Image in US irritates Saudis

The charges have angered Saudis who question US statements that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in Sept. 11 were Saudi. Prince Nayef, the interior minister, told The New York Times that "until now, we have no evidence that assures us that [the 15 Saudis] are related to Sept. 11."

The attempt to distance themselves from Sept. 11 and the prickliness about American criticism may be rooted in what Sandra Mackey, author of "Saudis, Inside the Hidden Kingdom," describes as an intense cultural sensitivity to how the outside world perceives Saudi Arabia.

But there are also more concrete concerns that underlie the Saudi reaction. The ruling family relies on deeply conservative Muslims in the center of the country for its core support. Like Saudis in the southern part of the country, which was home to the 15 men implicated in Sept. 11, many of these people believe that the presence of US forces on Saudi soil - infidels in the home of Islam's holiest shrines - is a blasphemy.

US support for Israel, especially during the past year in which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, is another source of anger. Now, even moderate Saudis who are familiar with and admire the US are becoming critical of its actions.

While Saudi Arabia isn't a democracy and its leaders do not have to bow to public opinion, members of the royal family have justified their rule by claiming the family is acutely sensitive to the needs of its people. In practice, it balances between public sentiment and a very real need to maintain smooth US ties and a US military presence.

"The Saudi royal family remembers that its survival relies to a large degree on its relationship with the US," explains William Quandt, professor of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia. "They live in a pretty dangerous neighborhood. If they didn't have some kind of patron on security issues, it's hard to imagine over the long haul that they'd have an easy time surviving. [The Gulf War] was a pretty good example of that."

That reliance breeds resentment. Layla, a 30-something employee at a European firm, says that the US has too much power. "People are really aware that the US can do what it wants here," says Layla, who didn't want her real name used. "Many people think that the trouble with the economy right now is because the government is trying to make the US happy. Why is the price of oil so low? During a war, you expect the price of oil to go up!"

Layla, a US college graduate, says her greatest concern is harassment of Saudis and Muslims in the US. Saudi media has devoted considerable newsprint to US hate crimes against Muslims and to the return of Saudi students who no longer feel comfortable continuing their studies in the US.

The US government, Layla says, is being hypocritical when it condemns hate crimes against Muslims, but simultaneously targets Arabs for investigation on the basis of their ethnicity. She cites the thousands of men in Michigan who have been asked to report for voluntary interviews with law enforcement and the reports of Arab men being held without charges.

Al Maeena, the Arab News editor, echoes her charge that Americans are engaging in dangerous stereotyping. "People do not act in the plural - you don't say all Christians do this or that - but the media portrays us this way and demonizes Islam," he says, leaning forward in his leather office chair to make the point.

On the bulletin board opposite his desk, a poster features the British comedian Mr. Bean as a distinctly ridiculous Osama 'Bean' Laden. "What's bugging Saudis is that you've made a blanket judgment," he continues. "Just because 15 of 19 of [the Sept. 11 attackers] were Saudi doesn't mean we're all Jack the Ripper."

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