Saudi Arabia: Why the Ban on Al Jazeera TV?

Saudi Arabia: Why the Ban on Al Jazeera TV?



Summary



Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority issued an edict May 20
prohibiting citizens from viewing the popular Al Jazeera satellite channel
because it promotes "poisonous ideas." This is another regime effort to
maintain its grip on power by blocking opponents' access to the Saudi
people. How Riyadh expects to enforce this ruling is unclear, but one thing
is certain: It will further damage the government's credibility with its
citizens.

Analysis



Saudi Arabia's Council of the Assembly of Senior Ulema issued a fatwa, or
Islamic ruling, May 20 prohibiting Saudi citizens from watching Al Jazeera,
the Qatar-based Arabic satellite channel.

Labeling Al Jazeera as "Zionist television," the council accused it of
promoting "so-called reformists who have a podium for airing their poisonous
ideas." Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan, the council member who presented the fatwa,
directed the masses instead to Saudi newspapers, radio and television.



While Riyadh is in a process of reform, it very much wants to control the
speed and direction of change -- in order to protect the sovereignty of the
House of Saud in the process. This fatwa is one attempt to maintain its hold
on the Saudi masses as long as possible. It remains to be seen how the Saudi
government intends to enforce the ban, but the fact that it was issued will
not sit well with the Saudi people, who have turned Al Jazeera into an
immensely popular channel.



Al Jazeera not only was the first pan-Arab satellite channel, it brought
information to Middle Eastern viewers from an Arab/Muslim point of view,
both factors in its rise in popularity over time.

The channel's anti-Western, anti-Israel bias on several occasions caused the
United States to ask Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Hammad al Khalifah, to rein it
in. Al Jazeera's well-established credentials will make Riyadh's accusation
appear ridiculous.



The Saudi regime faces a diverse group of political opponents, including
militant jihadists, conservative Wahhabi clerics, moderate and radical
Islamists and liberals. Because of the way they advance their goals, the
jihadists and the Wahhabis are not at the heart of Riyadh's problems with Al
Jazeera. The latter two groups, who rely on discourse and the media to
pursue their political aims, have the Saudis worried. They are able to
bypass the Saudi lockdown on its media by getting air time on satellite
channels -- and the Saudis have been unable to stop it.



The appearance of Saudi dissidents on TV is not new, just ill timed. With
its reforms in motion, Riyadh is worried that its Islamist and liberal
opponents -- seeking constitutionalism in the kingdom -- will leverage the
process to their advantage.



What is interesting about this fatwa is that it was not issued through the
usual channel, the mufti of the kingdom, Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah Al
al-Sheikh. Instead, it was delivered by a member of the kingdom's top body
of Islamic scholars.



By switching channels, so to speak, the regime could be testing the waters;
it knows it cannot really control who watches satellite television programs.
Had this fatwa come from the mufti, it would have carried the weight of law
-- and would have had to be somehow enforced. The rulers might have
overstepped their bounds with the Zionist reference, and this will
accelerate the process of decay that the Saudis had hoped to retard.



SOURCE: STRATFOR