What's Saudi's new Islamic coalition really up to?

Ahmed Fouad

Dec 22, 2015

A soldier from the Saudi-led coalition walks past a broken-down tank on a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 27, 2015. As Gulf-backed forces assemble in Marib province east of Sanaa ahead of a widely expected thrust towards the Houthi-held capital, the fate of Aden and its hinterland may offer a glimpse at whether some form of central government can be resurrected. To match Insight YEMEN-SECURITY/ADEN REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RTX1SQ8T — A soldier from the Saudi-led coalition walks past a broken-down tank on a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, Sept. 27, 2015. — REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

عربي

Saudi Arabia's nebulous announcement that it is forming a 34-country Islamic alliance to battle terrorism has raised speculation about the group's true mission.

The clearest aspect of the Dec. 15 announcement was that it was sorely lacking in details. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s deputy crown prince and defense minister, merely noted that Riyadh is creating the Islamic Military Alliance to fight terrorism in the Muslim world.