Saʿd al-Faqīh
Saʿd al-Faqīh ( Arabic سعد الفقيه; * February 2, 1957 in Zubair , Iraq ) is a Muslim Saudi Arabian dissident and founder of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA). He lives in exile in London and is a critic of the Saudi royal family .
Life and political activities
Saʿd al-Faqīh comes from the Najd , but spent the first part of his life in Iraq. His family did not return to Saudi Arabia until 1974. From 1974 to 1981 he attended the medical school in Riyadh . In 1978 and 1988 he made a trip to Great Britain. From the late 1980s he was professor of surgery at King Saud University . After being in May 1993 together with Muhammad al-Mas'arī the opposition Committee for the Defense of legitimate rights - usually abbreviated by its English name "Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights" as CDLR - founded and repeatedly criticized the Saudi leadership, he was arrested in 1994 .
After his release, he traveled to England and reopened CDLR there. After a falling out with Muhammad al-Masʿarī, he left the CDLR in 1996 and founded his own opposition movement Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA). She advocates the separation of powers , freedom of expression and women's rights , things that MIRA denies the Saudi government. The group called for a demonstration in Saudi Arabia in 2003 , during which over 350 people were arrested by the Saudi police . The BBC reported that al-Faqih was attacked that same year. Two men came to his apartment and stabbed his leg with a knife; the wound had to be treated in the hospital. The men are said to have said when they left the apartment: "Take this as a message from the Saudi government".
Terrorism allegations
In December 2004, the US government classified al-Faqih as a terrorist ; they put him under financial support from the al-Qaida organization , which al-Faqih denied: the US government took this step because al-Faqih is critical of the Saudi regime. The Israel-based group Sofir (Society for Internet Research) , which monitors Islamist extremists, accuses al-Faqih, the controversial website of al-Qalʿa ( Arabic القلعة) on which militant Islamists announced, among other things, the terrorist attacks on July 7, 2005 in London . Al-Faqih denies this claim; its only purpose is to damage his reputation. In addition, al-Faqih is said to have maintained contacts with Osama bin Laden and looked after the terror fighters deployed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in Afghan camps.
literature
- Mamoun Fandy: Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent . Palgrave, New York, 1999. pp. 149-175.
Web links
- US government press release regarding al-Faqih's classification as a terrorist.
- Article in the late New York Times, October 27, 2003
- Interview with al-Faqih conducted by Mahan Abedin
- Interview with al-Faqih on Frontline (in English)
- Telepolis article with partial translation of the interview
- Interview with al-Faqih from the Asia Times in April 2006 (in English)
supporting documents
- ↑ See Fandy: Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent . 1999, p. 152.
- ↑ See Fandy: Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent . 1999, p. 154.
- ↑ See Fandy: Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent . 1999, p. 155.
- ↑ See Fandy: Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent . 1999, p. 118.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Faqīh, Saʿd al- |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Faghi, Sa'ad Al-; Fagih, Sa'ad Al-; Fakih, Sa'ad Al-; Faki, Sa'ad Al- |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | arab reformer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd February 1957 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zubair , Iraq |