...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
on Friday listed the Moslem Brüderbund and two Syrian jihadist groups as terrorist organizations, and ordered citizens fighting abroad to return within 15 days or face imprisonment.
The move represents a major escalation against the Moslem Brüderbund of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi
...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the
One Man, One Vote, One Timeprinciple, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator...
and indicates rising concern in Riyadh over the possible return of battle-hardened Saudi bully boyz from Syria.
In addition to the Moslem Brüderbund, Saudi listed Al-Nusra Front, which is Al-Qaeda's official Syrian affiliate, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original...
(ISIL), a rogue group fighting in both Syria and Iraq, as terrorist organizations.
The interior ministry decree, which was released by state media, also listed as terrorist groups the Shiite Houthis fighting in northern Yemen and "Hezbollah inside the kingdom", apparently referring to a little-known Saudi Shiite group.
The order penalizes involvement in any of the groups' activities at home or abroad -- including demonstrations -- and outlaws the use of "slogans of these organizations", including in social media.
It also forbids "participation in, calling for, or incitement to fighting in conflict zones in other countries".
Riyadh is a staunch supporter of the Sunni-led rebels battling to overthrow Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Horror of Homs...
but has long feared blow-back from radical jihadist groups, particularly after a spate of attacks by a local Al-Qaeda franchise from 2003 to 2006.
King Abdullah last month decreed jail terms of up to 20 years for belonging to "terrorist groups" and fighting abroad.
Similar sentences will be passed on those belonging to "extremist religious and ideological groups, or those classified as terrorist organizations, domestically, regionally and internationally," state news agency SPA said at the time.
Supporting such groups, adopting their ideology or promoting them "through speech or writing" would also incur prison terms, the decree added.
Rights group
Saudi Arabia set up specialized terrorism courts in 2011 to try dozens of nationals and foreigners accused of belonging to Al-Qaeda or being involved in a wave of bloody attacks that swept the country from 2003.
Saudi and other conservative Gulf monarchies have long been hostile towards the Moslem Brüderbund, fearing that its brand of grass-roots activism and political Islam could undermine their authority.
The decision to brand the Brotherhood a terrorist group came a day after Saudi, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recalled their ambassadors from Qatar, which had been a staunch supporter of Morsi and backs Brotherhood-linked groups across the region.
It was an unprecedented escalation of tensions within the Gulf Cooperation Council -- which also includes Kuwait and Oman -- and was widely seen as signaling Gulf fury at Qatari support for Islamist groups following the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
It was also seen as a revival of the on-again, off-again rivalry between Riyadh and Doha, oil- and gas-rich monarchies that have long vied for regional influence.
Saudi hailed the overthrow of Morsi and pledged billions of dollars to Egypt's military-installed government following his July 2013 ouster, and in recent months has eclipsed Qatar as the main backer of Syria's rebels.
Egypt, which has launched a sweeping crackdown on the Moslem Brüderbund and detained news hounds from Qatar's Al-Jazeera
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula,as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS...
news network, on Thursday welcomed the Gulf countries' decision to recall their envoys from Doha.
It said its own envoy, who has been in Cairo since early February, "will not return to Qatar at the present time, and his remaining (in Egypt) is a sovereign political decision".
"It is for Qatar to clearly determine its position, whether it will stand on the side of Arab solidarity, unified ranks and protection of national security... or on the other side, and bear the consequences and responsibility for that," a government statement said.