Saudi cleric 'Aed Al-Qarni: What is legitimate terrorism? It may be [legitimate] when nations defend themselves to restore their rights, to protect their resources, or to liberate their countries and homelands.

Interviewer: Even if it targets civilians or innocent people?

Al-Qarni: No, if we get into such details, those who do not fight and who do no harm, such as unarmed people, innocent people, the elderly, and children — Islam forbids targeting them, even in the battlefield

Saudi journalist Mushri Al-Dhayidi: Terrorism is based on several foundations. The perpetrators are the final link in this chain. There are the people who incite, those who provide finances, and there is a fourth factor, discussed recently in the [Saudi counter-terrorism conference] — those who justify terrorism.

The role of the inciters is clear — they are the ones who issue fatwas on the Internet and TV and who even publish pamphlets and cassettes that incite and permit all [such operations] to take place, and encourage the carrying out of more operations. There are those who provide finances, whether individuals, disreputable groups, or, in some cases, countries, or other groups - here [in Saudi Arabia] or elsewhere. There are those who justify {terrorism], who haven't reached the level of explicit incitement, but who use vague language, with ambiguities. [They say:] "True, this is wrong, but..." The words following the "but" are more numerous, more heated, and justify [terror] more than the preceding words.

In my opinion, the perpetrators are merely the "wood" in the stove of terror. No more than wood.

Interviewer: Wood?

Al-Dhayidi: Yes. Whoever stokes the fire, whoever chops down the trees for firewood, whoever waters them in order to produce firewood — these should be our focus.

Personally, I believe the main, although not the only reason for the birth of terrorism, its effectiveness and intensity is a conceptual reason. I base this on the fact that those who talk about economic reasons — which I do not deny— or who talk about the oppression of political freedoms — which I do not deny this either — or about any other reason, do not realize that terrorism springs from an environment of economic prosperity, as well as of extensive political involvement.

Al-Dhayidi: As for our youth nowadays — to be honest, this is our media's responsibility, as well as the responsibility of our religious and social discourse. Our youth have been incited to the point that they automatically consider any problem in China, in Bosnia, Chechnya, Nigeria, wherever, to be a conflict between Islam and the rest of the world. It is as if the entire world wants to pounce on Islam, although some of the world's problems
 Today, the Muslims get their countries involved in conflicts unrelated to them.

We, the Saudis and people of the Gulf states, export youth as suicide bombers and martyrs everywhere. I have a question. Let's assume that in some Muslim country —
not necessarily Saudi Arabia — there is a non-Muslim minority. After all, not all Muslim countries are entirely Muslim.

Egypt has a Coptic population, Syria has


Let's assume a problem arises there. Would you agree to the U.S. or France inciting their citizens to go and wage Jihad in Egypt in order to support the Christians there?