A Royal Ruckus

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The horrors of Sept. 11 were designed, among other things, to strain relations between the West and Islam. They are doing just that, as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz al Saud — one of the most outspoken members of the Saudi royal family — learned firsthand last week in a clash with Rudy Giuliani, the even more blunt-talking New York City mayor.

The commotion began after Alwaleed, 44, presented Giuliani with a $10 million donation to Giuliani's Twin Towers Fund. Nice gesture, but then an aide passed out a statement that turned out to be the wrong thing to say at the time. Alwaleed said the U.S. "should reexamine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause." Specifically, he said, Washington should play a pivotal role in "pushing Israel" toward peace with Arab states.

Even though Alwaleed, during a tour of the World Trade Center ruins, had called Sept. 11 a "tremendous crime," Giuliani was outraged by the Prince's linking the murderous attacks to the plight of the Palestinians. "There is no moral equivalent," the mayor fumed, later declaring that Alwaleed's check was no longer welcome.

Far from being some anti-American militant, the workaholic prince is not only one of the world's richest men but probably the biggest single Arab investor in U.S. corporations. More than $11 billion of his $16 billion in holdings are in firms like Citigroup, News Corp., AOL TIME Warner (TIME's parent), Motorola, Apple and Kodak, as well as Euro Disney and Planet Hollywood. Before departing for New York, he told Time: "It is my personal duty, as one of the big investors in America and in New York specifically, to show my alliance and show the real face of the Arab, Islam and Arabia."

Alwaleed's press statement in New York was characteristic of the frankness that frequently gets him into trouble back home. He is seen in cautious royal circles as too outspoken, even too pro-American. After studying business at California's Menlo College, he received a master's degree from Syracuse University in New York. When he's not in his traditional Arab robe and red-checked headscarf, the father of two favors polo shirts and khakis. A grandson of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, the founding King of Saudi Arabia, Alwaleed balances powerful rivalries within the ruling al Saud family, where other princes resent how, through individual initiative, he has risen to a position of influence and wealth well beyond his relatively junior rank in the royal line of succession.

Though Alwaleed got burned in New York for drawing the link between Arab frustration with Israel and the Sept. 11 attacks, in Saudi Arabia that is a common view, held by everybody from pro-American bankers to radical fundamentalists. If the fiasco showed some political clumsiness on the Saudi businessman's part, it also highlighted the risk of misunderstanding at a time when both West and East can ill afford it. As a Western diplomat in Riyadh lamented afterward, "If we can't communicate with friends, then who can we communicate with?"



Q&A

Q. What explains the Sept. 11 attacks carried out by at least some Saudis?
A. Americans have to review the causes of what took place very seriously. I don't hear much talking about what is the motive. When you have 19 people willing to sacrifice their lives, that enemy is tough. You have to extract it from its roots.

Q. Aren't the terrorists simply religious fanatics or psychopaths?
A. Not at all. An act like this takes planning, coordination, discipline and a lot of brainwashing. But at end of the day the root is resentment over what you are doing in the Middle East, your uncompromising alliance with Israel. We turn on the TV on a daily basis and see Palestinian kids being killed and old men insulted.

Q. What do you expect America to do?
A. Only to be fair. Apply U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338, which clearly ask Israel to go back to the 1967 borders. You have to give the Palestinians the right to breathe.

Q. Do you regret the remarks that led New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to reject your $10 million check?
A. I don't regret anything. I needed to tell Americans that there is a lot of frustration out here. I love America. You can call me the American ambassador to Saudi Arabia. When we were under threat [from Iraq's Saddam Hussein], who saved Saudi Arabia? We will thank you forever.

Q. Do you blame Mayor Giuliani?
A. I am not bitter at all. Despite what happened, I think he is doing a good job under tremendous stress. But I flew 13 hours to New York just to offer my condolences and deliver the check. I went there to help bridge gaps with Americans. Mayor Giuliani had responsibility to bridge gaps too. Our job is never to give up.