Next Monday, Al-Baqee–a new coalition of American Muslims–will take an initiative that other citizens and leaders of our country should have begun immediately after 9/11: The group has called a protest against Saudi Arabia’s support–by preaching, money and recruitment–of terrorism. The demonstration is set for 1 p.m. outside the Royal Saudi Embassy in Washington. Al-Baqee takes its name from a historic cemetery in Mecca devastated by fundamentalist radicals–the forerunners of al Qaeda–200 years ago and again in the 1920s, when the House of Saud took over the Muslim holy cities of Arabia. At al-baqee.org, the group describes itself as “a coalition of concerned American Muslims across America which promotes the preservation of the religious, architectural and cultural heritage of Islam by fostering and advancing a peaceful understanding of Islam and denouncing acts of terrorism, vandalism and radicalism in the name of Islam.” Al-Baqee declares forthrightly, “Saudi Arabia’s government is aware of the groups who directly support terrorism by hosting and supporting those who issue calls . . . that encourage terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere.” The group goes on:
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