The Religious Policeman

In this case, it involves a high-profile soccer player. But it's been repeated many thousands of times

Ittihad Player Arrested in Jeddah

JEDDAH, 8 March 2004 — Police have arrested a former national soccer player suspected of planning to join militant groups fighting the US-led occupation forces in Iraq.

Sulaiman Al-Hudaithy, who a few seasons ago was a leading scorer with Jeddah’s Al-Ittihad football club and who has played in the national team, was detained here three months ago.

(Notice the 3-month delay between arrest and the news appearing. That's the legal "black hole" that people disappear into.)

Sulaiman is typical of many of our young men who become seduced by the glamor of "Jihad". Taught in school and mosque that the Jews and Infidels are the enemy, often unemployed, they long for the opportunity to go and fight. Not in Saudi Arabia, too many security forces. (Did you know that the National Guard, the "praetorian guard" of the Royal Family, is actually larger and better-equipped than the regular Saudi Army?). So, like the idealistic young men and women who went off to the Spanish Civil War, they they go off to some Muslim trouble-spot. Afghanistan used to be the destination of choice. They could strut around, lording it over the local populace, and blowing up Buddhas. Chechnya was also very popular. The "elite", of course, got to fly aeroplanes on 9/11. Now it's Iraq. They'll go and get killed for some cause they only half-understand, to satisfy the power lust of some Imam.

One of the quotes is very revealing:

“Even after he became very religious, there was no change in his customs,” he said.

In other parts of the world, "becoming religious" might mean that you enter a monastery, become a missionary, run a soup-kitchen for the homeless. Out here, it means that you grow your beard long and set off to join the Jihad.