Saudi Arabia's government has fired or suspended 1,710 religious leaders in the past six months, the pan Arab daily, al Hayat reported May 28. The government denies the dismissals and suspensions have anything to do with external pressure or evidence of terrorist activity in the desert kingdom. The House of Saud built its legitimacy through a strategic alliance with the family of the founders of Wahabbism, a fundamentalist version of Islam. That alliance grew into a state sponsorship of a massive religious establishment grounded in a hard-line, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. Now, the mass firings and suspensions of almost 2,000 religious leaders indicate a critical breach between the royal family and that religious establishment. It likely will fuel a growing radical opposition movement within Saudi Arabia and further weaken the embattled House of Saud. The government in Riyadh is facing a growing challenge to its legitimacy.