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Outside the immediate family, Salman considered his nephew Mohammad bin Nayef, who is known as MBN, appointing him crown prince in 2015, when he was 55. As a spymaster and security official in the 2000s, MBN had led the country’s domestic war against al‑Qaeda, and in the process had become well connected with counterparts in Washington and London. In 2009, MBN was injured when an al‑Qaeda bomber packed his underpants with explosives and approached him at an event. Salman, the current king and at 86 one of the youngest of Abdulaziz’s brood, saw the perils of unchecked gerontocracy and anointed a successor from the next generation.
Reign
Abdulaziz, reported to have been barely 20 at the time, was immediately proclaimed ruler in Riyadh. As the new leader of the House of Saud, Abdulaziz became commonly known from that time onward as "Ibn Saud" in Western sources, though he is still called "Abdulaziz" in the Arab world. Abdullah’s foreign policy marked a drastic shift from Fahd’s and was incredibly important as the twenty-first century brought great change to the Middle East.
Mohammed bin Nayef al Saud
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A group of 107 Wahhabi religious figures sends a 46-page "Memorandum of Advice" to King Fahd criticizing the government for corruption and human rights abuses and for allowing U.S. troops on Saudi soil. The document calls on the government to more strictly follow shari'a, or Islamic law, and end relations with Western governments. King Fahd dismisses seven of the 17 members of the ulama for refusing to denounce the memorandum. Deals are riddled with influence peddling, bribes and oversize commissions. The Saudi royals, with their huge allowances, become notorious big spenders in Europe's casinos. Saudi leaders lose the credibility and respect of the country's religious conservatives.
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Ultimately, the Saudis believe an oil dependent America cannot afford Saudi Arabia's demise. During the reign of King Khalid, hundreds of billions in oil revenue pours into Saudi Arabia. The tiny population, estimated at four million and with only half a million literate males, finds it hard to absorb such wealth.
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Despite the controversies surrounding the House of Saud, it is important to recognize their history and how they rose to the level of power they have today. As one of the most powerful families who dictate the oil industry, OPEC, and our own government’s foreign policy, we must understand how they have shaped history for better or for worse. To properly understand the current policies of the Saudi government is essential to understand their past and how the family will try to preserve their power no matter the cost.
Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud
With U.S. women soldiers in many parts of the kingdom because of the Gulf War, Saudi women decide to challenge restrictions on their rights, including the right to drive. In November,forty-seven Saudi women meet at the parking lot of a Safeway and drive their cars through the streets of Riyadh. The women are arrested by the religious police, but released the same night under orders of Prince Salman, the governor of Riyadh. King Kahlid dies after a short illness and is succeeded by his half-brother Crown Prince Fahd.
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Upon Abdulaziz’s death in 1953, his eldest son, Saud, acceded to the throne. Some historians said of Saud that he would have made a wonderful Bedouin chief. But as the leader of a modern state, with growing oil revenue, he oversaw a disordered government that squandered its new found wealth and failed to respond to the needs of a new age. The royal family again turns to the ulama, the religious leaders of Saudi Arabia, and the clerics issue a fatwa based on verses from the Quran that allows the government to use all necessary force to retake the Great Mosque. The standoff lasts for several weeks before the Saudi military can remove the insurgents. More than 200 troops and dissidents are killed in the attacks and, to set an example, over sixty of the zealots are publicly beheaded in their hometowns.
Wealth
He considered that this aid should double if the American President wished to succeed in his endeavors. King Saud asked Dwight D. Eisenhower to exert pressure on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories of Palestine and settle the Palestinian cause, and to convince France to reach a settlement regarding the independence of Algeria. On the other hand, he promised to inform the Arabs of the Eisenhower Doctrine and its purposes; and to inquire about the Arab reaction on the official and officious levels before making any commitments.
Saudi Royal Family
He announced that his sole purpose was to "unify Muslims all over the world" so they would be like one strong body. King Saud believed in a non-alignment policy between the United States and the Soviet Union, which he discussed thoroughly with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during an official visit to India. He also strove to keep the region free from coalitions and blocs that only served foreign interests and thus he refused to join the Baghdad Pact.
