Islamic Activism Sweeps Saudi Arabia

Malki, the Islamic Education Authority consultant and also co-founder of the Faith in Diversity Institute, based in Owings Mills, Md., says the cartoons have created a new kind of activism. "People don't just want to talk, they want to do something," Malki said. "No state can stop, or think to stop, this activism. It's widespread, it's strong, and because of the love people feel for the prophet, it's also very emotional."

The two-hour lecture Malki gave in a noisy dining room packed mainly with women was winding down when he told the group he wanted to read them something from the Bible. He picked up his leather-bound King James version, well-thumbed with yellow bits of paper sticking out, leafed through it and started to read from the Book of Isaiah: "And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned."

There was stunned silence in the room, a palpable astonishment as the listeners understood the passage to foreshadow Muhammad, who was illiterate before he became a prophet. A few whispered, "God is great," and several young men and women wiped tears from their eyes.

Sulaiman al-Buthi, a Riyadh-based spokesman for the International Committee for the Defense of the Final Prophet, says this religious but peaceful activism could put an end to violence and drive groups like al-Qaeda out of business. Analysts have long said that a lack of democracy and civic institutions in the Middle East is part of the appeal of extremist groups, which offer one of the only options for disaffected youth.

But Buthi said he was "very optimistic about this movement, this cartoon intifada. It has given people opportunities to take matters into their own hands and do something positive for their religion. It's generating a very potent feeling, and it's capable of destroying the pull and influence of groups like al-Qaeda."

On the other hand, lawyer and writer Bassem Alem says he believes that the cartoons were only a trigger within the context of an already burgeoning region-wide Islamic resurgence. People "look around and they see Islamists winning in Egypt and Palestine and Morocco," he said, referring to elections in those places. "They feel empowered, and this is just one more manifestation of that."

Alem says that people took matters into their own hands because their governments were not doing enough to assuage their anger. He also contends these ad hoc committees will supplant Western-style civic institutions. "The methodologies for setting up civic institutions here failed because they were a Western model," he said. "These indigenous movements will take root because they are based on our beliefs and real needs."

Kawther, back at his father's office, which serves as Together's headquarters, was more reflective. "Islam has gone through many phases, up and down," said the stocky young man with a dark patch on his forehead that comes from regular prayers. "For it to be strong again, for a new Islamic renaissance, the youth have to be involved, and that's why we're doing this."

At the Seirafi mega-mall, where Together had set up signing booths and several computers and helped passersby send more than 5,000 e-mails to Denmark, two 12-year-old boys were handing out brochures that explained the campaign and urged people to follow the example of the prophet by becoming more devout. One of the group's members, law student Abdul-Ilah Bawazir, picked up the microphone to address the hundreds of shoppers, men to one side, veiled women to the other, who had stopped to watch that evening's performance of the Heraa group of Islamic chanters.

"We are all here for one reason," he said to the crowd. "To show solidarity with the prophet. Now that you've enjoyed the show, please take a minute and sign your name in support of the finest of messengers, prophet Muhammad. We want the world to know how much we love our prophet and how much we're willing to sacrifice for him."