To stanch spread of radical Islam, Saudi Arabia woos detainees
By Hannah Allam
McClatchy Newspapers
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Alarmed to find that detainees are emerging from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and other U.S. detention centers more devoted than ever to radical Islam, Saudi Arabia is offering counseling, financial aid and even matchmaking to pull young militants away from terrorism.
To keep the former detainees from deep-pocketed militant recruiters, Saudi officials have treated them to perks that have included new cars, resort stays, job placement and help in finding brides. They've also exposed them to moderate clerics and reminded them of Islam's restrictive rules for waging holy war, or jihad.
Saudi officials said the goal is to stop the proliferation of radical ideology that they said is bred in prisons and on the Internet. The ideology has flourished at Guantanamo and is evident among the returning Saudi detainees - even those who were moderates before they were imprisoned, Saudi officials said.
"When you associate with those guys, you become one of them," said Mansour al Turki, the Saudi government's security spokesman.
The multimillion-dollar rehabilitation program is available to most Saudis who've been accused of terrorism-related crimes, and officials estimate that as many as 2,000 have participated in the program since its inception in 2004.
The program pays special attention to those released from the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Nearly every Saudi returning from American captivity undergoes up to 10 weeks of intense psychological tests, starting with an evaluation on the private plane that whisks him home from the American prison, Turki said.
The United States announced last month that it's released 390 people from Guantanamo, more than the 386 it continues to hold there. But there's little comprehensive information on what's become of those who've been released. Pentagon officials have reported that as many as two dozen have returned to the fight, but they've refused to provide specifics.
The Interior Ministry here said 65 Saudis have been released from Guantanamo, though other counts place the number at 60.
Counselors in Saudi Arabia said that the prisoners returning here are broken, humiliated and angry - the perfect prey for militant recruiters. Turki said that many men who rarely prayed before they were detained emerged from Guantanamo with bushy beards and fundamentalist beliefs.
Distracting former detainees with new jobs and marriages helps Saudi authorities keep them out of trouble and away from vengeance missions.
"People still kill each other for revenge, you know, and it's part of the custom," Turki said. "It's no good for a man to be treated in that situation and just go back and sit at home. ... If you do not actually get involved at least in the beginning of their life, then there might be actually somebody who could take advantage of this and recruit them again for terrorism."
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