World League, the Al-Haramain Foundation, the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), and others that raised money for al-Qaeda, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.1 But the government has so far ignored an even larger network of Saudi front groups working to establish the party line on our nation’s campuses. This network is embedded deep within our system of higher education, including...

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia unveiled a 26.6-billion-dollar project to build a state-of-the art residential and industrial city, timed with its new membership to the World Trade Organisation. King Abdullah Economic City will be located near the western industrial city of Rabegh on the Red Sea coast, north of the kingdom's second largest city, Jeddah. An Emaar-led consortium made up of Saudi and Emirati companies, including the Saudi Bin Laden construction company, will be the main investor in the development. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), which is in charge of attracting foreign investment to the kingdom, will be project coordinator....

Saudi Arabia has voiced "deep indignation" at reports that a copy of the Koran was desecrated at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Riyadh called for a quick investigation into the alleged incident and for the perpetrators to be punished. It is the first Arab state to comment officially on the reports. Reaction in the Arab world has been muted. On Thursday the US secretary of state promised prompt action if allegations of desecration prove true. At least seven people have died in Afghanistan in anti-American protests sparked by the reports. Disrespect for the holy Koran is not...

Just three miles from the site of the World Trade Center, the government of Saudi Arabia is distributing hate materials expounding an extremist Wahhabi ideology, according to a new report by the Center for Religious Freedom.

Very few first-person accounts have emerged from behind the Saudi veil. For good reason: The rare Saudi woman not stifled into submission would risk severe punishment for speaking out. This is the importance of "Inside the Kingdom," by Carmen bin Ladin (Warner Books, 206 pages, $23.95). Don't be put off by the author's last name. Ms. Bin Ladin is not a distant relation seeking to cash in on her family's notoriety. She is the ex-wife of Osama's older brother Yeslam, and she has her own story to tell. Her memoir is perhaps the most vivid account yet to appear in...

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia announced a limited amnesty Wednesday for Muslim militants who surrender in the next month, saying they will not face the death penalty and will only be prosecuted if they committed acts that hurt others. Crown Prince Abdullah read the brief announcement on behalf of his half-brother, King Fahd, on state television Wednesday. He said the offer was open to anyone who has not yet been "arrested for carrying out terrorist acts." "We are opening the door of amnesty ... to everyone who deviated from the path of right and committed a crime in the...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi security forces Wednesday killed two suspected militants linked to a weekend shooting and hostage-taking in eastern Saudi Arabia where 22 people were slain, the Interior Ministry said. Also Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy said gunmen fired on American military personnel in the capital of Riyadh, slightly injuring a driver of unknown nationality. The ministry, in a statement reported by the official Saudi Press Agency, said security forces surrounded the two men in a remote area in al-Hada, on the Taif-Mecca highway in western Saudi Arabia, and killed them after they threw grenades and shot at...

BOISE - A jury of eight women and four men was seated this afternoon to hear the case against a University of Idaho student accused of using his computer skills to foster terrorism. The 12 jurors and two female alternates were picked from a pool of 40 people after U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge questioned all of them about their knowledge of Islam, religious conflicts in the Middle East and Chechnya, their computer abilities and their personal feelings on terrorism. He called those issues volatile and told the jury to keep an open mind during the six-week trial. Opening statements...

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN Is bin Laden the 'Mahdi'? Some Muslim followers believe he is prophesied 'awaited enlightened one' Posted: September 8, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern Editor's note: Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is an online, subscription intelligence news service from the creator of WorldNetDaily.com – a journalist who has been developing sources around the world for the last 25 years. U.S. military intelligence experts are studying a video clip of Osama bin Laden in which he stands before a dry-erase board with an Arabic phrase written upon it – "awaited enlightened one," reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. No one...