<b>Mudy</b>,
I do not think it is the loss of power or wealth. Islam is not egalitarian. It respects power , wealth or other appurtenants that go with them. Remember that the Saudi society has been mostly tribal and clannish where tribal and clan power-centres have always been widely respected. Islam (at least the Hanbali/Wahhabi interpretation widely practised there) allows "slaves" and "obedience" to power. To overthrow the Head of State is "<i>haraami</i>". Many educated Saudis (even those exposed to liberal societies like India or the West) otherwise feel that "democracy" is against "Islam". Such a feeling is rooted in the concept of "Caliph", one which they still expect in the mould of those early "Four Guided Caliphs" to appear somehow and bring back the glory of the days of Prophet Muhammad or Abu Baker.
Al-Qaeda is not the only terror outfit in Saudi Arabia. There were the "Ikhwanis", a group setup by Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman al-Saud in early 20th century to help him drive out the Hashemite king out of Makkah, Medinah area (Hijaz province) and to unite the other tribes under himself. There are a large number of modern-day Ikhwanis, who want to implement a distilled purer form of Islamic governance in Saudi Arabia. They have been warring with successive Kings of the al-Saud dynasty. Today, they have probably linked up with al-Qaeda. These Ikhwanis have a large moral support base within KSA.
I do not think it is the loss of power or wealth. Islam is not egalitarian. It respects power , wealth or other appurtenants that go with them. Remember that the Saudi society has been mostly tribal and clannish where tribal and clan power-centres have always been widely respected. Islam (at least the Hanbali/Wahhabi interpretation widely practised there) allows "slaves" and "obedience" to power. To overthrow the Head of State is "<i>haraami</i>". Many educated Saudis (even those exposed to liberal societies like India or the West) otherwise feel that "democracy" is against "Islam". Such a feeling is rooted in the concept of "Caliph", one which they still expect in the mould of those early "Four Guided Caliphs" to appear somehow and bring back the glory of the days of Prophet Muhammad or Abu Baker.
Al-Qaeda is not the only terror outfit in Saudi Arabia. There were the "Ikhwanis", a group setup by Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman al-Saud in early 20th century to help him drive out the Hashemite king out of Makkah, Medinah area (Hijaz province) and to unite the other tribes under himself. There are a large number of modern-day Ikhwanis, who want to implement a distilled purer form of Islamic governance in Saudi Arabia. They have been warring with successive Kings of the al-Saud dynasty. Today, they have probably linked up with al-Qaeda. These Ikhwanis have a large moral support base within KSA.