New Terrorist Rehab Center→

AFP:

Saudi Arabia is hoping to wean jailed Al-Qaeda militants off religious extremism with counseling, spa treatments and plenty of exercise at a luxury rehabilitation centre in Riyadh.

In between sessions with counsellors and talks on religion, prisoners will be able to relax in the centre’s facilities which include an Olympic-size indoor swimming pool, a sauna, a gym and a television hall.

The new complex is the work of the Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Centre for Counseling and Care, a body set up seven years ago to rehabilitate extremists jailed during a Saudi crackdown on the local branch of Al-Qaeda.

Wall Street Journal correspondent Ellen Knickmeyer says this an exaggeration:

"Spa treatment" is an exaggeration on the jihadist-rehab center. It's got a standard barbershop and a lot of nice sports facilities.

— Ellen Knickmeyer (@EllenKnickmeyer) April 19, 2013

Saudi, US to Implement Trusted Traveler Programs→

MOI and DHS have signed an arrangement to begin implementation for each nation’s trusted traveler programs. The trusted traveler programs will facilitate trade and travel between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America and will help authorities from MOI and DHS more effectively identify potential threats to keep their borders and countries secure. The objective will be to start implementation within the next six months with full operations starting in 2014.

In addition, MOI and DHS note their emerging cooperation on cybersecurity. MOI and DHS have a mutual interest in partnering to protect critical vital government and private sector critical infrastructure of binational importance, and to make cyberspace more secure for citizens of both countries. Given the significance of each nation in the global economy, this partnership also contributes to global security.

Photo: Mohammed Bin Naif Does DC

In this photo distributed by the US State Department, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shakes hands with Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif at the State Department headquarters in Foggy Bottom, Washington DC. The prince has met earlier this week with President Barack Obama and other US officials.

MbN Cabinet Opposition→

American news site World Tribune has a story about the meeting between Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif and US President Barack Obama in the White House earlier this week, citing unnamed Western diplomatic sources:

The diplomats said Mohammed was selected by King Abdullah as part of the latter’s effort to introduce new blood in the aging Cabinet. They said Mohammed’s appointment was opposed by other Cabinet members.

Michael Stephens wrote in November about a power struggle at the Interior Ministry between Mbn and his uncle Ahmed that ended with the former replacing the latter at the helm of the ministry. It is important to note though that World Tribune, run by Robert Morton, a former editor at the Washington Times, is not exactly a reputable news outlet. The New Yorker magazine describes it “as something between a newspaper and a rumor-mongering blog.” That story should be taken with a sizable grain of salt.

Photo: Mohammed bin Naif Launches a Website

In this photo distributed by the Saudi Press Agency, Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif is seen launching a website for the alumni of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences in Riyadh. Prince Mohammed bin Naif has reportedly ordered the arrest of liberal writer Turki al-Hamad yesterday after he published some tweets criticizing Islamists.

Prominent Saudi Writer Arrested After Controversial Tweets

Saudi authorities have arrested writer Turki al-Hamad today based on orders from Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif, according to Al Arabiya’s correspondent Khaled al-Matrafi. Local news site Sabq also reported the news, citing unnamed sources.

Al-Hamad, a political analyst and novelist, has published a series of controversial tweets Saturday criticizing Islamists who, he said, “have distracted us with nonsense that we forgot the important issues.” In his next tweet he likened Islamism to Nazism. “But the age of Nazism is long gone,” he said, “and the sun will rise again.”

However, the tweet that seemed to have caused the strongest reaction from conservatives on Twitter came earlier that day. In that tweet he said: “Our Prophet had come to rectify the faith of Abraham, and now is a time when we need someone to rectify the faith of Mohammed.”

جاء رسولنا الكريم ليصحح عقيدة إبراهيم الخليل، وجاء زمن نحتاج فيه إلى من يصحح عقيدة محمد بن عبدالله..

— Turki H. Alhamad (@TurkiHAlhamad1) December 22, 2012

Turki al-Hamad is not new to controversy. The writer, who was jailed in his youth for political activism before moving to the US for graduate school, was previously denounced by clerics in Saudi Arabia for his novels. They issued several fatwas against him, and he told the BBC in 2003 that he has received several death threats.

This is also not the first time al-Hamad causes controversy on Twitter. In December 2011, he published a series of scathing tweets criticizing Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahad, a Minister of State who has previously served as Chief of the Royal Court.

“Sir, you don’t know anything about anything, but you are running a state,” al-Hamad told the Prince. “Thanks to your policies, we are heading to a disaster.”

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy that applies a strict interpretation of Islam. Criticism of religion or the royal family is rarely tolerated. Hamza Kashgari, a young Saudi writer, was arrested in February after he published some controversial tweets about Prophet Mohammed and he remains in prison.

Saudi Election 2016→

You have probably already seen the Riyadh Bureau special on Saudi succession, but here is a less serious look at this important topic. The first line reads: “After the Saudi King passed away, the Allegiance Committee agreed with the Cabinet to hold election between the grandsons of the country’s founder to choose the next king. Here, we give you the latest developments…”

The page imagines a satirical scenario in which the different branches of the royal family become political parties competing to win people votes. After the primaries, we reach a showdown between the National Guard Party led by Prince Miteb bin Abdullah against the Security and Development Party led by Prince Mohammed bin Naif. The page creator lists the strengths and weakness of each party, and concludes with the line: “The world is still watching.. for which Prince Saudis will vote?”

Founder’s Grandsons Take Over Saudi Security

Shortly after being appointed Interior Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Naif took the oath before King Abdullah. In the footage of the swearing-in aired by Saudi state television you will notice that only two people attended the short, simple ceremony: Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the intelligence chief, and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, Commander of the National Guard.

That only these two attended the swearing-in is probably a symbolic thing, but with MbN at the helm of the Interior Ministry it is a fact that Saudi Arabia is now entrusting three of the Kingdom’s grandsons with most of its security.

Only the Defense Ministry remains controlled by one of Abdulaziz’s sons, and that could change in the upcoming cabinet shuffle expected in February. Such changes will no doubt offer interesting insights into the succession plans considered by the royal family for the future.

Mohammed Bin Naif Named Saudi Interior Minister

Saudi Arabia appointed its counterterrorism chief Prince Mohammed bin Naif new minister of interior, the official news agency reported Monday.

King Abdullah issued a royal decree announcing that the current interior minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, who was appointed less than five months ago, has requested to be relieved of his position and that Prince Mohammed, son of the late Crown Prince Naif, will replace him.

Prince Mohammed bin Naif, or MbN as he is usually referred to in leaked US diplomatic cables, was born in Jeddah on August 30, 1959. He received his college education in the US and worked a businessman before being appointed as assistant interior minister for security affairs under his father in May 1991.

In August 2009, he survived an assassination attempt with minor injuries when he was targeted by a suicide bomber from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Mohammed bin Naif has become the first grandson of the Kingdom’s founder Abdulaziz to be appointed for one of the major leadership positions in the country in recent years. Leadership positions in important ministries like interior and defense are usually filled by the sons of Abdulaziz.

“In the slow moving pace of change in Saudi Arabian leadership this is a major event,” David Ottaway, a senior scholar in the Middle East program at the Wilson Center, told CNN’s Mohammed Jamjoom.