Saudi Arabia is Ripe for Revolution
By Saad Al-Faqih
Feb 29, 2012
Staggeringly corrupt
and repressed, Saudi Arabia is ripe for revolution. But reformers are hesitant.
“Let us strangle the
last king with the guts of the last priest,” the philosopher Denis Diderot
said. The same phrase is now widely repeated across Arabia — or Saudi Arabia,
as it is currently named under the dynastic autocracy. It is only a matter of
time before the revolutions that have swept the Arab world reach the Saudi
kingdom.
POLITICAL PRISONERS
Most of the factors
that led to the Arab uprisings are present in Arabia. The Saudi regime holds
tens of thousands of political prisoners, most without charge. The scale of
corruption is staggering. In the most recent budget alone, $100bn is
unaccounted for. In this country with its huge oil revenue, unemployment rates
are soaring, the average salary is less than $1,300 (£820) a month, and 22 per
cent of the population live in poverty. Meanwhile the royal family treats the
country and its people as its private property.
Furthermore, as
elsewhere in the Arab world, the expansion in communication tools has deprived
the regime of the secrecy and deception on which its legitimacy relied.
Opposition-run satellite stations now voice an alternative message, while the
internet and mobile phones allow easy interaction, making virtual debates more
effective than real ones.
In the past couple of
months, one anonymous Twitter account, @mujtahidd, has attracted more than
220,000 followers thanks to its ability to expose corruption in a detailed, accurate
manner. @mujtahidd has already published thousands of remarkably well informed
tweets about several royal family members, including the King. The popularity
of @mujtahidd has gone beyond Twitter; it has become the talk of the nation. So
much so that blocking his account inside the kingdom did nothing to stop the
number of followers escalating.
Reformists from many
different backgrounds are increasingly audible. Most are from the religious
ranks. It is these religious reformers themselves, not the liberals, who repeat
Diderot's call for a settling of accounts with both princes and their tame
religious hierarchy.
It is this kind of
apparent contradiction — along with the complexity of Arabia's geopolitical map
— which makes many observers incapable of forecasting the kingdom's political
future.
The western media,
where they notice the ferment in Arabia at all, focus on the Shia revolt and
the position of women. It is true that the Shia are very active in protest —
their demonstrations are massive. However, they are a minority and the regime
links them with Iran, so their protests are isolated. The regime has so far
used these protests in its favour, by persuading the Sunni majority of a threat
of a Shia “takeover.”
And within Arabia,
where both sexes are deprived of their basic rights, the West's focus on
women's rights has backfired, as it has become twinned with unpopular “western”
values.
Paying attention
exclusively to these two questions distracts from more far-reaching challenges
that threaten the regime's very existence.
So why hasn't
revolution yet reached Arabia? Despite the widespread conviction that a change
of regime is necessary, reformers remain hesitant about declaring their views,
let alone taking action. Scaremongering in the media associates change with
chaos and bloodshed.
More significant still
is the level of distrust between activists, making any collective act of
protest difficult.
THE ROYAL FAMILY
This does not mean
change is impossible. Even the heir to the throne, Prince Nayef, is regarded
with so little reverence that there are calls from within the country to bring
him to trial. One activist wrote an open letter to Nayef saying protests would
erupt after the departure of the current king (who is 90). Meanwhile official
religious scholars are being rejected in favour of independent ones because the
religious establishment is seen as a partner in corruption.
The balance of factors
in Arabia is clearly tipping in the direction of change. Change of such a scale
is usually triggered either by an expected event — such as the death of the
King — or an unexpected incident — as was the case with Bouazizi, whose
self-immolation sparked Tunisia's revolt.
Two weeks ago, a tribe
in Taif, near Mecca, prevented the security forces enforcing a royal order
confiscating their land.
Across the country,
people are asking: if one small tribe can regain its land through peaceful
protest, why shouldn't the entire nation reclaim its rights?
Dr. Saad al-Faqih is the head of the Movement for
Islamic Reform in Arabia
Source: The Guardian
URL: https://newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/saudi-arabia-ripe-revolution/d/6751