How have the bombings there impacted you personally? How have you felt this week, and particularly in your role as a top editor in the media there?

Well, I wear many hats; I'm an editor, but I'm also a social worker and a sports promoter -- I do these things out of commitment to the idea that one should play a role in society. As a human being it has impacted me a lot. I'm upset and sad, and the last three years I've been walking around with a heavy heart, as many other people have. Today I had about 30 people at my house for lunch, family members and friends. We were sitting and talking, and the mood was somber. There was not much to laugh about.

What also pains me is that for years we prided ourselves on being a country that was almost crime-free. In Saudi Arabia you don't have violent crimes per se, no armed bank robberies ... We do have crime, I'm not saying we're angels ... but to have all this happen, 15 of the 19 [hijackers] from Saudi Arabia, other acts that have taken place, and now this. It has really blemished our track record. Society is quite calm here, but you see this political violence and it negates all that we really stand for.

There appears to be a growing divide in the Arab region, between those who want to move forward with democracy and modernization, and those who look to the past in favor of theocracy and strict religious controls. In a recent commentary in the Lebanese paper Al-Hayat, Mohammad Al Rumaihi called this a struggle between "new and old Arabs." Would you agree with him that this divide is now greater than ever before?

No, I don't think the number of people who want theocracy is on the increase. Islam is a way of life, but while there may be no separation of church and state, there are clear and defined roles for the people in authority. Unfortunately the hijackers, and those who are intolerant and who have malice ... have created a real problem. Men of good will have kept quiet. And the Muslims let themselves, or let their children be preyed upon by intolerant people, by the bin Ladens of this world, and that has caused all this.

Yes, I think there is a struggle going on for the soul of the Muslim world. For a long time we have kept quiet and have allowed these people to have a platform.

But you think they only represent a small minority?

They are a vocal and growing minority, but on the whole if you ask any young person what he wants, he wants to be computer-savvy, he wants the Internet, he wants to work. We do not want to be mere bystanders. We want to be travelers on the road of life, on the road of progress. But you're right, some have succumbed to these shrill voices, and as such, these people began to assume more and more power.

How big a hand has the Arab media had in stirring up anti-Western fervor in the past? Isn't it largely responsible for it?

The media is responsible and also the governments are responsible. I think the governments should be aware that we have to have a curriculum -- I'm not saying the curriculum is directly responsible, but our focus would be on science and technology and other things. I think we have to be global ... I think it's time to let people talk. There are so many Arab intellectuals, so many writers ... they should be given a chance.

Does the environment exist there now for such free expression? How much does the Saudi government monitor or control the content of Arab News or other publications?

Arab News, as with its sister publication [Asharq Al-Awsat, a prominent Arab-language daily published in London], is privately owned. There are other newspapers in the area that are much more vocal, such as Al Watan ... other privately owned papers, and they talk with focus, and they're not afraid to call a spade a spade.

In fact, today I had an article in an Arabic paper called the Economist, and I said that those who blame things on the Israelis and the CIA better understand that this is nonsense. The enemy is within, as stated the other day. People are getting tired ... our religion is being tarnished, our image is being tarnished.

So is Arab News free to say anything it wants?

Yes, we are free to criticize the governments and all, but for a long time people were afraid to take on the extremists. But in the last two years, and especially after September 11, people sort of began parrying with them, if you know what I mean. Now I think there will be people who will go in for the knockout punch.

Frankly speaking, we are tired of them. If you want me to speak boldly, I'm tired of obscure ranters, I'm tired of people who have very little knowledge of religion trying to force down my throat teachings that do not subscribe to the views of Islam.

Why has there been so much fear in the past of this vocal minority? Why hasn't the government or the press spoken out more forcefully against it?

The press was following the government, waiting to see. I think we have to come out of the closet. We really have to take on these people, these obscure ranters, and these people who have nothing to say except ...

But the government has been afraid of doing that?

Yes, well, people didn't want to rock the boat, or wake what they perceived to be a giant. I personally think we have to take them head on. It has to be a fight to the finish.

This week the Israeli press said that the attacks in Riyadh were aimed as much at the current Saudi regime as they were at Westerners. Do you agree?

Well, I don't need the Israeli press to say that, yes, I think this was a hit against the government, a hit against Saudi Arabia. They tried to strike at the very foundation of society. They have harmed us economically. We are part of the global economy in many aspects. What kind of confidence or climate of investment will this type of action bring? It will bring fear. What company is going to invest or send its people here, Westerners or non-Westerners?

In a recent column in Arab News, Abdulhamid Al-Ansary wrote that "the Arab media succeeded in deceiving its people" with its coverage of the war in Iraq. He also emphasized that the goal of the region's competing satellite TV channels "is to win the street at any price." Are the satellite channels doing the bidding of their governments by fanning the flames of anti-Western sentiment, or are they indeed driven by sensationalism simply to win viewers?

I'm glad you asked, because these channels are all privately owned, Al-Jazeera, or Al Arabia ... the governments do not own them, in fact the government channels are very boring. So these stations want viewers -- like the Nielsen ratings you have in the States.

In many ways Dr. Ansary is right ... But remember the journalists on the American side were the ones with the attacking group, they were with those firing the shots. The journalists on the other side were on the receiving end ... so when there are deaths you'll find the Arab TV crew focusing on charred bodies and the prisoners that the Americans have.

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