Wikiquote

Saudi Arabia

country in West Asia

Saudi Arabia,officially known as theKingdom of Saudi Arabia,is the largestArabstate inWestern Asiaby land area (approximately 2,150,000 km2 [830,000 sq mi]), constituting the bulk of theArabian Peninsula,and the second-largest geographically in theArab world.Politically, Saudi Arabia is anabsolute monarchyled by KingSalmanas head of state and Crown PrinceMohammad bin Salmanas head of government. It is one of the world's leading producers and exporters ofoil.It also contains theIslamicholy cities ofMeccaand Medina. Its official religion is Islam.

Saudi Arabia is the heart of the Muslim world. ~Abul A'la Maududi


A–B–C–D–E–F–G–H–I–J–K–L–M–N–O–P–Q–R–S–T–U–V–W–X–Y–Z–See also–External links

Quotes

edit
Alphabetized by author

A

edit
Even if all the Muslim countries in the world were steeped in inequity and laxity it would not cause as much harm to the cause of Islam, as it would if, God forbid, Saudi Arabia starts showing these trends. ~Abul A'la Maududi
Saudi Arabia has become a firm friend of the United States. As its influence dramatically expands in the world, Saudi Arabia has been not only a firm supporter of the peace process but a moderating and conciliatory force on a wide range of global issues. ~Jimmy Carter
  • We have to all realise that criticising some phenomena in our home country does not equate to hating it, wishing evil upon it nor is it an attempt to shake its balance, it's the total opposite. Any Saudi citizen might be upset by some incidents that occur in the Kingdom, but that is only a direct sign of one's interest in the betterment of one's own country and one's hope to see Saudi Arabia as a global leader.
  • If you go to school in Saudi Arabia, what do you learn about people who are not followers ofWahhabi,of the prophet?The religious curriculum in Saudi Arabia teaches you that people are basically two sides:Salafis[Wahhabis], who are the winners, the chosen ones, who will go toheaven,and the rest. The rest areMuslimsandChristiansandJewsand others. Even muslims of other sects, all of these people are not accepted by Salafi as Muslims. As I said, "claimant toIslam."And all of these people are supposed to be hated, to bepersecuted,even killed.And we have several clergy -- not one Salafi clergy -- who have said that against theShi'aand against the other Muslims. And they have done it inAlgeria,inAfghanistan.This is the same ideology. They just have the same opportunity. They did it in Algeria andAfghanistan,and nowNew York.

B

edit

  • One of the most devout and insular countries in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has emerged from being an underdeveloped desert kingdom to become one of the wealthiest nations in the region thanks to vast oil resources.

    But its rulers face the delicate task of responding to pressure for reform while combating a growing problem ofextremistviolence.

C

edit
  • Saudi Arabia has become a firm friend of theUnited States.As its influence dramatically expands in the world, Saudi Arabia has been not only a firm supporter of the peace process but a moderating and conciliatory force on a wide range of global issues.
    • Jimmy Carter,Letter to Members of Congress on Middle East Arms Sales (12 May 1978).
  • And, once and for all, the Saudis, theQataris,and others need to stop their citizens from directly funding extremist organizations, as well as schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towardradicalization.When it comes to blocking terrorist recruitment, we have to identify the hotspots—the specific neighborhoods and villages, theprisonsandschools—where recruitment happens in clusters.
  • I think that the Saudis have a multiple level of responsibilities, first and foremost, stopping their own citizens from continuing the financing for extremists. And, you know, Saudi financing is still a major source of revenue for terrorist groups insideSyria,insideIraqelsewhere.
  • I know that the — that Saudi individuals have certainly funded other related terrorist groups over time and also exported a lot ofWahhabiradicalism by kicking out or sending outimamsand teachers to set up schools and mosques to preach that particularly harsh brand of Islam. So the Saudis have a lot that they can do to both stop and then to help.
  • One guy said,"I'm from Saudi Arabia and I'm proud of my country."Well, good for you, but forgive me for asking why. If you live in Saudi Arabia, what onEarthhave you got to be proud of? If you couldn't digmoneystraight out of the ground, you'd all be starving. The only thing your country has to offer the world isoil.Well, it's not the only thing, but we don't need anysand,and we're all up to here withJihad,thanks very much.

D

edit
  • [Saudi Arabia] is the Keeper of the Two Holy Cities, giving her an Islamic orientation of responsibility; she is the counsellor of theArabworld, due to her religious standing, herwealth,and her domestic stability and cohesion.
  • Seductive mirages ofprogressnotwithstanding, nowhere in the world isapartheidpracticed with more cruelty and finality than in Saudi Arabia. Of course, it iswomenwho are locked in and kept out, exiled to invisibility and object powerlessness within their own country. It is women who are degraded systematically frombirthto earlydeath,utterly and total and without exception deprived offreedom.It is women who are sold intomarriageorconcubinage,often before puberty; killed if their hymens are not intact on theweddingnight; kept confined, ignorant, pregnant, poor, without choice or recourse. It is women who are raped and beaten with full sanction of the law. It is women who cannot ownpropertyorworkfor a living or determine in any way the circumstances of their own lives. It is women who are subject to a despotism that knows no restraint. Women, locked out and locked in.Mr Carter,enchanted with his good friends, the Saudis. Mr Carter, a sincere advocate ofhuman rights.Sometimes even a feminist with a realistic knowledge of male hypocrisy and a strong stomach cannot believe the world she lives in.

