Crown Prince Naif, the longest-serving interior minister who was buried Sunday, led Saudi Arabia’s fierce crackdown on Al-Qaeda, organized crimes and drug trafficking at local and regional levels and was an extraordinary soldier and brilliant statesman. His successful tactics, methods and modules of combating terrorism are today held up as an example by the international community.
Prince Naif, who became next in line to the throne on Oct. 27 last year following the death of the then Crown Prince Sultan, was head of the Interior Ministry since 1975. He had been instrumental in international counterterrorism efforts. As minister of interior, he safeguarded the Kingdom, effectively leading counterterrorism initiatives to root out Al-Qaeda.
Born in Taif in 1934, Prince Naif was a towering personality. His involvement in Saudi political life for nearly six decades is full of wisdom and statesmanship that steered the nation on the road to peace and prosperity. For about 37 years as interior minister, primarily tasked with ensuring safety and security to the Kingdom and to the region on the whole, he became an institution in himself.
His public life started as governor of Riyadh way back in 1953, and he was appointed deputy interior minister in 1970, before being appointed interior minister. In fact, Crown Prince Naif is most known in his role as interior minister and for defining the security strategic objectives. He always sought to achieve security and stability nation-wide, and provided peace and security for citizens and residents of the Kingdom.
Referring to his role as the minister of interior, a report published by the ministry said that Crown Prince Naif fought “against all means of crime to ensure the safety of Saudi society and its development.”
It added, “Ensuring safety of pilgrims, reinforcing security relationships with neighboring Arab countries and cooperating with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council were among the major goals of Crown Prince Naif’s regime.”
He exerted untiring efforts to maintain safety in the Kingdom and abroad, control crime and drug smuggling, exchange security information, and organize citizenship regulations and systems. “Reinforcing security cooperation with Arab countries to protect cultural possessions and achievements, supporting internal and external security, controlling crime, terrorism and drug smuggling, and developing Arab security institutions were on top of the prince’s agenda,” the report added.
Undoubtedly, Prince Naif has been hugely successful in combating terrorism in Saudi Arabia, forcing terrorist organizations to practically flee the country. The terrorist attacks that occurred in Saudi Arabia in 2003 represent perhaps the sternest test faced by Crown Prince Naif as interior minister. But, he won the battle against all odds.
The crown prince’s calm and collected handling of the crisis and the subsequent successes he achieved in combating Al-Qaeda in the Kingdom and the neighboring countries is something everybody clearly recalls. The prince built his power in the Kingdom though a broader campaign to prevent the growth of militancy and terrorism among Saudis.
The 9/11 attacks at first strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States. However, thanks to the visionary approach of Crown Prince Naif, the two allies worked together to get rid of the menace of terrorism. He targeted terrorism financing in particular, dismantling groups that used to collect donations for Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist network, while also attempting to rehabilitate Saudi nationals caught in the clutches of religious extremism.
To this end, it is important to note the visionary approach of Crown Prince Naif, which led to the establishment of Prince Mohammed bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care (Munasaha program). The center today attempts to rehabilitate the extremist ideology and beliefs of those found guilty of terrorism-related offenses. This program brought to Crown Prince Naif international accolades from countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and Indonesia.
In fact, Prince Naif’s tactics in the “war on terror” led political leaders and security experts to call on intelligence and security agencies around the world to benefit from the Saudi counterterrorism experience. The core of the program is to reform the terrorists and ensure their return to the mainstream Saudi society and the true Islam. The program employs intensive religious instructions and lessons in mannerism besides offering extensive facilities for entertainment and sports.
Following rigorous debate, Islamic scholars and clerics — many employed by Saudi Arabia’s universities — established the program under the supervision of Prince Naif. Saudi Arabia’s rehabilitation program has been copied by several countries, specifically Indonesia and Singapore.
Militant leaders who survived or were not jailed largely fled to Yemen, where they joined Yemeni militants in reviving Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula at that time. However, Crown Prince Naif did not sit idle; rather, he took a leading role in combating the branch in Yemen as well. In 2009, Al-Qaeda militants attempted to assassinate his son, Prince Muhammad, who is currently the deputy interior minister and the commander of counterterrorism operations.
Prince Naif was always successful in protecting and maintaining the security and stability of Saudi Arabia, and surmounting numerous crises in the process. For more than three decades, he protected the Kingdom’s national security and stood against all those who attempted to destabilize it.
According to a biography published by the Ministry of Interior Sunday, Prince Naif, who became the second deputy premier on March 27, 2009, served as deputy interior minister since 1970. Hence, in a way, Crown Prince Naif was in charge of security for the last 42 years. Not only this, he also headed the Arab Interior Ministers Council, where the adoption of many security projects and agreements that serve the Arab nation’s security were recently ratified.
He had the distinction to formulate the policies that led to the announcement of the Arab Security Strategy in Baghdad in 1984, the Arab Preemptive Security Plan in Tunisia in 1985, the Arab Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism signed by the Arab ministers of interior and justice in 1998, and in formulating an Arab Strategy Draft Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. He was also the chairman of the Riyadh-based Naif Arab University for Security Sciences at the time of his death.
His efforts resulted in a general development of security departments, including the directorates general of Civil Defense, Border Guard, Public Security, Investigation, Passports, and of Narcotics Control; the Director General of Prisons; and the Special Security Forces.
He was also instrumental in establishing the Intellectual Security Department in 2007 within the Ministry of Interior. He extended special support in establishing and funding Prince Naif Chair for Intellectual Security at the Riyadh-based King Saud University in 2008 besides funding Prince Naif Chair for National Unity Studies at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in 2009.
In addition, he provided added encouragement and financial support to dozens of studies and research programs on extremism and terrorism. Crown Prince Naif also formed a working group of university professors to develop strategic plans for Arab intellectual security. On the international level, he supported efforts to ensure peace and security in Afghanistan as well as to carry out relief operations for the Afghan people.
