Is Saudi Arabia abandoning moderation?

“We will not waste 30 years of our lives dealing with extremist ideas. We will destroy them today.”

This is what Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said publicly in 2017 at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, expressing with unmistakable clarity how Saudi Arabia views extremism. He did not frame it as a gradual debate or a distant ambition, but as an urgent national priority.

That statement alone undermines the orchestrated narrative portraying Saudi Arabia as drifting away from moderation and toward the Muslim Brotherhood. This claim is not only misleading but fundamentally naive. Saudi Arabia was the first country in the Gulf Cooperation Council to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, doing so in March 2014. Other states followed later. Riyadh has long regarded the Brotherhood as an existential threat, alongside all rigid and ideologically driven movements that undermine state authority and social cohesion.

This position was reaffirmed clearly in 2021 on the official Saudi TV channel, when the crown prince stated: “Anyone who adopts extremist thinking is a criminal and will be held accountable. We cannot advance with the presence of extremist thought in the Kingdom.”

At the same time, Saudi Arabia does not allow others to exploit its criminalization of the Muslim Brotherhood as a gateway to wreaking havoc across the region. Riyadh does not and will not support non-state actors under the false pretext of fighting extremism, nor does it accept reckless geopolitical adventures justified by ideological slogans. For Saudi Arabia, counter-extremism is not rhetorical posturing but a matter of state responsibility, governed by law, institutions, and long-term stability.

This doctrine is not theoretical. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Riyadh has become a global hub for combating extremism through a comprehensive MMM approach — men, mind and money.

“Men” refers to coordinated state capacity and multilateral cooperation. In this context, the crown prince established the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, the world’s largest Islamic counterterrorism alliance. The coalition brings together more than 40 member states, alongside observer countries, and operates across military, security, ideological and media domains to confront extremist movements.

“Mind” reflects Saudi Arabia’s focus on defeating extremism at its intellectual roots. The crown prince launched Etidal, the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, now one of the world’s most advanced platforms for monitoring and countering extremist content digitally and in real time across multiple languages. He also established the Center for Safeguarding the Intellect under the Ministry of Defense, recognizing that lasting security requires protecting societies from radicalization before it turns violent.

“Money” targets the financial lifelines of extremism. Saudi Arabia has led international efforts to disrupt terrorist financing, strengthen financial oversight and shut down the channels through which extremist groups fund recruitment, propaganda, and operations. This financial dimension is a cornerstone of Riyadh’s counter-extremism doctrine and its international cooperation.

This approach has also been reaffirmed at the defense level. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman emphasized this responsibility during the defense ministers’ meeting of the IMCTC on Feb. 3, 2024, stating: “The aspirations of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition require concerted efforts, integration, cooperation, and partnership between member states, countries of the world, and international bodies to combat terrorism intellectually and militarily, and to dry up its sources of funding.”

Beyond security institutions, the crown prince has empowered the Muslim World League, the largest global Islamic organization, under the leadership of Secretary-General Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa. The league promotes moderation, interfaith dialogue and religious coexistence, encouraging Muslim communities in both East and West to respect the laws of their countries of residence and engage constructively with wider society. Under Al-Issa’s leadership, it has become a leading international voice for harmony among the Abrahamic faiths and across world religions.

Regional case studies further illustrate why Saudi Arabia rejects militia-based approaches. In Sudan, the leader of the RSF militias, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, received his nickname from former Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir, a hardcore Muslim Brotherhood figure. The name derives from Himayati, meaning “my protector,” reflecting Hemedti’s role as a regime enforcer. Under Al-Bashir, he and his militias were involved in the first wave of atrocities in Darfur, including Al-Fasher, crimes that led to Bashir’s indictment by the International Criminal Court. Hemedti has since overseen a second wave of mass killings in Al-Fasher during the current conflict.

This continuity exposes the hollowness of claims that such actors are genuinely fighting extremism. Too often, the banner of counter-ideology is used to justify destructive ventures rather than principled opposition to radicalism.

The same pattern appears in Yemen. According to Associated Press reports from 2018, the now-outlawed Southern Transitional Council and figures linked to its leadership were involved in arrangements that empowered Al-Qaeda–linked elements, including deals allowing fighters connected to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to operate or be integrated into local security structures.

A similar narrative is now emerging in the Horn of Africa. Somalia has long worked with regional and international partners, including the United States, to combat Al-Shabaab. Yet recycled claims are being used to justify fragmentation under the pretext of counterterrorism. Supporting separatist projects risks triggering a domino effect across Eastern Africa, producing long-term instability.

Saudi Arabia rejects this logic entirely. Riyadh believes in statehood, sovereignty and territorial integrity as the foundations of stability. It favors economic empowerment, institutional development, and political reform over militias, chaos, and fragmentation.

Riyadh’s position is clear. Extremism cannot be defeated by empowering militias or separatism. It can only be defeated by strengthening legitimate states and enabling them to overcome their challenges economically, in security and socially.

• Salman Al-Ansari is a Saudi geopolitical researcher and frequent guest on CNN, BBC and France 24, and was ranked the most influential political pundit in the Middle East in 2021 by Arab News. X: @salansar1