In September 2017, MBS ordered a boycott of Qatar, citing the country’s support for the Iranian government, the Muslim Brotherhood, al‑Qaeda, and other Islamist organizations in the region. His tiny neighbor suddenly transformed from official friend into official villain, and those expressing a kind word toward it disappeared into prison. He’s since elevated his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to the kingdom’s monarch-in-waiting. The crown prince is widely believed to be running the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom. The current owner is an LLC tied to the late prince and his widow, Princess Johara bint Faisal. The prince served as Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister from 1975 until his death in 2015, making him the second-longest serving foreign minister in history.
His rule was also marked with the decrease of oil prices and increased measures of austerity compared to the wealth of previous Kings. Khalid was deeply invested in the lives of his subjects and led the country through significant domestic developments. The first was the Grand Mosque seizure of 1979, a violent and armed takeover of the Grand Mosque.
From May 2003 to December 2004, some 100 people are killed in attacks by Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. In the summer of 2004, a BBC cameraman is gunned down while filming in a Riyadh street. Two days later, a U.S. defense contractor is shot to death in his garage. A week later, another U.S. defense worker is killed outside his home in Riyadh, and U.S. engineer Paul Johnson is abducted by terrorists and is seen being beheaded in a video that is put on the Internet. On the morning of June 25,1996 a large truck bomb explodes at the U.S. military residence in Dhahran called Khobar Towers, killing 19 U.S. servicemen. U.S. law enforcement efforts to investigate the bombing are met with resistance by Saudi officials.
During this period, the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, including the Air Force, were modernized on a large scale with American assistance. The Saudi Arabian Airlines fleet was also expanded by the purchase of four new 'Sky Masters' to primarily facilitate the transport of Pilgrims from their homes to the sites of pilgrimage and back, and also within the Kingdom. On 10 June 1953, Saud with the approval of his father also laid the foundation stone for the expansion and refurbishment of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. Earlier on, following a visit, he had recommended to Abdulaziz the need for the adoption of this step, which the latter had sanctioned. Prince Saud was born on 15 January 1902 in Kuwait City.[1][2][3] The second son of Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman,[4] he was born in the home of his grandfather Abdul Rahman bin Faisal. They lived in Sikkat Inazza district of the city where the family was staying after their exile from Riyadh.[5] When his father conquered Riyadh in 1902, Saud followed him with his mother and brothers.
Salman’s government has made several developments to Saudi Arabia’s domestic state, yet many discredit Salman for these reforms. Salman’s early years would see the most changes in the position of the Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia’s history. He initially placed his half brother Muqrin bin Abdulaziz in the role of the Crown Prince but, after three months, removed him from power in favor of his nephew Muhammed bin Nayef.
If so, the Vision 2030 targets for the country ask it to garner at least $250 billion in tourism revenues each year by the end of this decade; that’s equivalent to Saudi Arabia’s total non-oil revenues in 2017. It is the hope that the creation and restoration of several unique destination giga-projects will not only revive Saudi history and popularize it, but also put the Kingdom on many foreigners bucket-lists in the coming years. Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, has been widely considered to be the true power behind his father’s rule. Many of Salman’s liberal reforms have been attributed to his son, the TIME Person of 2017, who was seen as the reformer Saudi Arabia needed.
In "House of Saud" FRONTLINE explores how the Al Saud family maintains its hold on power in the face of growing tensions between Islam and modernity. Overall, the Al Saud family is a central figure in the history and politics of Saudi Arabia. Its members have ruled the country for more than eight decades, and its future leaders, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are poised to play an important role in the kingdom’s future. Despite its controversies and challenges, the Al Saud family remains a symbol of stability and continuity in the Middle East. The fact that U.S. troops are withdrawing from the kingdom makes no difference to Al Qaeda. On May 12, 2003 Al Qaeda militants attack three compounds in Riyadh that house hundreds of foreign workers.
