Contesting the Saudi State (Hardcover)

Madawi Al-Rasheed

ISBN 10: 0521858364 / ISBN 13: 9780521858366

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2006

About this Item

Hardcover. 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. In Saudi Arabia there are now open debates about religion and politics, often in violation of official taboos. Madawi Al-Rasheed explores this phenomenon, and how, in consequence and with the rise of multiple interpretations of religious texts, the traditional Wahhabi discourse is losing its hold on the new generation. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780521858366

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Contesting the Saudi State (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521858364
• ISBN 13: 9780521858366
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Madawi Al-Rasheed is Professor of Social Anthropology at King's College, University of London. Her publications include Politics in an Arabian Oasis (1991); A History of Saudi Arabia (2002); (with R. Vitalis) Counter Narratives: History, Contemporary Politics, and Society in Saudi Arabia and Yemen (2004); and Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf (2005).