Problem
A. "Muhammed Wahhabi taught that authority was legitimate only if it conformed to divine law." According to what we have discussed in this course so far, does the idea of religiously-based legal systems strike us as an historical oddity or not? Why?
B. Look up the term "ulama." What does the author explain about it and its purpose?
C. Might there have been a time when Christians and Jews also rejected elected government as blasphemous? Why? If so, when? Why not?
D. When are the faithful allowed to overthrow their government? Compare that to other teachings discussed in this course.
E. Compare the western Christian, secular understanding of the family with the Islamic understanding of the family. How are they similar, how are they different?
F. Why are are those who oppose rule by the House of Saud often Islamic radicals? Why not attack the Sauds from a secular point of view?
G. How does the CDLR combine strict Islam with modernization?
H. How and why are economic problems aiding the fundamentalists Muslims in Saudi Arabia? Is there any comparable development in the West, particularly in the U.S.?
I. What balance between Islam and modernity must the Saudi kings straddle? How well were they doing in 1995 and how well are they doing now?
J. To what western form of government can you compare Saudi rule and its legitimation? What would most likely happen to Saudi Arabia were secularism and other western ideas introduced all at once?
K. Given what you have learned about religion and what you have read in this article, what expectation for long-term stability in Saudi Arabia can one have? Why?
L. Where the Saudi monarchy to fall, what forces would be involved in the creation of a new government? What risks does this bear?
M. What sort of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Saudi Arabia does the author suggest? Why? What do you think?