The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power

by As'ad AbuKhalil

Book Overview

In The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power, Professor As ad AbuKhalil confronts the contradictory nature of Saudi Arabia--questions that both the Saudi government, long shrouded in mystery, and the United States government, ever protective of its own interests, seem unwilling to answer.
In this unsparing probe into the history and power structure of the kingdom, Professor AbuKhalil, author of Bin Laden, Islam, and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1583226109
• ISBN13: 9781583226100
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

Smart Book & Accurate Research

Other than the small form factor of the book this book has a multitude of information about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I personally agree strongly with the conclusions of the book and I'm convinced they are based in the strong reality that the Saudi economy is based solely on oil revenues. I have lived in the kingdom for more than a year and fully comprehend the authors views and conclusions about what is transpiring there.

As woman CEO who has Advised since '81: BRILLIANT

This book is a brilliant and concise analysis of the Kingdom. As one who has consulted to the Royal Family (King Fahd was investor in a major wheat and dairy project for which my firm served as Strategists--based in the World Trade Center, how ironic now--not only did the Min of Ag and Water have to lie about the CEO being a woman but for years the joint venture itself (Irish and Saudi) often denied and minimized our Pan-Gulf Strategy success, our financial structuring (one of largest IPOs in 20 yrs), my very existence. This book reveals--and I have read 30 texts including historical analyses that get lost in the minutia of tribal rivalry--how flawed the very thinking of the powerful Saud family is: except for Khalid the SAud Family is not religious, not very Islamic (gambling, London cruising/procuring of prostitutes, etc), and certainly never subsribers to Wahhabi fundamentalism themselves--has co-opted the religious powers for money such that the mullas export the fundatmentalist furry rather than focus on the family itself. AbuKhalil's book is among the very best I had read on Saudi.

Inside Saudi Arabia

AbuKhalil is a political science professor who writes the Angry Arab News Service. This book chronicles the history of Saudi Arabia and its ruling ideology, Wahabbi Islam, then continues as a stinging critique of the present day regime and the complete lack of human rights in the kingdom. He shows the complete moral bankruptcy of the kingdom, and its close relationship with the United States, who has consistently supported the House of Saud in its treatment of their own population, and as a proxy to further American interests in the Islamic world, often to the long term detriment to American interests. The stranglehold the royal family, especially the sons of the states founder, has on the country is essential to understanding the political dynamics within the country, and this is a focal point of AbuKhalil's critique. It is fascinating how inter-family politics plays such a powerful role in the county's political life. His only mistake seems to be that he believes the new King Abdullah (who was Crown Prince when the book was written), would not become king, since he is not a son of the first wife, unlike the so-called Sudayri Seven, the now deceased King Fahd and his six full brothers. However, these brothers still are the main power elites in the country, and they are getting really old. What happens when they're gone will truly be momentous for both Saudi Arabia and the world. A must read for those wanting a greater understanding of this very important country and close ally of the US, right now fighting what is close to be coming a civil war.

Great Introduction to Saudi Arabia

This book is probably the best introduction to Saudi Arabia I have read yet. Over a hundred years of history including the founding of the Saudi state is condensed into a scholarly, yet easy-to-read and always entertaining work. The House of Saud's alliance with the Wahhabist sect (the House of Shaykh) has allowed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to exist today. Saudi Arabia is one of the most enigmatic and oppressive nations in the world today. This book is the perfect introduction for anyone interested in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East in general.