Al-Qaeda Threatens Saudi Prince Over WWE Deal
Mohammad bin Salman has 'opened door wide for corruption and moral degradation.'
Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammad bin Salman has received a stern warning from Yemen-based Islamist group al-Qaeda as a consequence of his apparent efforts to liberalise the kingdom - including inviting WWE to town for April's Greatest Royal Rumble.
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a statement condemning the Gulf regime for introducing "sinful" Western "absurdities" which have "opened the door wide for corruption and moral degradation." Whilst irked at the prince for "replacing mosques with movie theatres," the extremist group's main source of ire was Vince and co's sojourn to Jeddah.
"[Foreign] disbelieving wrestlers exposed their privates, and on most of them was the sign of the cross, in front of a mixed gathering of young Muslim men and women," they railed.
We must have missed that part.
AQAP's strictures against the prince are as political as they are ideological. The cell is currently waging war with a Saudi-led Arab Coalition as part of the ongoing Yemeni civil conflict; drumming up hatred against their belligerents on doctrinal grounds serves a practical purpose in aiding recruitment for the 4000 strong militant group.
The war has been ongoing since 2015, resulting in over 13,000 deaths and a staggering three million displaced Yemenis.