Saudi influences in the Netherlands
The past few years have given cause to questions about the involvement of Saudi citizens, non-governmental organisations and persons in authority in the propagation among Muslims of strong anti-Western ideas, which could incite to radicalisation and perhaps even to terrorism. This issue has become topical since the attacks of 11 September 2001.
Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers were found to have the Saudi nationality. In particular in the United States these attacks focused much attention on a possible, direct or indirect, responsibility of inspirators or sponsors from Saudi Arabia for Islamic radicalism and terrorism. In the US, but also in other Western countries the question was also raised whether certain persons and organisations, based in Saudi Arabia and combining aid with the propagation of a highly orthodox and at the same time anti-Western view of the Islam, might be linked to certain radicalisation processes within Muslim communities and the promotion or even support of terrorist violence.
For the AIVD this question was cause for a profound investigation into the other side of the religious-ideological manipulative activities and financing flows from Saudi Arabia. At issue in this context are in particular the role that these possibly play in the Netherlands in the propagation of anti-integration views, the increase of sentiments aimed at a confrontation with Dutch society among small segments of the Muslim communities in our country, and in the long term even the development of endogenous, violent tendencies (which, for example, may lead to terrorism) among some groups of Muslims in the Netherlands.
This report describes the state of affairs regarding the investigation at this moment. It is clear from the text that this concerns an issue which is still developing. On the one hand, this is a consequence of the noticeable willingness of the Saudi government, partly influenced by increasing terrorist threats in Saudi Arabia itself, to take strong action against individual extremists and networks that until recently, for the benefit of their own radical Islamic agenda, were able to misuse Saudi government institutions or semi-governmental organisations. On the other hand, we also notice shifts in those segments of Muslim communities in the Netherlands that have shown to be susceptible to manipulative activities deployed from Saudi Arabia.
This memorandum will first elaborate on the nature of Salafism in Saudi Arabia and in the Netherlands. Subsequently it will discuss the Salafist mission and the relationship with radicalisation processes in the Muslim communities in our country. Finally, recent developments in both Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands are described.