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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long condemned terrorism in all its forms and maintains a policy of strong international cooperation to fight terrorism around the world. Saudi Arabia has, for decades, been a target of extremists and terrorists. The Saudi government believes that defeating terrorism requires sound policies, concerted government efforts and international cooperation.

The primary mission of the Saudi government is to forge partnerships with multilateral organizations and foreign governments to advance counterterrorism objectives and protect the national security of the Kingdom.

After the terrorist attacks of 12 May 2003, which was well organized and synchronized, the Saudi Government mobilized its resources to combat this threat for the security of the country, and to participate in cooperative efforts with the world community. Significant efforts have been made in this regard. These include economic/financial, educational, and media efforts, to halt and eradicate terrorism in all possible ways.

In response to what is promoted by some media of the fallacies about linking the terrorist attacks in the world, including naming Wahhabism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is important to clarify the following facts:

 

  • Islam began more than 1400 years ago to disseminate the principles of love, harmony and peace. The Message of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab came, about 300 years ago, to emphasize and strengthen these principles. If the message of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab calls for extremism, violence and the rejection of the others then we should have seen it in the Arabian Peninsula through the previous centuries, but the Arabian Peninsula has not seen such violence and extremism except for the last three decades.

 

  • The Religious Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemned, at all level, and denounced strictly, firmly and constantly extremism, violence and terrorism, which are incompatible with the values and tolerance of the Islamic Religion. In September 2014, the Council of Senior Ulema (religious ‎scholars) issued a fatwa "religious opinion" reemphasizing that terrorism is a "heinous crime, ‎injustice and aggression rejected by Shariah (Islamic law)". The Council declared that "terrorism is contrary to the

 

 

 

 

 

 purposes of this great religion Islam" and it expressed it is full support of the Kingdom's efforts to combat extremists domestically and ‎globally. The Council called on religious scholars to rejecting fatwas or ‎opinions issued to justify terrorist acts or extremist ideologies. The condemnation of the religious scholars to the terrorist acts relies on the contradiction of the terrorist acts with the provisions of the Koran and the Sunnah, which are the source of legislation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 

  • The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has suffered from Al-Qaeda and the terrorist organization Islamic State since 1995 and has fought these organizations intellectually and cut their funding. The Kingdom also enacted laws to criminalize terrorism and managed to arrest thousands charged with terrorism, financing it or recruiting terrorists and brought them to justice.

 

  • The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was early aware of the threat of terrorism and warned against it several times. The Kingdom spared no effort to unite the International efforts to fight terrorism and eliminate it. The Kingdom took the initiative by hosting the first International Conference to fight terrorism in Riyadh in 2005 to strengthen the international cooperation, where more than 55 countries participated and during which the proposal for the establishment of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Center (UNCCT) was unanimously adopted and the Saudi Arabian provided the Centre with a donation of $110 million to enhance its capabilities and effectiveness in helping countries combat terrorism.

 

  • In February 2014, King Abdullah issued a royal decree on counterterrorism. The decree reinforced that acts of terrorism, including membership in terrorist organizations, and ‎participation in hostilities outside the Kingdom, will not be tolerated. Moreover, the Kingdom never hesitates to participate in any international initiative or conference that aims to combat terrorism.

 

 

 

 

 

  • The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia warned many years ago against the crisis in Syria and Iraq and its impact on the phenomenon of terrorism. The Kingdom stressed that the way to defeat ISIS is to reach a political solution for the Syrian crisis and applying the necessary reforms in Iraq. Moreover, the Kingdom was one of the founding countries of the International Military Coalition against ISIS in Syria and Iraq and was one of the first countries that have contributed effectively, and still joining the military campaign against ISIS in Syria.

 

  • On 14 December 2015 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the formation of 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism, where Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense confirmed that the announcement of the formation of an Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism emanates from the Islamic world's keenness to fight this disease and be a partner of the world, as a group of countries, in the fight against this disease.