Saudi's September 15 Movement - Yet Another Failure?

Published September 17th, 2017 - 12:45 GMT
Exiled Saudi dissident Ghanem al-Dosari shared footage of the heavy police presence on Friday as protests were planned (Twitter)
Exiled Saudi dissident Ghanem al-Dosari shared footage of the heavy police presence on Friday as protests were planned (Twitter)
  • Saudi activists called for peaceful protests on September 15 
  • They wanted official action over poverty, unemployment and rights issues
  • A heavy handed security presence prevented demonstrations from taking place
  • The so-called September 15 movement was dubbed a "failure" by Saudi social media

 

by Rosie Alfatlawi

Over the weekend Twitter was flooded with Saudis enthusiastically celebrating the “failure of the September 15 movement”.

The hashtag received over 300,000 tweets in its first day, BBC Arabic reported.

But what is the September 15 movement, did it fail and why?

 

What is the September 15 movement?

Earlier in the month, Saudi activists had called for peaceful protests to be held after Friday prayers on September 15.

Their goal? To demand the authorities address a range of issues from unemployment and poverty to women's rights and political prisoners.

A statement produced by the movement's Twitter account described it as inclusive of all elements of society.

"The movement represents every citizen who is gravely concerned about his homeland and thinks its sovereignty is under the control of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt and that its dignity has been trampled on by Trump,” it reads.

"It represents everyone worried about the country's resources and thinks they are squandered in the pockets of a small class of people,” the statement adds.

The account, which has over 16,000 followers, provided details of locations for protests in a number of Saudi cities, even tweeting maps for demonstrators to find their way to the different mosques.

The protests gained the backing of exiled Saudi dissident Ghanem al-Dosari, anonymous whistleblower Mujtahid and Sa'ad Al-Fagih, the head of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia.

Many public figures spoke out against the protests, however, including the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh, who warned against accepting “suspicious calls” to demonstrate.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal tweeted the following:

September 15 - no so-called "September 15 rubbish". September 23 - day of love for the nation #Saudi_national_day

Were the protests a failure?

Many Saudis took to Twitter on Friday and Saturday to proclaim the “failure” of the movement.

 

They wanted it to be a day of movement and sedition, and it become a day of unity and loyalty to the nation.

The success of Hajj, control over the border, internal security, prestige abroad, an affluent life and enemies decreasing. You are great, O homeland Saudi Arabia!

Supporters of the movement, especially Ghanem al-Dosari, were widely mocked online, where they were described as “drug addicts” and “Qatari terrorists.”

Away from the overzealous expressions of nationalism, what actually happened on Friday?

The September 15 Movement Twitter account has remained generally quiet in the days following the planned protests.

On Saturday, a tweet proclaimed that “the first part of the aims of the movement had been achieved”.

The goal, it said, had been to “transform the idea into a hot national issue”.

“If the enormous security preparations made the movement difficult on September 15, those behind the movement have patience until the security apparatus is exhausted or comes over to their side.”

“The next step will be on what is called the #national_day on September 23,” it continued.

Elsewhere, activists denied the protests had failed, suggesting instead that the media “is at war with the movement”.

@0O_llll_O0 wrote: “when the Mufti and members of the Hai’a (Committee for the Prevention of Vice and the Promotion of Virtue) are forced to come out and prevent the protest [...] know that it has been a success”.

Saad al-Fagih similarly suggested that, through their massive response, the authorities had in fact inadvertently promoted the movement.

The vague references to “enormous security preparations” are made much clearer by dozens of videos tweeted by Ghanem al-Dosari.

The clips appear to show a very heavy handed preemptive response from the authorities to planned demonstrations.

This is the stifling of #September_15_Movement in Buraydah. A demonstration of all kinds of weapons.

 

 

 

 

 

Why did the movement “fail”?

This full-on security response goes a long way to explaining why the protests did not gain the momentum activists might have hoped for.

Demonstrating is illegal in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

Several other protest movements have failed to attract crowds in recent times, including the April 30 rally for the unemployed and the Ramadan 7 Movement.

Meanwhile, in the restive Qatif region, a harsh government crackdown on protests by the country’s oppressed Shia minority recently saw the town of Awamiyah reduced to rubble, according to social media accounts.

Fourteen men arrested over those protests continue to face the death penalty, despite repeated condemnation from rights groups.

The last week has seen a sudden flood of arrests, described by some as an attempt to clampdown on freedom of expression and eliminate opposition in the Gulf state.

Among those arrested was prominent cleric Sheikh Salman al-Awdah, who had praised efforts for Saudi-Qatari reconciliation on Twitter, as well as a number of other public figures who had spoken out against the authorities.

In fact, prior to Friday, many on social media indicated that they expected the September 15 demonstrations to have a negligable impact on the status quo. It remains to be seen if the movement will move forward and gain momentum or simply be added to the pile of failed Saudi protest movements.

Tags:AwamiyahRe-ImaginingGhanem al-Dosari SaTwitterBBCHai’aCommittee for the Prevention of Vice and the Promotion of VirtueMovement for Islamic ReformAbdullah Al ash-SheikhAbdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah AlAl-FagihAlwaleed bin TalalPrinceSalman al-AwdahSaad al-Fagih
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