Fighting in Syria: A One-Way Trip?

After Saudi Arabia announced on November 2 a plan to spend millions on training Syrian Salafist rebel organizations with the help of Pakistan, many observers made the obvious comparison with Saudi Arabia train and bankroll the mujahedin in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. The irony is compounded by the fact that Saudi Arabia’s support well counter Al Qaeda’s growing strength in Syria. Recent reports suggest that Saudi Arabia is concerned about one aspect history repeating itself: returning jihadis destabilizing Saudi Arabia’s security.

One major difference in Saudi Arabia’s approach to the Afghanistan and Syrian conflicts is the lack of a large-scale recruiting effort. Islamic charities and figures close to the Saudi government recruited extensively for the in Afghanistan jihad, so that participation in the jihad became a cultural phenomenon. Now, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti has ordered Saudis not to go to Syria. He insists that Syria’s well-wishers should pray instead of sending fighters. The Saudi government has also discouraged fundraising and other grassroots efforts on behalf of Syria by Saudi Arabia’s Islamic charities. While Saudi Arabia considers Syria an important front on its Cold War with Iran, they want to prevent it from becoming the popular jihad that Afghanistan was.

Despite the lack of overt recruiting, a few reports suggest that the Saudi Arabian government is recruiting by other means. The Assyrian News Agency reported that Saudi Arabia sent as many as 12,000 death row prisoners, including foreign citizens, to fight in Syria. A leaked memo, allegedly from an Interior Ministry official, explained that “they will be exempted from the death sentence and given a monthly salary to their families and loved ones.” Another source of recruits for Syria are Saudis who feel persecuted in Saudi Arabia. Reema al-Jourish, wife of imprisoned activist Abdullah al-Hamili, announced on Twitter that his 16-year-old son Moath had arrived in Syria to fight for the rebels. She explained: “My son has been harassed within [Saudi Arabia] for supporting prisoners. I would not let him be taken easily by the tyrants. The land of dignity and glory is more merciful for him.” Apparently, al-Jourish decided to send her son to Syria after she received a call from the Interior Ministry threatening him. It is unclear whether the Interior Ministry intended to force Moath al-Hamili to go to Syria, but this incident illustrates the differences between the recruiting effort for Syria and therefore Afghanistan. Similarly, Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist for the Al Hayat newspaper cited the YouTube video of a conversation with Saudi citizens fighting it Syria. These fighters claimed they feared being killed if they return to Saudi Arabia after fighting in Syria.

Many analysts question the wisdom of Saudi Arabia’s decision to train Syria’s rebels, but it is clear that Saudi Arabia has learned one lesson from Afghanistan and is trying to minimize the chances of a second wave of returning jihadis: ensuring that only criminals and social outcasts volunteer for Syria, and that few if any return.