KU Saudi Club president decries terrorist act

When Mohammed Alsobaihi heard of the bombings in his home town of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, his thoughts immediately turned to his family.

Alsobaihi’s in-laws live just blocks from the site of Monday’s bombings, but Alsobaihi’s phone rang before he had the chance to call them.

“They called us immediately and told us they were OK,” said Alsobaihi, who is working on a graduate degree at Kansas University in English as a second language.

The phone call was just one portion of an emotional day for Alsobaihi, who — along with his worries for his family’s safety — spent the day speaking with fellow students in the KU Saudi Club, of which Alsobaihi is president.

“Since the incident happened, we talked to each other,” Alsobaihi said. “And I want to let everyone know that all Saudis are against this act and do not believe in such things. They are shocked and condemn this act.”

Alsobaihi said 90 Saudis attend KU.

Monday’s bombings occurred in a predominantly foreign section of Riyadh, and are believed to be committed by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network. The targeted section of Riyadh was home mostly to Saudi immigrants, including the seven Americans killed in the bombing.

Alsobaihi said diversity was one of Riyadh’s most prominent traits.

“It has a lot of people from all over the world,” Alsobaihi said, “including Americans, British, and Europeans. You won’t feel alone as a foreigner in Saudi Arabia.”

That same diversity was exactly what al-Qaida targeted, he said. However, Alsobaihi believes the same type of attacks can occur almost anywhere in the world.

“You just don’t know what to expect from them,” Alsobaihi said.

Bin Laden has stated that mass killings such as Sept. 11 and the one in Riyadh were because of his Islamic beliefs. But Alsobaihi said that Islam preaches peace, not violence.

“Almost all people (in Saudi Arabia) practice Islam, but not to the extreme of bin Laden,” Alsobaihi said. “Islam does not promote killing innocent people at all.”

And because of the recent bombings, Alsobaihi’s family will continue to live in fear.

“I think everyone there is scared of the unexpected,” Alsobaihi said. “But we trust our government and Crown Prince Abdullah. He promised the government will track the people and bring them to justice.”