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Facebook Fatwa: Saudi Clerics, Wahhabi Islam and Social Media
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has released the first-ever study of what radical Saudi Wahhabists are preaching to their followers about the United States and non-Muslims on social media sites.
Learn MoreAnalysis & Commentary - Steven Miller
The Kingdom Boils
Nearly a month after a crude film caricature of the Prophet Muhammad made headlines, protests in response to it continue across the Muslim world. Yet in the ultraconservative Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, home to the... more...
Oh, Brother
Mohamed Morsy's young presidency in Egypt hasn't started all that smoothly. It's largely been characterized by a series of standoffs with the Egyptian military, including this week's controversial court case on the legality... more...
Saudi Clerics Funnel Cash to Syrian Rebels Through Terror Group
Since President Obama decided not to support the rebels fighting Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, a handful of Saudi religious figures have taken matters into their own hands. more...
Study Shows Saudi Ambivalence on Radicalism
On May 27, an airstrike by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in northeastern Afghanistan killed Sakhr al Taifi, a Saudi citizen and al Qaeda's deputy commander for Afghanistan. more...
Facebook Must Contend with Saudi Radicalism
Despite the clerics’ historical opposition to modern technology, they’re increasingly gravitating towards it. Here are five of the Saudi clerics’ most politically incorrect messages that you (probably) wouldn’t want your religious leaders repeating. more...
How Saudi Arabia Has Survived—So Far
On December 17, 2010, the self-immolation of Tunisian street vendor Muhammad Bouazizi, who was protesting the confiscation of his wares and harassment by the country’s authorities. more...
The 140-Character Fatwa
Enormously popular, extremist Saudi clerics are promoting hatred, violence, and intolerance on Facebook and Twitter. Can they be stopped? more...
Saudi Women’s Spring
The rise of Islamist movements in the Arab Spring generally bodes poorly for women’s rights. But in Saudi Arabia, a country dominated by fundamentalist Islam, women are quietly driving a revolution. more...
The Arab Spring: “Why Exactly at this Time?”
“Why exactly at this time?” Such is the classic question raised by conspiracy theorists—with apparent nervousness, offering the most surreal interpretations—the moment any remarkable event occurs in the Arab or Islamic world. more...
Saudi Arabia
Since 1744, when the first Saudi emirate was established through a pact between tribal chief Muhammad ibn Saud and puritan preacher Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the phenomenon which has come to be known as Wahhabism has been the official and dominant religious discourse in Saudi Arabia. more...