Prophets and Princes

Mark Weston

Description

Saudi Arabia: oil-rich, devoutly Muslim, and a vital ally

To many in the West, Saudi Arabia is easy to criticize. It is the birthplace of Osama bin Laden and fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers. Saudi women are not permitted to drive, work with men, or travel without a man's permission. Prior to 9/11, the Saudis sent millions of dollars abroad to schools that taught Muslim extremism and to charities that turned out to be fronts for al-Qaeda.

In Prophets and Princes, a highly respected scholar who has lived in Saudi Arabia contends that despite these serious shortcomings, the kingdom is still America's most important ally in the Middle East, a voice for moderation toward Israel, and a nation with a surprising ability to make many of the economic and cultural changes necessary to adjust to modern realities.

Author Mark Weston offers an objective and balanced history of the only nation on earth named after its ruling family. Drawing on interviews with many Saudi men and women, Weston portrays a complex society in which sixty percent of Saudi Arabia's university students are women, and citizens who seek a constitutional monarchy can petition the king without fear of reprisal.

Filled with new and underreported information about the most controversial aspects of life in Saudi Arabia, Prophets and Princes is a must-read for anyone interested in the Middle East, oil, Islam, or the war on terror..
Author's Note.

Foreword by Wyche Fowler Jr.

Cities and Regions of Saudi Arabia Today.

The Men of the Al-Saud Family.

Introduction.

Part One: THE BIRTH OF ISLAM IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY.

1 Muhammad: Islam's Prophet.

2 The Successors Who Preserved the Faith and Began the Conquests: Abu Bakr and Umar (632-644).

3 Expansion, Civil War, and the Sunni-Shi’ite Split: Uthman and Ali (644-661).

4 The Beginning of Monarchy: Muawiya, the Fifth Caliph, His Son Yazid, and the Martyrdom of Hussein (661-683).

Part Two: THE FIRST AND SECOND SAUDI STATES (1744-1887).

5 The Founder of Wahhabism: Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (1703-1792).

6 Nineteenth-Century Saudi Arabia (1792-1887).

Part Three: THE CREATION OF MODERN SAUDI ARABIA: THE LIFE OF KING ABDUL AZIZ (1876-1953).

7 Exile and Return (1876-1902).

8 Expanding the Kingdom (1902-1926).

9 Powerful but Poor (1926-1945).

10 The Influx of Oil Money (1945-1953).

Part Four: OIL BRINGS POWER: THE LIFE OF KING FAISAL (1905-1975).

11 The Young Prince and Foreign Minister (1905-1953).

12 The Struggle between the Brothers (1953-1964).

13 The King in Full Control (1964-1972).

14 Oil as Political Power (1973-1975).

Part Five: MODERN SAUDI ARABIA (1975-2001).

15 The Boom Years of King Khalid (1975-1982).

16 The Lean Years of King Fahad (1982-1990).

17 The Persian Gulf War (1990-1991).

18 The Rise of Militant Fundamentalism (1991-1996).

19 Abdullah Begins Reform, bin Laden Steps Up Terror (1996-August 2001).

Part Six: SAUDI ARABIA SINCE 9/11.

20 Fighting Terror, Fostering Reform (2001-2007).

21 A New Oil Boom, a New Business Climate (2003-).

22 Abdullah Becomes King, Iran Becomes a Threat (2005-).

Conclusion.

Acknowledgments.

Notes.

Selected Bibliography.

Index.

Photo gallery.

Sujets

• Histoire
• List of Muslim majority countries
• History of the world
• Middle East
• Histoire globale
• Islam
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 20 avril 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781118110904
• Langue: English

