Contesting The Saudi State: Islamic Voices From A New Generation (cambridge Middle East Studies)
by Madawi Al-Rasheed /
2006 / English / PDF
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The terms Wahhabi or Salafi are seen as interchangeable and
frequently misunderstood by outsiders. However, as Madawi
al-Rasheed explains in a fascinating exploration of Saudi Arabia in
the twenty-first century, even Saudis do not agree on their
meaning. Under the influence of mass education, printing, new
communication technology, and global media, they are forming their
own conclusions and debating religion and politics in traditional
and novel venues, often violating official taboos and the
conservative values of the Saudi society. Drawing on classical
religious sources, contemporary readings and interviews, Al-Rasheed
presents an ethnography of consent and contest, exploring the
fluidity of the boundaries between the religious and political.
Bridging the gap between text and context, the author also examines
how states and citizens manipulate religious discourse for purely
political ends, and how this manipulation generates unpredictable
reactions whose control escapes those who initiated them.
The terms Wahhabi or Salafi are seen as interchangeable and
frequently misunderstood by outsiders. However, as Madawi
al-Rasheed explains in a fascinating exploration of Saudi Arabia in
the twenty-first century, even Saudis do not agree on their
meaning. Under the influence of mass education, printing, new
communication technology, and global media, they are forming their
own conclusions and debating religion and politics in traditional
and novel venues, often violating official taboos and the
conservative values of the Saudi society. Drawing on classical
religious sources, contemporary readings and interviews, Al-Rasheed
presents an ethnography of consent and contest, exploring the
fluidity of the boundaries between the religious and political.
Bridging the gap between text and context, the author also examines
how states and citizens manipulate religious discourse for purely
political ends, and how this manipulation generates unpredictable
reactions whose control escapes those who initiated them.