The battle for Saudia Arabia : royalty, fundamentalism, and global power / Asʻad Abukhalil.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

AbuKhalil, Asʻad.

Series:

Open Media book

Open media series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social conditions.

Politics and government.

Saudi Arabia--Foreign relations--United States.

Saudi Arabia.

International relations.

United States.

United States--Foreign relations--Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia--Politics and government--21st century.

Saudi Arabia--Social conditions--21st century.

Physical Description:

248 pages ; 18 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Seven Stories, 2004.

Summary:

Saudi Arabia is an enigma to most Americans. Seen as extremely religious and extremely wealthy, Saudi Arabia is home to both Islam's holiest sites and the world's largest proven oil reserves. A strategic partner to the U.S. in the Middle East, the country is also the homeland of Osama bin Laden and fifteen of the nineteen hijackers who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. although officially considered a "moderate" Islamic state by the U.S., Saudi Arabi enforces the same stare religious ideology as did the Taliban (who learned their fanaticism from their Saudi sponsors): religious police partrol the streets, and women are not permitted to drive cars, or work in public, and are eligible for public execution if found guilty of adultery. In "Saudi Arabia, Arab American scholar As ad AbuKhalil examines Saudi society, its history, religion, and ethnic tribalism, and the shared interests, tensions, and contradictions inherent in U.S.-Saudi relations. the book traces the earliest contacts between the two countries, the rise of the Saudi royal family, and how control over vast reserves of oil solidified the alliance between the two countries. The book follows how Saudi oil wealth not only fueled the spread of a fundamentalist Islamic international (which was supremely useful for U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War.), but also increased Saudi influence and ownership of media in the Middle East and the U.S. "Saudi Arabia offers a critical look at one of the world's most repressive and fundamentalist nations, the nature of its longstanding alliance with the U.S., and the forces that are driving it to announce that U.S. troops may soon be expelled.

Contents:

1 The Paradoxes of Saudi Arabia 26

2 What Is Saudi Arabia? 41

3 Wahhabiyyah 50

4 Founding and Evolution of State 76

5 Saudi Globalization of Da`wah After the Oil Boom 138

6 The Question of Women 146

7 Opposition and Inhumane (Lack of) Rights 164

8 U.S.-Saudi Relations 180.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

1583226109

OCLC:

56417114