Extrait

Contents
Cover
Half Title page
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Author’s Note
Foreword
Cities and Regions of Saudi Arabia Today
The Men of the Al-Saud Family
Introduction
Part One: The Birth of Islam in the Seventh Century
Chapter 1: Muhammad: Islam’s Prophet
Muhammad’s First Years as a Prophet
The Years in Medina
Five Excerpts from the Quran
Chapter 2: The Successors Who Preserved the Faith and Began the Conquests: Abu Bakr and Umar (632–644)
Abu Bakr, the First Caliph (632–634)
Umar, the Second Caliph (634–644)
Chapter 3: Expansion, Civil War, and the Sunni–Shi’ite Split: Uthman and Ali (644–661)
Uthman, the Third Caliph (644–656)
Ali, the Fourth Caliph (656–661)
Chapter 4: The Beginning of Monarchy: Muawiya, the Fifth Caliph, His Son Yazid, and the Martyrdom of Hussein (661–683)
Yazid, the Sixth Caliph (680–683), and the Sunni–Shi’ite Split
Muawiya’s Descendants and His Role in Muslim History
The Arabs’ Marginal Role during the Next Thousand Years
Part Two: The First and Second Saudi States (1744–1887)
Chapter 5: The Founder of Wahhabism: Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (1703–1792)
Ibn Abdul Wahhab Guides the First Saudi State (1744–1792)
Chapter 6: Nineteenth–Century Saudi Arabia (1792–1887)
The Fall of the First Saudi State
The Second Saudi State (1824–1887)
Part Three: The Creation of Modern Saudi Arabia: The Life of King Abdul Aziz (1876–1953)
Chapter 7: Exile and Return (1876–1902)
Chapter 8: Expanding the Kingdom (1902–1926)
Early Conquests
A Typical Day
The Conquest of Al-Hasa (and Its Oil)
The Ikhwan
An Alliance with Britain
Marriages Short and Long
Frontiers: Western, Northern, Iraqi
The Conquest of Mecca
Capturing Medina and Jeddah
Denying the Ikhwan Power
Chapter 9: Powerful but Poor (1926–1945)
The Ikhwan Become Lawless
Civil War
The Minister of Finance
Radios and Schools
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
First Lease to an Oil Company
War with Yemen
Automobiles
The Late 1930s: Drilling for Oil, Anger at Jews in Palestine
World War II
Chapter 10: The Influx of Oil Money (1945–1953)
The King Meets Roosevelt and Churchill
Bechtel and Aramco
The First Arab-Israeli War
Financial Chaos, Uneducated Sons
Growing Oil Revenues
Declining Health
Abdul Aziz’s Legacy
Part Four: Oil Brings Power-the Life of King Faisal (1905–1975)
Chapter 11: The Young Prince and Foreign Minister (1905–1953)
Chapter 12: The Struggle between the Brothers (1953–1964)
Saud Misrules the Kingdom (1953–1958)
Faisal Restores the Kingdom’s Finances (1958–1960)
Saud Returns to Power (1960–1962)
Faisal Back in Charge (1962–1964)
Saud Fails to Regain Power (1963–1964)
Saud’s Expulsion from the Kingdom (Autumn 1964)
The Eldest Able
Chapter 13: The King in Full Control (1964–1972)
Education, Development, and Television
Yemen, Israel, and Muslim Unity
Jailing Opponents
Taking Control of the Oil
Chapter 14: Oil as Political Power (1973–1975)
Warnings Ignored
The Yom Kippur War
The Oil Embargo
A Fourfold Price Increase
The End of the Embargo
A Modern Gold Rush
Raising Taxes, Cutting Production
Allah’s Will
Faisal’s Legacy
Part Five: Modern Saudi Arabia (1975–2001)
Chapter 15: The Boom Years of King Khalid (1975–1982)
Forming a New Government
1975–1980: The Oil Boom Continues
The Death of a Princess
The Rise of Khomeini and the Second Energy Crisis
Twin Shocks: The Seizure of Mecca’s Grand Mosque and Protests by Shi’ites
1980–1981: The Oil Boom Continues
The Start of the Iran-Iraq War
The Death of King Khalid
Khalid’s Legacy
Chapter 16: The Lean Years of King Fahad (1982–1990)
Fahad’s First Months as King
The End of the Oil Boom: The Fall in Price, Production, and Revenues
Defense in the Early 1980s
Osama bin Laden and the War in Afghanistan
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
The Mid-1980s: Rock-Bottom Oil Production, Prices, and Revenues
Cutting Back
New Oil Deposits and Markets
Agriculture
Foreign and Saudi Workers
The Abuse of Housemaids
Education
Marriage
The Tanker War
Carnage in Mecca
Buying Missiles from China and Jets from Britain
The End of the Iran-Iraq War
The “Afghan Arabs” Return to a Poorer Saudi Arabia
Prelude to the Gulf War
The Invasion of Kuwait
Chapter 17: The Persian Gulf War (1990–1991)
The Reaction of the Saudi People
Troop Buildups and Diplomacy in the Final Weeks before the War
The Air War
The Ground War
The Aftermath
Chapter 18: The Rise of Militant Fundamentalism (1991–1996)
