In Arab and Muslim culture, leaving behind wasiya, or guidance, for one’s survivors is a long tradition. In the this video, the Saudi crown prince Nayef addresses the Saudi population directly.
A frail-sounding Nayef speaks for just over a minute and says little, but means much. “We are targets because of our creed and country,” he says. Twice in thirty seconds he pronounces: “I address you in complete honesty and openness.”
He urges Saudis to “defend your religion and country, your sons, and future generations.”
He does not say who he believes is threatening Islam and Saudi Arabia. To defend them, however, he calls not on the conventional armed forces, but on a battalion of people Prince Nayef identifies as recipients of his message: “religious clerics, students of religion, proselytizers, and preachers at mosques on Fridays”—the same constituency that he sought to protect from scrutiny and reform during his life.
