SECURITY experts say one of the most important factors in protecting national security is to educate members of society on the challenges facing the nation. By doing so, members can play a key preventative role in tackling some of the leading security challenges authorities face in the country such as terrorism, tribalism, discrimination, weapons smuggling and sectarianism, reports Al-Riyadh daily.
According to Dr. Jibreel Al-Areeshi, a professor of informatics at King Saud University, the Arab world has been facing grave security issues that threaten the very existence of each and every state, including the Kingdom.
The government has taken stern and strict measures to safeguard and maintain security and protect the country’s economic gains and ensure the welfare of all members of society.
“Some are trying to get the Kingdom in the quagmire of the wars going on in the Middle East and divert its attention from focusing on its economic progress and playing its leading role in the region. Economic progress is closely associated with national security. They are, in fact, two sides of the same coin,” he explained.
He urged all citizens to perform their duty as citizens and be vigilant and cooperate and collaborate with security officers in order to protect the country against any potential threats.
Dr. Mesfer Al-Bishr, executive director of Prince Naif Global Award, said Iran is working with several extremist groups to destabilize the Kingdom’s security. He claimed Iran is trying to sow seeds of sedition in society through spreading rumors and lies on social media websites.
“The goal of such attacks is to demoralize Saudis and create depression and frustration among all segments of society. For example, there were rumors being circulated that Saudi security officers treat law violators with cruelty and use methods that are against Shariah teachings. Another rumor had it that the Houthi rebels had entered the Kingdom and occupied Jazan and Najran,” he explained while adding all of these rumors were part of Iran’s online propaganda machine.
Al-Bishr said there are around 27,000 social media accounts run by people from inside Iran and Iraq that seek to sow dissent in the Kingdom with their postings. In fact, there are around 500,000 fake Twitter accounts run from different countries that focus on raising controversial issues with a view of confusing Saudis.
Dr. Sulaiman Al-Roomi, a researcher, agreed that certain superpowers are trying to stir up sedition in the Arab and Islamic world. Sometimes, they talk about human rights and sometimes about sectarianism. Of course, the Kingdom is a target just like other Muslim countries.
“The Kingdom is a moderate country and represents the spiritual and material power for all Muslims. Some superpowers do not want the Kingdom to increase its power; rather, they want it to be preoccupied with internal and external threats. Some Western media outlets target our country to destabilize it politically, economically and socially,” he said, noting that Iran plays a hand in all these attacks. “Iran supports Al-Qaeda and it has never been targeted by Daesh (the so-called Islamic State).”
Al-Roomi called for increasing public awareness about the plots against the Kingdom and for enhancing cooperation and collaboration between citizens and the government. “The Kingdom will certainly get through all these crises as it has successfully done in the past, thanks to its political acumen,” he said.
