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MEMRI Daily: August 5, 2013   MEMRI | MEMRI TV | JIHAD AND TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR | SOUTH ASIA STUDIES PROJECT

Liberal Saudi Columnist: The Arab World 'Does Not Value Human Life' Expressing The Saudi Position On The Arab Spring, Former Saudi Navy Commodore Abdulateef Al-Mulhim States: The Arab Spring 'Is Not About A Search For Democracy [Or] Social Justice' – But Is 'All About Hate And Sectarian Violence' Liberal Saudi Intellectual Tawfiq Al-Saif: Saudi Apostates and Secularists Are Still Saudi Citizens Special Dispatch No. 5393 Liberal Saudi Columnist: The Arab World 'Does Not Value Human Life' In a column published June 30, 2013 in the Saudi government daily 'Okaz, titled "How Many Dead [Will There By] This Evening," liberal Saudi columnist Khalaf Al-Harbi lamented the situation of the Arab countries and the carnage taking place within them, as well as the world's indifference to these events. The following are excerpts from his column: "… No unusual expertise is needed to divine that today there will be many killed and wounded in various regions throughout the Arab world: In Egypt, large clashes are expected, and there is no way of predicting the scope of the fatalities that will be caused in their wake; in Iraq, there is a high likelihood of suicide bombings, the victims of which will be people who have no connection with the sectarian and political crisis that has divided the country for over a decade; in Lebanon, one or more will be killed because the state is a nonentity and is completely impotent to take control of the armed militias; in Syria, where all the cities and villages are drowning in a sea of blood, the news will report dozens killed, and none will react. And this comes on top of those who may be killed in Yemen or in Libya, [but] there isn't room in the news for reports on them." Click here to read the full report. Special Dispatch No. 5392 Expressing The Saudi Position On The Arab Spring, Former Saudi Navy Commodore Abdulateef Al-Mulhim States: The Arab Spring 'Is Not About A Search For Democracy [Or] Social Justice' – But Is 'All About Hate And Sectarian Violence' In a July 9, 2013 op-ed in the English-language daily Arab News, titled "Arab Spring: Mirror, Mirror On The Wall," Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, former Saudi navy commodore and U.S. liaison officer, called the Arab Spring a "very bad joke," stating that Arabs "hate each other more than we hate the outside enemy," and that Israel, which serves as a "moneymaking machine for Arab dictators and... corrupt Palestinian officials," treats, in its hospitals, the wounds that the Syrians inflict on each other. He adds that the Arab Spring was not "about a search for democracy, social justice and better standards of living" but rather "about hate and sectarian violence." Al-Mulhim's position reflects to a great extent the position of the Saudi establishment regarding the Arab Spring and its consequences, as well as its deep fear of the Islamist circles opposing Wahhabism that since the Arab Spring have become stronger in Egypt and Syria. As will be recalled, after the Egyptian army ousted Mursi on July 3, 2013, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait hastened to offer the new Egyptian regime $12 billion in aid, in order to enable it to prevent a major economic crisis in Egypt. Click here to read the full report. MEMRI TV Clip No. 3935 Liberal Saudi Intellectual Tawfiq Al-Saif: Saudi Apostates and Secularists Are Still Saudi Citizens Following are excerpts from an interview with liberal Saudi intellectual Dr. Tawfiq Al-Saif, which aired on Rotana Khalijiyya TV, on July 17, 2013: Tawfiq Al-Saif: Our country – like any other country – belongs to all its citizens, whoever they are. If there were a Christian Saudi, this country would still be his country. If a Saudi leaves the fold of Islam, becoming an apostate, he remains a Saudi citizen. The state should deal with its citizens not on the basis of sectarian considerations, but on the basis of their being citizens. An extremely religious citizen is jut like the citizen who is sinful, a citizen who is not at all religious, or even a non-Muslim citizen. They all have equal rights and obligations in the eyes of the law. Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV. Please remember the environment before printing.