Facebook Fatwa: Saudi Clerics, Wahhabi Islam and Social Media

Following al-Qaeda’s violent campaign against Saudi Arabia in 2003 and 2004, Saudi authorities launched a crackdown on radicalism in the Kingdom. This included tighter controls on terror finance, dismantling al Qaeda’s local cells, monitoring the country’s mosques, and a state-sponsored de-radicalization program designed to combat what Saudi authorities call “deviant” ideologies. But what of the problems associated with internet radicalization? Is Saudi-sponsored radicalization still a problem online? Or has it waned as a result of the Saudi authorities’ efforts? A decade after the September 11 attacks that prompted a deep and protracted crisis in U.S.-Saudi relations, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) commissioned a study to gauge the sentiment, influence, and reach of Saudi clerics on the internet. Facebook Fatwa provides a glimpse of the religious establishment’s online activities during a critical moment in the Middle East.