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Interesting topic, Russ. Many people don't know anything about the history of Saudi Arabia or the house of Saud, nor are they truly aware of the political dynamics within the kingdom. There are literally thousands of princes and princesses within this family. When you consider that many of the men are polygamous and that women there are expected to have many children (and that's really about all they're allowed to do...that's a whole other can of worms), you can easily see how this family exploded as such. The younger generation is at odds with the older generation regarding their personal behavior, religious attitudes, political ideals, etc. There's definitely an outcry among Saudi intellectuals (many of whom have been forced into exile because they spoke their minds) to depose the royal family and institute somewhat of a democracy. The religious scholars that cry for the same thing get barely a nod from the powers that be. When the Saudis upped their oil production a few weeks ago to attempt to lower gas prices, people here viewed that as a nice gesture. The Saudis were laughing because they know quite well that it wouldn't impact prices at all but would be a Western PR heyday from them.
Wahabbism unfortunately is spreading beyond the borders of Arabia and is seeping as far as here. More and more American mosques are being funded and operated by people who ascribe to the Wahabbi perversion of Islam. Some religious scholar in Saudi Arabia recently issued a fatwa decreeing when it is "appropriate" to mutilate the body of an infidel. I find this absolutely disgusting and I hope that our government does what it can to sever friendly relationships with this out-of-control extremist kingdom.
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