December 20, 2007: Three years ago, Saudi cleric Salman al
Awdah, and 25 like-minded preachers, issued a religious ruling, that it was
justifiable for Iraqis to fight American "invaders." Al Awdah had also been a
supporter of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. But now al Awdah has changed his
tune, as have many of his supporters, and he has come out against Islamic
terrorism. This has ignited a controversy on pro-Islamic terror web sites,
because al Awdah has long been seen as a major supporter of bin Laden among the
senior Saudi clergy. While the Saudi government has been pressuring senior
clerics to at least stop encouraging Saudis to support al Qaeda, the switch to
being anti-al Qaeda appears to be a recognition that most Moslems have come to
view the slaughter of so many Iraqis by terrorists as beyond the pale. In that
respect, al Awdah is simply reflecting what most Moslems believe, and what he
can no longer defend.
