Posted on Jan 2, 2016
Shi'ite cleric among 47 executed in Saudi Arabia, stirring anger in region
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Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric and dozens of al Qaeda members on Saturday, signaling it would not tolerate attacks, whether by Sunni jihadists or minority Shi'ites, and stirring sectarian anger across the region.
Hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims marched through Qatif district of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province in protest at the execution of cleric Nimr al-Nimr, an eyewitness said. They chanted "down with the Al Saud", the name of the ruling Saudi royal family.
Nimr, the most vocal critic of the ruling Al Saud among the Shi'ite minority, had come to be seen as a leader of the sect's younger activists, who rejected the quiet approach of older community leaders for failing to achieve equality with Sunnis.
Most of the 47 killed in the kingdom's biggest mass execution for decades were Sunnis convicted of al Qaeda attacks in Saudi Arabia a decade ago. Four, including Nimr, were Shi'ites accused of involvement in shooting policemen.
Hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims marched through Qatif district of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province in protest at the execution of cleric Nimr al-Nimr, an eyewitness said. They chanted "down with the Al Saud", the name of the ruling Saudi royal family.
Nimr, the most vocal critic of the ruling Al Saud among the Shi'ite minority, had come to be seen as a leader of the sect's younger activists, who rejected the quiet approach of older community leaders for failing to achieve equality with Sunnis.
Most of the 47 killed in the kingdom's biggest mass execution for decades were Sunnis convicted of al Qaeda attacks in Saudi Arabia a decade ago. Four, including Nimr, were Shi'ites accused of involvement in shooting policemen.
Shi'ite cleric among 47 executed in Saudi Arabia, stirring anger in region
Posted from reuters.com
Al Qaeda
Saudi Arabia
Foreign Affairs
ISIS
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
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Are they worried that Daesh might take the lead when it comes to executions?
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I'm skeptical of SA motives on this. They don't have the "Traditional" method of open courts, innocence until proven guilty, and their means of getting a "confession" are suspect. So was his execution a "message" to his followers, and to give it an air of "legitimacy" place him with Al Queda. SA has been known for decades for it's great human rights support (sarcasm) and their proactive approach to community policing (more sarcasm), their superb support of other ME countries (choking on the sarcasm now), and the fact that some of their religious schools actually teach them not to like the "Great Satan". So I'm not buying this at face value. The Royal family needs to really be thanking us.....without the "Great Satan" there would be one former royal family homeless, penniless, and hoping to live another day.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
Saudi Arabia gets it. We've had those guys rotting in Guantanamo Bay for how long now? And all we're doing with them is releasing them so that they can rejoin terrorist cells who want to attack Americans. We need to follow the example and start offing a few of them!
Saudi Arabia gets it. We've had those guys rotting in Guantanamo Bay for how long now? And all we're doing with them is releasing them so that they can rejoin terrorist cells who want to attack Americans. We need to follow the example and start offing a few of them!
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