Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia sits on one of the richest oil deposits in the world, yet it is also a kingdom whose disaffection produced fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers and whose religious establishment would roll back its values to the time of the Prophet Mohammed. In this immensely important book, journalist Robert Lacey draws on years of access to every circle of Saudi society to give readers the fullest portrait yet of a land straddling the worlds of medievalism and modernism. Moving from the bloody seizure of Mecca's Grand Mosque in 1979, through the Persian Gulf War, to the delicate U.S.-Saudi relations in a post-9/11 world, Inside the Kingdom brings recent history to vivid life and offers a powerful story of a country learning how not to be at war with itself. Publishers Weekly Lacey (The Kingdom) delves into the paradoxes in Saudi society—where women are forbidden to drive but are more likely to attend universities than men—and why this nation yielded most of the terrorist team on September 11, Osama bin Laden and one of the largest group of foreign fighters sent to Guantánamo from Afghanistan. Lacey's conversational tone and anecdotal approach to storytelling and analysis gives us a vivid portrait of personal and political life in Saudi Arabia's public and personal spheres, the traditions that govern everyday life, the country's journey from relative liberalism on the tide of extreme oil wealth in the 1980s to a resurgence of traditionalism. Lacey shows us a land where the governing dynasty gives rehabilitated Guantánamo returnees an $18,000 stipend toward their marriage dowry, and 15 young girls died in a schoolhouse fire in 2002 because they were not properly veiled, and religious police forbade them to escape and prevented firefighters from entering the burning building. Lacey's eye for sweeping trends and the telling detail combined with the depth, breadth and evenhandedness of his research makes for an indispensable guide. (Oct.)
Map: Saudi Arabia and Its NeighborsPreface: Welcome to the KingdomFamily Tree: Rulers of the KingdomNote on the Islamic CalendarPt. 1 Kingdom of God1 Angry Face 32 The Brothers 143 Siege 244 No Sunni, No Shia 375 Vox Populi, Vox Dei 466 Salafi Soccer 547 Jihad in Afghanistan 628 Special Relationship 689 Dawn Visitors 7810 Stars in the Heavens 8611 Into Exile 9712 The Dove and the East Wind 10513 Vacationing Jihadi 114Pt. 2 Kingdom at War14 Desert Storm 12715 Battle for Al-Khafji 14116 Awakening 14817 Stopping the Sins 15718 In from the Cold 16719 Change of Heart 17420 Enter the Crown Prince 18021 The Students 19322 Infinite Reach 20423 New Century 214Pt. 3 Al-Qaeda Comes Home24 Fifteen Flying Saudis 22525 Fire 23726 Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula 24427 Prodigal Sons 25328 King Abdullah 26429 Girls of Saudi 27430 Illegitimate Occupation 28431 End of the Affair 29232 Condition of the People 303Epilogue 316Time Line 333Glossary of Names and Arabic Terms 335Notes 343Suggested Reading 377Acknowledgments 381General Index 389House of Saud Index 401Photographic Sources 403
