Reddit mentions of On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines--and Future

For more information, I recommend you read

[Force and Fanaticism: Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia and Beyond]
(https://www.amazon.com/Force-Fanaticism-Wahhabism-Arabia-Beyond/dp/1849044643)
Describes the history of Wahhabism and its effects. Author spent time in Saudi Arabia.

[The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State] (https://www.amazon.com/ISIS-Apocalypse-History-Strategy-Doomsday/dp/1250112648/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496875330&sr=1-1&keywords=The+ISIS+Apocalypse)

Self explanatory.

[Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection] (https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Unjust-Behind-U-S-Saudi-Connection/dp/1944869026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496875675&sr=1-1&keywords=kingdom+of+the+unjust+behind+the+u.s.-saudi+connection)

Easy to read description of Saudi crimes.

[The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11] (https://www.amazon.com/Looming-Tower-Al-Qaeda-Road-11/dp/1400030846/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496875754&sr=1-1&keywords=Looming+Tower)

Excellent narrative history of Al Qaeda. Highly recommended.

[My Year Inside Radical Islam: A Memoir] (https://www.amazon.com/My-Year-Inside-Radical-Islam/dp/1585426113/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496875857&sr=1-1&keywords=My+Year+inside+Radical+Islam)

Not a wide-sweeping narrative but a personal story of someone who worked for a Saudi-funded charity and slowly adapted their beliefs.

[On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines -- and Future]
(https://www.amazon.com/Saudi-Arabia-People-Religion-Lines/dp/0307473287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496875930&sr=1-1&keywords=On+Saudi+Arabia)

Written by a reporter who spent years in Saudi Arabia, gives a description of Saudi society.

[The Siege of Mecca: The 1979 Uprising at Islam's Holiest Shrine] (https://www.amazon.com/Siege-Mecca-Uprising-Islams-Holiest/dp/0307277739/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496876042&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Siege+of+Mecca)

A great history of an almost unknown terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia. Goes into the relationship between the Saudi royal family and Wahhabi religious establishment.

[Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror]
(https://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Enemy-Jihadist-Ideology-Terror/dp/0300122578/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496876149&sr=1-1&keywords=Knowing+the+Enemy)
Really good explanation of Salafi-Jihadism.


Edit: Added links and made it look nicer. If you want more, just ask. If anyone has any other recommendations, I would like to know. :)

For anyone interested in learning more about Saudi Arabia, I highly recommend this book, written by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with in-depth knowledge of the country.

As a frequent traveller to Saudi Arabia and the wider Persian Gulf region, I can attest to the book's observations. As Winston, from Orwell's 1984, once said: the best books are those that tell you what you know already.

Just how much do you know about Saudi Arabia or the Saudi political system? I ask because in your first sentence, you state that a decapitation strike against the Saudi government pushes the royal family from power, yet the House of Saud is comprised of roughly 15,000 people--2,000 of which have power in one form or another in the government. Additionally, there are systems in place to help facilitate succession of the kingdom. And there are entire military services dedicated to ensuring the security of the government against internal threats. So the idea of a decapitation strike is fairly unlikely, which is to say nothing of the numerous other political and societal structures in place that would either facilitate or inhibit any attempt at a coup (especially by a non-state actor).

Before you continue drafting your storyline, I encourage you to read up on the history of Saudi Arabia, political Islam and Islamic extremism, and the international relations of the Arab World. Additionally, I would suggest taking a greater look at the Grand Mosque seizure of 1979 and its aftermath, and instances of a monarchy being overthrown by a non-royal entity. The coups against King Farouk of Egypt (1952), King Faisal II of Iraq (1958), King Idris I of Libya (1969), and the attempted coup against King Hussayn of Jordan (1970) might be good places to start. Not all of them will be applicable to you, but it should give you an idea of what a coup entails, what a successful coup looks like, and what the aftermath is.

With that in mind, I suggest the following books as a place to start:

History of Saudi Arabia and the Arab World

• On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines--and Future, Karen Elliott House
  
• Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia, Robert Lacey
  
• A History of the Arab Peoples, Albert Hourani
  
• The Siege of Mecca: The 1979 Uprising at Islam's Holiest Shrine, Yaroslav Trofimov
  
  

  Middle East Politics
  

• Politics in the Middle East, James Bill and Robert Springborg
  
• The International Relations of the Persian Gulf, F. Gregory Gause III
  
  

  Islam and Political Islam
  

• What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, John Esposito
  
• The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World
  
  

  Jihadism and Islamic Extremism
  

• Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Global Jihadist Movement: What Everyone Needs to Know, Daniel Byman
  
• Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979, Thomas Hegghammer

A really interesting book I read on Saudi Arabia once, On Saudi Arabia. Worth a read for anyone interested in learning more about the Kingdom.

https://www.amazon.com/House-Saud-Said-Aburish/dp/0747578745
https://www.amazon.com/House-Bush-Saud-Relationship-Dynasties/dp/0743253396
https://www.amazon.com/Saudi-Arabia-People-Religion-Lines/dp/0307473287

All of these are really good. The Bush one does try to play politics, but its good none the less.

Yes because Wahhabis exist within and subvert the governmental structure it does not mean the government supports terrorists. There have been digressions in the past but they are most certainly not colluding with ISIS, as a government. It's a very complicated theocratic, monarchistic structure.

Saudi Arabia has been victim to plenty of terror attacks.

>Yes their population is ultra conservative but they don't want to spread terrorism worldwide like the Saud family does.

You literally have it precisely fucking backwards. I try not to swear but this is insane. Read some literature on the subject.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saudi-Arabia-People-Religion-Lines/dp/0307473287/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496609398&sr=8-1&keywords=elliott+saudi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Saudi_Arabia

Hey, I got some recommendations for you!


The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Almaz's story and a redditor's comment.


As for myself, I am currently reading On Saudi Arabia by Karen Elliott House.

You're welcome