Saudi militant apologises on TV

By Roger Hardy BBC Middle East analyst

A Saudi cleric well known for his hardline views has repented on national television.

Sheikh Ali al-Khudair said he has withdrawn his support for Islamic militants suspected of having links with al-Qaeda.

He condemned the recent bomb attack on a residential compound in the capital, Riyadh, which left 18 dead.

Sheikh Ali al-Khudair was arrested earlier this year for supporting Islamic extremists.

In a string of fatwas - or religious edicts - he had given legitimacy to their violent struggle against the Saudi state.

The sheikh condemned the Riyadh bombing

But in a TV interview on Monday, the sheikh withdrew the fatwas and urged militants who are still on the run to give themselves up.

He also condemned the bomb attack against a residential compound in Riyadh ten days ago, in which at least 18 people were killed and over a 100 wounded - most of them Arabs from outside the country.

The Saudi authorities clearly hope that the public repentance of a prominent radical cleric will help them rally public support and marginalise the extremists.

There is no doubt ordinary Saudis have been shocked by the fact that the casualties in the Riyadh bombing were Muslims, including women and children.

If the bombers were linked to al-Qaeda, as many suspect, then the group may have alienated some of those who had been sympathetic to it in the past.

But at the same time support for the militants among radical Islamists seems well-rooted, and there is a widely shared perception that the ruling princes are too closely tied to America and unwilling to embark on serious reform.