In the twenty-first century, Saudi society is struggling over religious interpretation, which seems to be at the heart of political activism. As the struggle unfolds, it is accompanied by strife among various groups and confrontation between those groups and the state. Traditional ʿulama, Sahwi sheikhs, Jihadis and laymen debate religious interpretations; not all subscribe to non-violent dialogue. Since 1990 violence has become the dark side of the Saudi religio-political debate. Various contestants challenge each other in a desperate attempt to control interpretations of religious discourse. The debate intensi.ed after 11 September.

With American military power closing the gates of jihad in Afghanistan following the demise of the Taliban regime in 2001, the struggle of Saudis for the way of God came home. Many Saudi Jihadis who travelled for the second time to Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden had lived between 1996 and 2001, returned to Saudi Arabia. After the toppling of the Taliban, the dismantling of al-Qaʾida training camps and the arrest or flight of Saudi trainees, it seemed to many observers that the War on Terror, led by the USA and a number of supporting countries, was proving successful. Yet several countries in the region experienced waves of violence.