Saudi Arabia

Beginning in 1937, when a young Minnesota-born mining engineer by the name of Thomas Barger first arrived in Arabia (the first Westerner to do so), that country has been somewhat of a mystery to America. In Crosswinds: The Way of Saudi Arabia, Fouad Ajami presents a firsthand look at the political culture in Saudi Arabia and its conduct and influence in foreign lands, from the early 1990s to the present day. From the influence of Islam in public life to Saudi rulers’ attitudes toward the Bush and Obama administrations, the author fills a significant gap in our understanding of that country.

The religious diplomacy of Saudi Arabia constitutes a strange black hole in the analysis of radicalism that affects Islam and the Middle East today. Why has Salafism, the most intolerant and sectarian movement of Islam, become so prevalent? Of all the religious radicalisms that rot the planet, it is the only one to enjoy the constant support of a country endowed with immense means: the Saudi kingdom.