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

As`ad AbuKhalil (Author), Asad Abukhalil (Author)

Book Description

Series: Open Media Series | Publication Date: November 4, 2003

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 America’s New "War on Terrorism", affords the reader unique insight into the intense friction that underlies the increasingly precarious balance between the Saudi royal family and the fundamentalist clerical establishment.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

AS’AD ABUKHALIL was born in Tyre, Lebanon. He received his B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from the American University of Beirut, and his Ph.D. in Comparative Politics from Georgetown University. AbuKhalil has taught at Georgetown, George Washington University, Tufts University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. His articles on Middle East politics and society have appeared in English, German, Spanish, and Arabic. He is professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus, and a visiting professor at UC, Berkeley.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press (November 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583226109
• ISBN-13: 978-1583226100
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Middle East > General
  • #6 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > United States > 20th Century
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Americas > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inside Saudi Arabia, December 2, 2005

By 

johnnie b. baker "johnnie b. baker" (http://budgetfiles.budgetpress.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power (Paperback)

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.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to Saudi Arabia, September 5, 2004

By 

Anthony Smith (Oakdale, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power (Paperback)

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.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As woman CEO who has Advised since '81: BRILLIANT, August 30, 2006

By 

PuffMAMA "Ulysses Reader" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power (Paperback)

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.