Saudi Arabia's Hardening Face

To paraphrase Tolstoy, all repressive governments are alike. They all more or less restrict freedom of speech, religion, press, association, assembly, and political rights with varying degrees of ruthlessness. In this sense, Saudi Arabia is no exception. At the same time, the Wahhabi kingdom is in a category all its own. It is the only state in the world that, as a matter of policy, completely bans churches and all other non-Muslim houses of worship, prohibits women from driving, and recognizes marriage to girls as young as nine. It was also the home of most of the 9/11 terrorists, the largest group of detainees at Gitmo when it was at the height of its occupancy, and the largest group of foreign suicide bombers in Iraq at the peak of the sectarian violence there. However, Saudi Arabia 's uniqueness in its displays of repression may not be for long. For the past 30 years, Saudi Arabia has been rigorously propagating its extremely bigoted and violent interpretation of Islam to Muslim communities on every continent. Abdurrahman Wahid, the former president of Indonesia, warns that this export of Wahhabism is changing the face of Islam and making inroads even in his famously tolerant homeland. Author and Saudi expert Stephen Schwartz has documented this threat in his acclaimed book, The Two Faces of Islam. Yet he has held out hope for reform after King Abdullah, a reputed (relative) liberal, ascended to the throne in 2005. As I observed last February 16 in The Corner, the King's sweeping shake up that month of his cabinet, in which several top Wahhabi ideologues were replaced — including at the Education Ministry, source of much of this propaganda — seemed to justify such optimism. But Schwartz has now changed his mind. He presents cogent analysis today that shows Saudi Arabia is hardening.

— Nina Shea is director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute.

Related Topics: Saudi Arabia receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free center for islamic pluralism mailing list

Note: The content of external articles does not necessarily reflect the views of Center for Islamic Pluralism.