A convoy of buses in Pakistan is raked by gunfire and 16 people are killed. Another blast rips through a mosque in Baghdad killing 30 people. And still another shatters a guest house in Kabul and 18 people lose their lives.

On the surface, these incidents appear to be random acts of violence - the work of three separate groups in as many countries. The attack on the buses was carried out by pro-Taliban militants, whereas the Taliban, itself, is believed to be primarily responsible for the Kabul attacks (though a pro-Taliban group was said to have been involved as well. And al-Qaeda claimed the Baghdad mosque bombing.

Closer inspection reveals, however, that these seemingly separate events share certain common features. Firstly, despite the fact that all three occurred in countries with sizable Sunni Muslim populations, none of the victims were Sunnis - are at least, strongly observant Sunnis. The passengers on the Pakistani buses were all Shia Muslims and the Baghdad mosque was Shia, as well. The people killed in the guesthouse were, for the most part, Indian nationals and Hindu. Two of the victims, a Frenchman and an Italian, were Christian.

Secondly, all three groups responsible for the incidents are Sunni extremists.

And thirdly, both the Taliban and pro-Taliban militants have links with al-Qaeda.

Moreover, all three groups might have the same benefactor. There are strong indications that whoever is bankrolling al-Qaeda is also financing at least one of the other two extremist organizations - possibly, both.

To discover the identity of this patron, we must follow the money trail back to its source and the best way to find that trail is to examine al-Qaeda, the prototype terrorist group (and first beneficiary of the largesse.) Who finances its operations and why do they do so? What is this group all about?
Al-Qaida, which literally means 'the base,' is a fundamentalist Sunni movement, which was formed between August 1988 and late 1989.

Its ideology is based on the belief that Islam has been adulterated by foreign (non-Sunni fundamentalist) elements. Its aim, therefore, is to restore Islam's 'purity' by waging global jihad (holy warfare) on the 'infidels' and cleansing the Muslim world of their influence. Its ultimate goal, after 'purifying' Islam - i.e. making it completely fundamentalist Sunni, is to create a new caliphate.

Despite its prolific use of the Internet and other media to broadcast its actions, some terrorism experts, such as former CIA officer Marc Sageman, refuse to believe it still exists. "There is no umbrella organization," he said. "We like to create a mythical entity called (al-Qaeda) in our minds but that is not the reality we are dealing with."

Others, however, such as Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University, maintain that al-Qaeda is still very much alive and has a definite goal. According to these experts, the group, which has gone global, and, whose various cells operate together like a well-oiled machine, takes its orders from leaders based in Pakistan. In response to those, who doubt its continued existence, Hoffman said, "It amazes me that people don't think there is a clear adversary out there, and that our adversary does not have a strategic approach."

Hoffman believes that al-Qaeda's direct franchises include the groups in the Arabian Peninsula (al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Islamic Jihad,) al-Qaeda in Iraq, the al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement in Xinjiang, China.

Al-Qaeda and its affiliates advocate strict adherence to sharia (Islamic law) -- as the Sunni sect interprets it -- and severe punishment of violators.

Those views, which were advanced by late Egyptian author and thinker, Sayyid Qutb, who inspired such prominent al-Qaeda figures as Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden, are actually over 200 years old and originated in the land we know today as Saudi Arabia. They are based on the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, a conservative 18th century Sunni scholar.

One of Ibn Abd-al-Wahhab's earliest proponents was a chieftain named Muhammad ibn Saud, who ruled the Diriyya area. The two men made a pact, in which Saud promised to enforce the scholar's teachings and the Wahhabi movement was born.

For the next 140 years, the Wahhabis, led by the Saud family, waged war on their neighbors in the Arabian Peninsula and nearby areas, conquering them piecemeal. Once a territory was gained, Wahhabism was instated as the only acceptable interpretation of Islam.

Though it was formed in the 18th century, the sect did not come to prominence until 1801 and 1802, when the band, led by Abdul Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud (the chieftain's son) attacked and captured the holy Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf in Iraq. The victors then proceeded to massacre a number of the towns' Shia citizens and destroy the tomb of the third Shia Imam, Hussain ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
Within a couple of years, both Mecca and Medina had fallen to the Wahhabis, who razed various holy sites including the shrine built over the tomb of Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad. Some of the zealots even wanted to destroy the Prophet's tomb because they considered pilgrimage to such places a form of idolatry.

Though the group was eventually defeated by the Ottomans, it rose to power again in the early 20th century. The traditional Wahhabi leader, the House of Saud, conquered - and this time, unified - the Arabian Peninsula, founding, in 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government then went on to establish the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which employed mutaween (state religious police) to enforce the observance of strict Wahhabism.

If the military conquests, forced conversions and forced adherence to a narrow set of rules are reminiscent of al-Qaeda or the Taliban, it is no coincidence. Both groups were inspired by the Wahhabis.

For example, the US-based NGO Freedom House research center and think tank found literature in some American mosques, which encouraged Muslims to oppose infidels in every way and 'hate them for their religion.' The pamphlets stated that infidels included Shias and other non-Wahhabi Muslims.

Such views correlate with those of al-Qaeda, whose ideology classes in Afghanistan listed Shias as comprising one of the four principle 'enemies of Islam.' (The other three on the list were America, Jews and Christians.)
At this point one might concede that al-Qaeda does, indeed, appear to have much in common with Wahhabism and the terrorist group might even be an offshoot of the Saudi sect; but what about funding? It is commonly known that Saudi Arabia has poured money (at least $87 billion in the past 20 years) into Wahhabi propagation, but what about al-Qaeda?

Well, according to an article appearing in The New York Times in June 2009, documents gathered by lawyers for the families of the 9/11 victims provide evidence of “extensive financial support for al-Qaeda and other extremist groups by members of the Saudi royal family.”

US Treasury Department documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act state that the International Islamic Relief Organization (a Saudi charity, which is heavily supported by the royals) showed funding for terrorist organizations through 2006.

There was also a sworn statement from Afghanistan, in which a witness claimed to have seen an emissary for a Saudi prince give a check for one billion Saudi rials (a little under $300 million) to a Taliban leader.

Then there was a German intelligence report, which gave a detailed description of tens of millions of dollars in bank transfers made in the early 1990s by certain Saudi royals to another charity suspected of financing terrorists.

The Saudis, for their part, totally denied the allegations and their attorneys pointed out that there was little likelihood their clients would have supported al-Qaeda in light of the fact that the group's leader, Osama bin Laden, is the sworn enemy of the House of Saud.

One would really have to dig deep to find the truth about bin Laden's relationship - or lack thereof - with Riyadh. But there are other areas, in which indications of Saudi involvement with al-Qaeda are stronger - such as the incident in Iraq.

In May 2010, Baghdad's Buratha News agency published an allegedly secret Saudi document disclosing the amount of money Riyadh had sent to the Iraq-based branch of al-Qaeda. According to the news outlet, the document revealed that the Saudis were arming the terrorists there, as well.

So back to the question of whether or not Saudi Arabia supports terrorist groups - the answer is 'yes' - if the document published by Buratha could be authenticated; but everything hinges on that word, 'if.'

As things stand, there is no actual proof one way or the other. There are strong indications that Saudi money is being funneled - either intentionally or unintentionally (via charity organizations) to these groups.

As far as the allegations go, if they are not backed by strong evidence, they should be taken with a grain of salt. We must keep in mind that all governments have enemies and there may be certain individuals, who simply wish to discredit the Saudis. At the same time, however, there is the old saying, 'where there's smoke, there's bound to be fire' and some of the allegations may be true. The bottom line is -- we may never know.