Al-Suwaidi
Encyclopedia
Al-Suwaidi is a district in southwestern Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia
on the western side of the Wadi Hanifa
.
As of 2005 more than 500,000 people lived in the area. John R. Bradley, author of Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis, described the district as a "slum" that has "a massive entanglement of narrow lanes, pot-holed roads, and open sewers." Power and water outages often happen in the district.
Many people migrating from the rural areas go to Al-Suwaidi. Bradley said that Al-Suwaidi has a reputation "for being a bastion of strict Wahhabism
" within the people living in Saudi Arabia. Bradley added that the men "hardly need incitement" to contrast their own lives with wealthy Saudi princes and foreigners.
Ibrahim al-Rayyes, a terrorist suspect killed in a shootout with police, lived in Al-Suwaidi. In a 2003 list of most wanted Islamic fundamentalist militants, al-Rayyes and about 14 of the 26 other suspects had either come from or lived in Al-Suwaidi. More than half of those suspects were graduates of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University.
According to John R. Bradley, author of Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis, parts of Al-Suwaidi become "no go" to the police in the night time. Guerilla warfare occurred in Al-Suwaidi. BBC
journalists Simon Cumbers
and Frank Gardner
were attacked in Al-Suwaidi; Gardner was with a cameraman to film al-Rayyes's house. The attackers were easily able to escape due to the layout of the neighborhood.
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
on the western side of the Wadi Hanifa
Wadi Hanifa
Wadi Hanifa is a wadi or valley in the Nejd region in central Saudi Arabia. The valley runs for a length of from north to south, cutting through the city of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia...
.
As of 2005 more than 500,000 people lived in the area. John R. Bradley, author of Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis, described the district as a "slum" that has "a massive entanglement of narrow lanes, pot-holed roads, and open sewers." Power and water outages often happen in the district.
Many people migrating from the rural areas go to Al-Suwaidi. Bradley said that Al-Suwaidi has a reputation "for being a bastion of strict Wahhabism
Wahhabism
Wahhabism is a religious movement or a branch of Islam. It was developed by an 18th century Muslim theologian from Najd, Saudi Arabia. Ibn Abdul Al-Wahhab advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations...
" within the people living in Saudi Arabia. Bradley added that the men "hardly need incitement" to contrast their own lives with wealthy Saudi princes and foreigners.
Crime
The district gained notoriety in 2003 when a 26-man list of "most wanted terrorists" published by the Saudi government contained 15 men who were said to have links with the neighborhood.Ibrahim al-Rayyes, a terrorist suspect killed in a shootout with police, lived in Al-Suwaidi. In a 2003 list of most wanted Islamic fundamentalist militants, al-Rayyes and about 14 of the 26 other suspects had either come from or lived in Al-Suwaidi. More than half of those suspects were graduates of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University.
According to John R. Bradley, author of Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis, parts of Al-Suwaidi become "no go" to the police in the night time. Guerilla warfare occurred in Al-Suwaidi. BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
journalists Simon Cumbers
Simon Cumbers
Simon Peter Cumbers was an Irish-born freelance journalist working for the BBC who was murdered by apparent Al Qaeda sympathisers while filming one of the terrorist group's safehouse in Saudi Arabia.-Career:...
and Frank Gardner
Frank Gardner (journalist)
Frank Rolleston Gardner OBE is an English journalist and correspondent. He is currently the BBC's Security Correspondent. He was appointed an OBE in 2005 for his services to journalism.-Background:...
were attacked in Al-Suwaidi; Gardner was with a cameraman to film al-Rayyes's house. The attackers were easily able to escape due to the layout of the neighborhood.