Synopses & Reviews
Will Saudi Arabia join the democratic wave in the Middle East? The uprisings and revolutions of 2011 do not, yet, seem to have affected the stability of the House of Saud, which remains secretive, highly repressive and propped up by the West.
The Islamic Utopia uses a range of sources including first-hand reporting and recently released WikiLeaks documents to examine Saudi Arabia in the decade after the 9/11 attacks, when King Abdullahs 'reform' agenda took centre stage in public debate. It considers Saudi claims of 'exemption' from the democratic demands of the Arab Spring.
Andrew Hammond argues that for too long Western media and governments have accepted Saudi leaders' claims to be a buttress against jihadist Islam and that a new policy is needed towards the House of Saud.
Review
"If there is anyone who can write knowledgeably and intelligently about Saudi Arabia, it is Andrew Hammond. His deep knowledge of politics and culture in the Middle East uniquely qualifies him to undertake this project. Hammond's track record is independent and critical, and this book adds to our knowledge of a kingdom that is often shrouded with mystery and propaganda." - As'ad AbuKhalil, Department of Politics, California State University Stanislaus, author of The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power
Synopsis
Challenges the nationalist and Zionist hegemony by discussing the hidden history of Communist and bi-national movements in Israel.
About the Author
Ran Greenstein is Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He studied at the University of Haifa and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is author of Genealogies of Conflict: Class, Identity and State in Palestine/Israel and South Africa (1995), and editor of Comparative Perspectives on South Africa (1998).
Table of Contents
Introduction
1: The Religious Society
2: Government in the Sharia state
3: The Warrior King and His Priests
4: Segregated nation
5: The Illusion of Reform
6: Foreign Policy Adventurism: Iran and Palestine
7: The Saudi Cordon Sanitaire in Arab Media
8: Controlling Mecca: In the House of God
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index