RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY Cover Story: Saudi Religious Extremism
In Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, law is based on the Qu’ran and religion governs daily life. Shops are obliged to close three times a day for prayer, and Saudi television devotes hours to programs about religion, frequently broadcasting images of the holy city of Mecca, the site of the Hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam. In malls and other public spaces, religious police monitor behavior and enforce the country’s strict social codes. Not only are women forbidden to drive, they are restricted from working in certain professions, and the genders are segregated at work, as well as in restaurants, banks and other establishments. But since 9-11, the Kingdom’s rigid interpretation of Islam, known as Wahhabism, has come under increasing criticism, with U.S. officials claiming that it has helped contribute to terrorism and must be reformed.
Kate Seeyle explores the debate over whether this austere form of Islam encourages extremism and violence and how the Saudi government is responding. Political sociologist Khalid al Dakhil at the King Saud University in Riyadh says the alliance between the ruling family and the religious establishment has become an obstacle to reform: “Wahhabism now is really the legitimizer of the state. They are held back by this pact. They have to reform the pact according to the time now, according to the fact that the social basis that was existing in the 18th century has simply disappeared.”On Friday evening, this story will be uploaded to the Web site at: http://www.pbs.org/religion