STI Dec 6, 2004 Saudi dads condemn militant sons on TV Islam's high regard for honouring parents is played up in campaign DUBAI - SAUDI national television has aired interviews with fathers of militants condemning their own sons for launching terrorist attacks. The move is part of a national campaign to undermine support for militants.
In a programme called A Pause With The Parents, shown on state television on Saturday, emotional accounts were narrated by the fathers of five militants as part of the Saudi royal family's campaign against militants who have carried out several attacks against Westerners inside the kingdom and abroad. 'I contacted the authorities immediately when I knew he was wanted,' Mr Ahmed Jamaan al-Zahrani said of his son Faris, No. 12 on the list of Saudi Arabia's 26 most-wanted terror suspects before he was captured in August. 'He has a wife and children whom he should have been taking care of better, rather than staying in Afghanistan,' he said. The father of the former top militant on the list, Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin Al-Moqrin, who was killed in a June 19 shoot-out after the Al-Qaeda cell that he led decapitated an American hostage, said he had vowed to take down his son himself. The programme, viewed via satellite in Dubai, played on Islam's high regard for honouring parents - stressing that disobeying them is almost equated with apostasy. The narrator of the programme, Mr Khamees Saeed Al-Ghamdi, said the 'misery and pain' these parents go through negate the militants' claims that they are being true Muslims. At one point, Mr Khamees mentioned his own involvement in Afghanistan - apparently against the Soviet invasion - but he also said that the terror attacks carried out by Saudi militants could not be called jihad, or holy war. 'What do we call the killing of a young child sleeping in her home...the murder of Muslims and sanctioned souls?' he said, adding that jihad requires parental approval. The same programme also went on to show brief footage of what was apparently the prison where terror suspects were held. This was an attempt to show the kingdom's positive treatment towards militants who turned themselves in. Wide, brightly lit rooms with bars were shown briefly. Mr Abd Al-Rahman Saeed Al-Faqasi, whose son Ali surrendered last year, said his son was 'happy and reassured', and that he had access to television, books and newspapers. The son is believed to be the mastermind of suicide attacks in May last year that killed 35 people. A Saudi official had said that Al-Faqasi would escape the death penalty as part of a timed amnesty offered to militants earlier this year. Other fathers called on Saudi parents to keep a close eye on their children and ask them about their social activities. The programme was followed by a panel of analysts talking about how militants had strayed from moderation and sinned by crossing their parents. Enthusiastic viewers, including women, called in, condemning the militants for the suffering they put their parents through. Saudi newspapers had previously repeatedly published calls by parents of wanted militants pleading for their sons to give themselves up to the authorities. National television had also been airing statements by repentant militants encouraging wanted elements to turn themselves in. Numerous suicide bombing attacks, gunbattles and kidnappings targeting foreign workers have been blamed on Al-Qaeda and sympathisers of the anti-Western terror network headed by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda wants to topple the Saudi royal family and replace it with its own Islamic government. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS - ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.uni.cc *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Posting: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 7. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
