SAUDI ARABIA: On the eve of the annual Muslim Hajj, Saudi Arabia has stepped up domestic security arrangements to prevent anti-US political demonstrations and terrorist attacks on Westerners, writes Michael Jansen.
Over five days, more than two million pilgrims will travel between Mecca, Mina and the plain of Arafat.
The Saudi Interior Minister and chairman of the Supreme Hajj Committee, Prince Naif, said security measures were of the "highest order". He said these measures had not been taken under "any external pressure".
He warned groups planning to protest at the US military build-up against Iraq and terrorist organisations seeking to carry out operations during the pilgrimage season that they would be countered "with an iron fist".
In August 1987, 400 mainly Iranian pilgrims were killed during anti-US demonstrations which were violently suppressed by the Saudi police.
Over the past two years the Saudi authorities have screened all pilgrims to exclude potential troublemakers and terrorists.
With the aim of reassuring both pilgrims and Western residents, Prince Naif said there were fewer than 250 al-Qaeda suspects in the kingdom, and said they were all under investigation.
The added security has been backed up by an edict issued by the kingdom's official Council of Muslim Scholars forbidding attacks on non-Muslims anywhere in the world.
The ruling, or fatwa, said that non-Muslims should not be considered infidels and randomly targeted.
The council declared that the "shedding of innocent blood, the bombing of buildings and ships and the destruction of public and private installations are criminal acts and against Islam . . . Those who carry out such acts have deviant beliefs and misleading ideologies and are responsible for their crime . . . Islam and Muslims should not be held accountable for their actions."
The edict coincided with advice given to Western expatriates by their embassies that they should prepare for a swift exit if the US and its allies launch a war on Iraq in coming weeks.
There are more than 100,000 Western expatriates in the kingdom, including some 30,000 Britons and 40,000 US citizens. This figure is far lower than the number of Westerners residing in the kingdom at the time of the 1991 war.
Although attacks on Westerners dwelling in Saudi Arabia are rare, there have been a number of bombing incidents since September 11th, 2001. These have been blamed by the Saudi authorities on competing alcohol-smuggling gangs.
Analysts argue that neither Prince Naif's "iron fist" nor the fatwa will deter seriously-committed militants preparing to stage mass protests during the pilgrimage or to mount attacks on Westerners in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere.
Consequently, the next week will be a highly-sensitive period in the Arab and Muslim worlds.