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We all forget that during the latter half of the Cold War, a US-led campaign encouraged Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states to invest money in building Islamic schools, also known as madrassas, across the Muslim world. the aim? To counter Moscow’s broader soft power influence in youth movements and universities of the anti-colonial/imperialist, anti-Western variety. The Saudi-American operation was highly successful in countries such as Turkey and Pakistan, and elsewhere, and ultimately shifted the balance of power against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by funding and training Mujahideen resistance groups. . However, for reasons that are still unclear, after the Soviet Union collapsed, Washington did not rely on Saudi Arabia to stem the Wahhabi momentum. Radical Islam was gaining ground as the dominant dynamic Islamic ideology. From it came Al Qaeda, ISIS, the Taliban, and numerous splinter terrorist groups. Despite being a Shiite and abhorring the orthodox Sunni regime, Iran participated in this act simply because it usurped the movement’s political objectives.
This is where we are today – with one fundamental difference. The situation in the Gulf is changing, and Saudi Arabia is following suit. At some point, Saudi Arabia may still be dependent on oil, but the small Gulf state decided that its future lay in developing its economy as a travel hub and conference center. There was a parallel boom in real estate to accommodate the transformation, attracting investment not only in hotel construction but also in all the gray money flying around in the Middle East. In short, the Gulfies are out of the global political game. They had to. No tourist attractions retain the religious imagery of fire-breathing Puritans. But the transition from Islamism to a conference center to full-fledged tourism required a lot of internal reinvention.
First, the local population had to accept a thorough social restructuring. These women started working, met foreigners, and met men outside their families. In addition, cultural life and night life also had to change. In the past, this region was not a geographical region rich in culture and entertainment. Initially, the conference center economy attracted huge numbers of foreign men who needed entertainment after working hours at conferences. There was little to do. Hotel discos with wandering “Russian” escorts have become commonplace, but they are not a good long-term option. The female conference members felt uncomfortable. Wives all over the world discouraged men from participating. The area had a bad reputation as the Middle East’s equivalent of Las Vegas.
It’s time to move on to the next stage: shopping, culture, serious tourism that includes female tourists and families. Therefore, the International Museum was encouraged to create an expanded facility there. A new museum specializing in Islamic art has gone on a global buying spree. Top designer brands open branches. The beach economy expanded and videos of hang gliders floating above skyscrapers proliferated. A kind of artificially glamorous lifestyle was planted and established after the fashion. The Saudis watched from the sidelines. However, they had internal obstacles: control of Mecca, religious obligations, and a powerful group of Wahhabi clerics who had coexisted with the indigenous culture of the Saudi tribes since the 1700s. An isolated desert environment, an identity shaped by the elements, and a frivolous, puritanical, patriarchal ethos seemed built into its bones. Why would that change? The Saudis had their own cultural identity, which slowed their progress beyond oil wealth. A lot of money without social evolution.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, having ruled the country for nearly a decade. (hereinafter referred to as MBS) Lately, when I meet people from Saudi Arabia or who do business in Saudi Arabia, especially women, the world recognizes MBS from the endless war in Yemen, journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, etc. If you equate it with the assassination of Turkey, the detention of Turkey, etc., you will find yourself unfriendly and rebellious. Lots of local rivals and more. Instead, or at the same time, MBS perhaps deserves credit for initiating Saudi Arabia’s rebirth toward a new future freed from historical shackles and ossified social obstacles. Essentially, what MBS has done is to start a socio-cultural revolution while freezing all political liberalization. So, for example, women can now drive a car alone, but political activists on women’s rights can be imprisoned. Meanwhile, the country is funding young Saudi women to study classical music in the UK, fostering a vibrant fashion industry while hosting its own fashion week, and developing a vast and expansive fashion industry with an emphasis on regional charm and identity. The country’s desert hinterland is open to international tourists. And, of course, the star-studded soccer league led by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Most Western observers are simply unable to understand the multiple contradictions involved in the scenario. In fact, taken as a whole, it falls precisely within the Islamic tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. The most authoritarian rulers often presided over the wealthiest cultural courts. Indian Mughal epics were recited at court, and miniature paintings and architecture flourished. In the case of MBS, his iron grip kept clerics and reactionaries at bay, threatening his rival elite businessmen with subversive activities at home and funding rogue Islamist movements abroad. There is. Why did MBS choose such a strange path? The United States is losing interest in protecting its fossil fuel allies, especially in the Middle East. The world is turning to clean energy. Other oil powers such as Russia and Iran threaten Saudi Arabia’s strategic advantage every day. Oilquaoil is no longer a reliable standalone bet.
And Saudi Arabia’s population is growing explosively. The economy is in dire need of diversification. Therefore, the prince took the decision to transfer Aramco’s wealth to the state sovereign fund. MBS saw the economic pluralism that the Gulf states had chosen and decided to imitate them in what he considered the safest way: with complete internal control. That’s why he chose detente with Iran and Russia, and a potential strategic deal with China if the U.S. withdrew. These are not regimes that demand political freedom from their allies. Old alliances and hierarchies, not to mention religious policies, all influence both domestic and foreign policy. The society that controls Islam’s holiest site sets a precedent for fundamental social change that, well, it could be said to have implications for the wider Islamic world, and even the world at large.
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