The popular Egyptian preacher and televangelist, Amr Khaled, has arrived in Yemen for a government-sponsored "hearts and minds" campaign against al-Qaeda. 

This could be an important development if, as the Yemen Observer 
suggests, it marks the start of a concerted effort to challenge the jihadists. I wrote here last week of the need to change the public discourse in Yemen and quoted Gregory Johnsen of the Waq al-Waq blog:

"Yemenis need to be convinced that AQAP [al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] is bad for them and bad for Yemen. But at the moment al-Qaeda is the only one doing the arguing. It puts out statement after statement that depict the group as some sort of Islamic Robin Hood defending Yemen's oppressed and weak people against western military attacks. While largely unnoticed in Washington these unchallenged and baseless claims are carrying the day in Yemen’s hinterlands."

Amr Khaled, who has been described as "the Muslim Billy Graham", will be spending a couple of weeks in Yemen (in both Aden and Sanaa), giving interviews and conducting courses for preachers, youth leaders, etc. Middle East Online has more detailsof his programme.

How well this will work remains to be seen. Khaled's appeal in Egypt is largely among the affluent middle classes, and there aren't many of them in Yemen. I'm also unsure how his basic message – that change will only come when Muslims "change that which is in their hearts" – is likely to be received by disaffected young Yemenis. The government backing could also be a problem.

Nevertheless, if his visit does kick-start a public debate about jihadism, it will be all to the good. The danger, though, is that once his visit is over the Yemenis will think the job is done and the campaign will fizzle out. To make any impact they have to be prepared for a long haul. In the meantime, that effort could be damaged by misguided security policies on the part of the Yemeni and American governments.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 24 November 2010