Review: On Saudi Arabia by Karen Elliott House

Shirvan (0:00)

On Saudi Arabia, its people, past, religion, fault lines, and future by Karen Elliott House explores the many dynamic perspectives of life in the Saudi Kingdom.

House, who is a former publisher of the Wall Street Journal, spent about 30 years traveling to the country, meeting with hundreds of princess politicians, activists, and conservatives. In her book On Saudi Arabia, she discloses her experiences. The thing is, Saudi Arabia is not a modern totalitarian republic like the communist North Korea, but rather a totalitarian state with a fanatically conservative society. Of all the nations in the world, the Saudi Kingdom is perhaps the most distinct country from the Western world. On Saudi Arabia reveals how this mysterious country, which is a top producer of oil and radical Muslims, attempts to balance the oil revenues, the religious establishment, and the restrictions on its citizens. My name is Shirvan, and welcome to a CaspianReport review for the bookshelf.

For thousands of years, the Arabs of Najat struggled to survive in the vast and harsh deserts. The sun and wind would drain the energy and will of even the strongest of men. In these deserts, one had to race against time and neighbor to find shelter and water. The limited amount of resources meant that it could be used as a leverage. Sometimes it was beneficial to share, and sometimes you had to hide the resources in order to crush your rivals. These extreme conditions brought forth a nomadic people with a suspicious mindset. They didn't trust each other, and they had even less faith in outsiders. This rough world had little room for leisure such as art and the appreciation of beauty. Thus, the nomadic Arabs developed a culture that was mostly devoid of these elements. It's important to understand that this mindset strictly refers to the nomads from Central Arabia, known as Najd, and not to the tribes from Hejaz, Gatif or Yemen.

So, why am I telling you how life was like in Najd a thousand years ago?

Because geography determines destiny. The mindset of every nation is shaped throughout the centuries by its shared experience and geography. The nomadic way of life explains how the modern Saudi mindset evolved through time. It explains why movie theaters and concerts are banned. It explains the lack of a rule of law. Take what you can, and if you get away with it, then it must be the way things work. And if you think that life must be hard in Arabia, it's even harder for women.

The Wahhabi doctrine says that men must serve God, and women must serve men. But God is far away, and men are all over the place. Thus, the lives of women in the outside world are non-existent. However, Western women like House are treated as honorable men, so they are allowed to travel, visit, and conduct their businesses. This rule is what allowed the author to conduct her research, interviews, and travel throughout the kingdom. No Saudi men, let alone women, would be allowed this much freedom. However, Saudi Arabia is changing, not because the leadership wants it to, but because technology forces it to. Due to the internet, the informational barrier that existed in the country is collapsing. Roughly 60% of the Saudi population is below the age of 20, and some 50% of the Saudi youth is on the internet. For example, an estimated 5 million Saudis are active on Facebook. In essence, the Saudi youth is well aware of the situation in their country, but what keeps the youth content is the welfare system. The public pays no taxes, education and health care are free, water, electricity, natural gas and gasoline are heavily subsidized by the government. This massive welfare system may seem like a good idea, but not in its current form. In the long term, no state can survive without revenues, and this brings forth the big question, what will Saudi Arabia do when the oil wells run dry?

How will the Saudi state be able to afford the welfare system? How will Rijad introduce taxes on a population that has not experienced this concept? Far-reaching questions like these can be found in every chapter of the book. Another important subject on Saudi Arabia discusses is the dramatic failure of the educational system in the kingdom. The Wahhabi-based schools and higher educational institutions are unable to prepare these students for professional jobs. In comparison to students around the world, the Saudi performance is repeatedly near the bottom. Most of the Saudi students complete their educations in religious studies and not so much in academic subjects and thus have learned how to memorize information rather than how to think.

This is crucial to understand because education forms the backbone of every nation.