The Struggle to Erase Saudi Extremism
The rise of the Islamic State has once again turned the spotlight on Saudi Arabia, which is accused of supplying the theological foundation of the movement’s brutal ideology, as well as many of its fighters and funders.
The kingdom faced similar criticism in 2001 after 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 terrorist attacks were found to be Saudi. As a result, when King Abdullah ascended to the throne four years later, he established the Financial Investigation Unit to halt terror financing and cracked down on extremist rhetoric in the mosque. But the heart of his campaign against extremism was a major revamp of the nation’s education system.
Almost a decade later, it is apparent that, however laudable, Saudi reforms have not gone far enough. More critically, it is clear that fighting extremism through education reform is insufficient. More needs to be done to confront the Islamic State — a clear and present danger to the country’s survival as well as to its assertion that Islam is a compassionate and peaceful faith.
For decades, Saudi education was controlled by religious conservatives who promoted a narrow-minded brand of Islam. Graduates tended to be incurious and lacking the skills to modernize Saudi society and its economy.
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