Turki Al-Dakhil

By : Turki Aldakhil

Six Saudi influential figures who are critical of uncontrolled arms and terrorist cells were threatened after graffitists listed their names on a wall in the town of Al-Awamiyah. What these men have in common is their consensus to condemn the assassination attempt of Engineer Nabih al-Barahim and their call to disarm terrorists and murderers fortified in Al-Awamiyah’s neighborhood of al-Masura, the terrorists’ stronghold. It’s an old area which the government is planning to reform and develop in a way that harmonizes architecturally. The government aims to turn it into an open and renewed area after it had been easy for terrorists to station themselves there to launch their brutal operations.

Voices – from all sects and religions – critical of terrorism must be encouraged to speak up.

Turki Aldakhil

The aim of this graffiti is to silence critical voices and threaten intellectuals and Shiite media figures who support civil peace values.

Voices – from all sects and religions – critical of terrorism must be encouraged to speak up. Media figures in Riyadh, Qassim and Jeddah have in the past suffered from al-Qaeda’s terrorism and some of these figures’ names were listed as targets in 2004. We’re witnessing this again as Al-Awamiyah cells are doing the same and threatening men with reasonable voices in al-Ahsa and Qatif.

“The state will remain the state,” the Saudi crown prince once said, and no one should ever be allowed to perform the role of the state.

Turki Aldakhil is the General Manager of Al Arabiya News Channel. He began his career as a print journalist, covering politics and culture for the Saudi newspapers Okaz, Al-Riyadh and Al-Watan. He then moved to pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat and pan-Arab news magazine Al-Majalla. Turki later became a radio correspondent for the French-owned pan-Arab Radio Monte Carlo and MBC FM. He proceeded to Elaph, an online news magazine and Alarabiya.net, the news channel’s online platform. Over a ten-year period, Dakhil’s weekly Al Arabiya talk show “Edaat” (Spotlights) provided an opportunity for proponents of Arab and Islamic social reform to make their case to a mass audience. Turki also owns Al Mesbar Studies and Research Centre and Madarek Publishing House in Dubai. He has received several awards and honors, including the America Abroad Media annual award for his role in supporting civil society, human rights and advancing women’s roles in Gulf societies. He tweets @TurkiAldakhil.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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