Saudi Arabia
Saudi Stones Rewrite History
Humans in Stone Age Arabia left monumental structures behind to honor their deities and their dead, along with abundant rock art. The extent and regularity of their art and architectural styles show that this was no isolated society, but a shared culture that spanned an improbable 116,000 square miles, unheard of in any other archaeological site of the same period, and long before any of the societies that gave rise to the Abrahamic faiths. Result after result from the Saudi deserts is transforming how we think about our prehistoric ancestors.
Kissinger’s Saudi Failures
Most public debate about Kissinger’s legacy has concerned the morality of his “realism.” Yet examining his approach to U.S.-Saudi relations at a key moment reveals little strategic thinking and more of an ad hoc style, influenced by deep ideological values and a naive understanding of the Middle East.
How a Saudi Official Is Putting the Kingdom at the Center of Combat Sports
The future of combat sports may be in Saudi Arabia. If Turki al-Shaikh carries on like this, not only might he restore boxing’s popularity to levels seen only when the best fought the best, but he could possibly wrest combat sports away from the West, changing the cultural landscape.
A New Holiday Heralds a More Complex Understanding of Saudi Arabia’s Origins
The kingdom’s new Foundation Day plays down the false idea that the Saudi state legitimized itself through Wahhabism, with political authority divided between the ruling Al Saud dynasty and the religious establishment, and helps to reveal how it gained its legitimacy via a hybrid normative tradition that included Arabist and Salafist elements.
Nooriyah Brings Arabic Music to the Dance Floor
Arabic music had always had an influence on Western music and pop culture. I discovered the depth of this influence through a rather unlikely source — Nooriyah, a Saudi, London-based DJ/producer, who launched an Instagram video series that went viral in early 2021 exploring the phenomenon.
The ‘Conscious Uncoupling’ of Wahhabism and Saudi Arabia
Years before the Saudi leadership turned its back on the native Islamists who co-founded the kingdom, the movement had already been in decline. It is these longstanding problems, not just the current political environment, that make the Wahhabi decay irreversible.
Ex-Saudi Intelligence Head Weighs In on Afghanistan
The closest Prince Turki al-Faisal comes to expressing regret is when he writes that he and his American counterparts might have been too focused on the immediate aim of winning the war in Afghanistan, rather than the potential long-term consequences of their actions.