Saudi Arabia

What is Wahhabism

It called for a strict, puritan return to what it deemed original Islam.

Muslims who disagreed were labelled infadells’, which, in strict interpretation, justified violence against them.

Mainstream Wahhabism justified Saudi regime with key messages like obey the ruler.

Radical Wahhabism justified terrorism.

King Faisal (1964–1975)

Faisal modernised the bureaucracy, introduced television (1965) despite Wahhabi opposition, and expanded education, including, controversially, girls' schools from 1964. He was the architect of the 1973 oil embargo against Western supporters of Israel, quadrupling global oil prices. Assassinated by a nephew on March 25, 1975.

The Afghan Jihad (1979–1989)

Saudi Arabia co-funded the Afghan Mujahideen alongside the CIA, channelling an estimated ~$3–4 billion through the 1980s. Thousands of Saudi volunteers - including Osama bin Laden - fought in Afghanistan, creating a generation of radicalised veterans who would later turn against the regime.

9/11 impact on Saudi Arabia

15 of the 19 hijackers on September 11, 2001 were Saudi nationals - products of the Wahhabi educational system. Bin Laden was Saudi-born. The attacks forced Riyadh into an uncomfortable alliance with the US "War on Terror" while also facing domestic Al-Qaeda insurgency — a series of bombings in 2003–2004 killed hundreds inside the kingdom.