Saudi Arabia
Is it possible to ignore the rules of the world - and still enjoy the protection of the international community?
Saudi Arabia does. In Riyadh, a single family is still born into power, having named the country after itself. The king of the family writes the laws, appoints the ministers, selects the judges and pays the clerics.
The dynasty and the nation can thank the outside world for their survival, while maintaining a remarkable distance from international agreements on human and civil rights.
Saudi Arabia is a state that has chosen to remain outside, but is cosseted all the same by governments the world over. A privileged pariah.
The family clings to power with a reference to Islam - while repressing Muslims at the same time.
Anders Jerichow has listened to people who have seen Saudi prisons from the inside, met the dissident who had to flee and the diplomat who defected. And he has heard numerous others - including Western policymakers - tell their story of the country outside the world of law and order.
Anders Jerichow is Foreign Editor at the Danish daily 'Politiken' and the author of numerous books on the Middle East.
This is the first in a series of Curzon Discussion Papers intended to encourage debate, initially on the subject of religion and politics in the Middle East and in Saudi Arabia in particular.
By the same author:
Droemmen om Palstina 1986 (A Dream of Palestine)
Arabiske stemmer 1991 (Arab Voices)
Mellemoestens Hvem Hvad Hvcr 1992 (The Who What Where of the Middle East)
Mellemoesten i 90erne 1993 (The Middle East in the Nineties)
Tyrkiet 1995 (Turkey)
Bridging the Cultural Gap 1995
Islam in a Changing World, 1996
Just released:
The Saudi File: People, Power, Politics'
A comprehensive file of documents on Saudi law, human rights, the Massari affair, labour regulations, women, international relations, religious and secular calls for reform and other developments in the Saudi Kingdom.
ISBN 0-7007-0997-5
Saudi Arabia
OUTSIDE GLOBAL LAW AND ORDER
AndersJerichow
First published in 1997
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park,
Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Transferred to Digital Printing 2009
1997 Anders Jerichow
Typeset in New Baskerville by LaserScript, Mitcham, Surrey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-7007-0958-4 hbk
ISBN 0-7077-0959-2 pbk
Publisher's Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original may be apparent.
For Rie
I am greatly indebted to Susanne Holst, Politiken, for her continued assistance.
Translations: Hugh Matthews and Patricia Richards Skensved
Research for this book was made possible by a contribution from Politiken Foundation, Copenhagen
'We have nothing to hide.
King Fahad in the monarch's first on-line interview with ArabNet and the daily Okaz, 2 January 1997
A friend?
Saudi Arabia's rulers will not allow this book into the country. It asks a question which in this kingdom is banned: Do Saudis have a claim to the same human rights as people in all other nations? The answer is yes, if you accept the principle of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first sentence of which says: 'All people are born free and equal.. But in Saudi Arabia the answer is no. One of the world's most powerful autocratic dynasties still rules this secretive kingdom, claiming to be the Protector of Islam's Holy Cities while at the same time keeping its Muslim population in an iron grip.
This book questions the dynasty's birthright to power and its assertion to serve Islam. The book listens to the testimony of some of the victims of the Saud family's repression and several of the courageous individuals who are demanding a reform of the Saudi system.
As a state and a regime, Saudi Arabia enjoys the protection of the West's most powerful governments: the USA, Britain and France. They support Saudi Arabia due to the world's largest known reserves of oil beneath its sands; because the Saud dynasty purchases massive quantities of military hardware; and because they believe that the dynasty vouchsafes stability in the Middle East.
The US, Britain and France know full well that this is a dynasty that represses its own citizens. Nevertheless, they support the Saud regime, in the apparent belief that stability is more important than human freedom, certainly in this particular country for the reasons given above. A US diplomat explains the cynical game: 'There's a difference between an important country and one with which we feel an affinity. Saudi Arabia is important, but we will never sympathize with the values of the Saud family.' Cynicism, though, has its price, paid for by Saudi Arabian citizens when the House of Saud - which calls itself the protector of the Holy Cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina - puts its own survival and power before consideration for its people.
Many of the voices in this book are anonymous. Both Saudis and foreigners who are regular visitors to the kingdom have reason to be cautious; some even to be afraid. Western diplomats in Riyadh refuse to speak openly. They are accustomed to being bugged by the very same royal family their governments in the West protect.
Anders Jerichow
CHAPTER ONE
Family Law
'As the King deems fit'
'Once upon a time there was a king.' That is how a proper fairy tale might begin. Later on, it will be revealed whether the king is good or evil. Good kings usually achieve a lot; evil kings, on the other hand, often suffer a terrible fate - that is, in proper fairy tales.
Real kings can learn something from fairy tales, and as demonstrated by Ibn Khaldun, the Arab historian of the 1300s, 'Too much severity harms the monarchy and in most cases will lead to its downfall.'
A king rules in Riyadh, He is a powerful man, so powerful that he allows people to die from the executioner's sword. He dictates the law. He has the right to distribute the wealth of the kingdom, and he can appoint ministers and dismiss them again at will.
This king is so powerful that he alone decides what is good and bad for his country and his subjects. Maybe they love him, honour and respect him for it; maybe not. If not, then they had better keep quiet about it. This king has decided that it is a crime not to approve of him or at least to make one's opinions known to others. For those presumptuous enough to do so, the punishment is prison and a good beating. In fairy tales this sort of thing would lead the culprit to face a sorry end, in this case the king. In Saudi Arabia the king takes his chances.