The King Creates an Unelected Legislature
Budget Cuts and Arms Buying in the Early and Mid-1990s
1993: A Compromise with Shi’ites, a New Grand Mufti
Dissent by Fax, E-Mail, and Satellite TV
Jailing Clerics
Osama bin Laden in Saudi Arabia and Sudan
Oil Prices and Installations in the Mid-1990s
The Spread of Satellite Television
Women in the Mid-1990s
Money for Afghanistan
The Bombing of the Saudi National Guard Building
Fahad’s Two Strokes, Abdullah’s New Authority
The Bombing of the U.S. Military Apartment Towers at Al-Khobar
King Fahad’s Legacy
Chapter 19: Abdullah Begins Reform, bin Laden Steps Up Terror (1996–August 2001)
Background and Character of Abdullah
Abdullah’s First Year as de Facto Ruler
Osama bin Laden’s Move from Sudan to Afghanistan
Bin Laden’s 1996 “Declaration of War” against the Americans in Saudi Arabia
Sayyid Qutb, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Ideology of Jihad
Sayyid Qutb’s Ideas
Bin Laden’s February 1998 Announcement of War and August’s African Embassy Bombings
Strained Relations with the Taliban
1997–1999: Lower Oil Prices, Lower Revenues
1998–1999: Abdullah Meets Foreign Leaders, Encourages Women, and Allows More Debate
1999–2000: Oil Prices Rebound
New Mufti, Lingering Bigotry
The Plot against Los Angeles Airport and the Attack on the USS Cole
An End in Sight for Torture, but Not Flogging, and a New Penal Code
More People Than Jobs
New Laws to Encourage Investment
The Internet and Satellite Television
Watching the Palestinians Suffer, Sending the Palestinians Money
A Friendship at the Breaking Point
Planning the September 11 Attacks
Part Six: Saudi Arabia Since 9/11
Chapter 20: Fighting Terror, Fostering Reform (2001–2007)
Initial Denial after 9/11
Changing Charities, Sermons, and Schoolbooks
A Deadly Fire Leads to a Freer Press
Prelude to America’s War in Iraq: Saudis Stay Aloof
How the Saudis Quietly Helped the United States in Iraq
The Saudis and Iraq’s Insurgency
After Thirteen Years, the United States Withdraws Its Troops from Saudi Arabia
Al-Qaeda’s 2003 Bombings: A Major Political Blunder
Killing and Capturing Saudi Terrorists
Petitions Expose a Rift among the Princes
National Dialogues on Key Issues
Local Elections Bring More Hope Than Change
Women Attend the Jeddah Economic Forum
Wife Beating and Other Family Issues
A Wider Choice of Careers, a Limited Choice of Husbands
Medieval Judges, Promising Legal Reforms
More Books, More Schools, More Students Abroad
More Cell Phones and Use of the Internet
Satellite Television Brings the World to Saudi Homes
Foreigners: Two-Thirds of the Workforce
More People, More Unemployment
The Cumulative Power of Small Reforms
Chapter 21: A New Oil Boom, a New Business Climate (2003—)
Propelling the New Oil Boom: Chinese Demand
More Reasons the Price of Oil Increased
Has Saudi—and World—Oil Production Peaked?
The Price of Oil Inched Up in 2003…
… And Skyrocketed from 2004 onward
The Money Pours In
Creating a New Business Climate
Closer Ties to the Other Gulf States
Joining the World Trade Organization
A Booming Economy, a Stock Market Bubble, and Some Profitable Public Offerings
A “Great Meeting” in Crawford, Texas
The Need and the Struggle to Produce More Oil
Using Gas to Save Oil
A Growing Petrochemical Industry
Creating a Non-Oil Economy
The Momentum of Economic Reform
Chapter 22: Abdullah Becomes King, Iran Becomes a Threat (2005–)
Abdullah’s First Months as King
Abdullah Talks to Barbara Walters about Women Driving
Abdullah and China’s Hu Jintao Visit
Iran: A Growing Geopolitical Threat
The Iranian Nuclear Threat
The Uncertain Saudi Succession
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
PROPHETS AND PRINCES

Copyright © 2008 by Mark Weston. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
Maps © D. L. McElhannon
Illustration Credits: p. 289 (top), courtesy of the FDR Library; p. 289 (bottom), the Middle East Centre Archive, St. Antony’s College, Oxford, England; pp. 290, 292, 293 (bottom), 296, 297, 300, courtesy of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia; p. 291 (top), UN photo/MB; p. 291 (bottom), LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto; p. 293 (top), UN photo/Maluwa Williams-Myers; p. 294, UN photo/Michelle Poiré; p. 295 (top), 299 (top), Saudi Aramco World/PADIA; p. 295 (bottom), UN photo; p. 298, by Kent Howell; p. 299 (bottom), by Ali Zhang Hua
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