E

edit

G

edit
  • From Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi mosques are financed throughout the world.
  • We must make it clear to the Saudis that the time of looking the other way is over.
  • We will prevent Saudi help in the building or financing of mosques inGermanywhere Wahhabi ideas are to be disseminated.
    • German Vice ChancellorSigmar Gabrielsaid toWelt am Sonntagnewspaper. (December 6, 2015)[3]
  • The discovery of oil in 1938 launched the transformation of a mostly desert kingdom into a modern country. The country was barely six years old and its founder, KingAbdelaziz ibn Saud,was already courted by world powers. In 1945,Franklin D. Rooseveltstruck a deal with the Saudi monarch, sitting aboard theUSS Quincyon theGreat Bitter Lake.The two men agreed that Saudi Arabia would provide America with unimpeded access to exploit the oil, in exchange for military protection and support. The price of a barrel was low for years, the revenues limited, but it was more than enough to build a country from scratch, and by the late 1960s a wave of construction was under way across the kingdom. There was no local expertise, but plenty of money to hire help. Then, in the fall of 1973, the price ofoilquadrupled almost overnight from $3 to $12—roughly the equivalent of $50 in 2019. That October,EgyptandSyriahad gone to war againstIsrael,hoping to regain land lost in theSix-Day Warof 1967. Oil-producing Arab countries declared an embargo on exports to theUnited Statesand other countries that supported Israel in the conflict. Saudi Arabia was reluctant to undermine its alliance with the US but ultimately led the charge and reaped the benefits: Arab hearts filled with pride, briefly grateful to the kingdom for standing up to the West and Israel—a small consolation for past humiliations. Most important, the young country was now awash with cash as billions of dollars flooded the kingdom. Between 1970 and 1974, Saudi Arabia’s oil revenues ballooned from $1.2 billion to $22.5 billion.
    • Kim Ghattas,Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East(2020)
  • In Saudi Arabia, awareness of what the year 1979 had meant for the kingdom was not as obvious. Juhayman’s siege of the Holy Mosque in Mecca that year, though shocking, had not been a countrywide event, and the kingdom excels—then as today—at camouflaging internal dissent. Awash with cash during the1980s,Saudis could travel anywhere to go to thecinemaand thetheateror to sit in cafés inParisif they wanted to escape thedarknessengulfing their country. There was no clear turning point to stand against; there were many smaller ones. But now theirchildrenwant to know why. Why hadn’t their parents protested when themusicwas silenced, when the male guardianship system was tightened, when the religious police started cracking their whips in public malls? How could they have let this happen without a word? This generation of Saudis do not know that Iranians are asking the same questions about 1979; nor do Iranians know that some in Saudi Arabia are fueled by similar feelings of betrayal. Iran and Saudi Arabia are echoing each other, once more, in subtle ways. There was a brief moment in 2018 when it looked as though the two foes were going to compete to undo the damage of 1979: the Saudis from the top down, thanks to acrown princeopening up his country to thetwenty-first century;and theIranian people,thanks to their own determination to chip away at the system. Instead, the competition continued to be a race to the bottom, as though nothing and nobody was equipped to dissuade the leadership of either country from its own worst instincts.Syria,Yemen,andIraqpaid the price, as did those who raised their voices against their respective leaders in Iran and Saudi Arabia. The most dangerous opponents were those who spoke softly and who presented the most credible alternative to the absolutism of the leaders, such asJamal Khashoggi.OrNasrin Sotoudeh,an Iranian human rights lawyer sentenced to thirty-eight years in jail and 148 lashes for defending the women campaigning against the mandatory veil.
    • Kim Ghattas,Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East(2020)

The Saudis can't rein in Islamic State. They lost control of global Salafism long ago.(2016)

edit

F. Gregory Gause III,The Saudis can't rein in Islamic State. They lost control of global Salafism long ago.Los Angeles Times(July 19, 2016)

  • Can a state be both the target ofIslamist extremistsand responsible for their actions? Theattacks on July 4in three Saudi Arabian cities, almost certainly perpetrated by adherents ofIslamic State,have once again raised this question for drive-by analysts. They point out that the official interpretation ofIslamin Saudi Arabia, which outsiders refer to asWahhabismand Saudis refer to asSalafism,shares many elements withextremistideology. Then they argue thatSaudi efforts to proselytize Salafismplayed a role in the development of the globaljihadistmovement, and that the Saudis thus bear a specialresponsibilityto rein in their support for Musliminstitutionsoutside their borders and tomoderatetheir practice of Islam at home. The implication is that if the Saudis would only change their behavior, the threat represented by the radicals would be greatly reduced.
  • What had been a largely apolitical phenomenon of Muslims emulating Saudi Wahhabism in their personal lives became, for part of the global Salafi movement, an element of their politicalidentity.
  • Global Salafism is now unmoored from its Saudi origins.
  • The Saudis can also contribute to the ideological fight againstSalafi jihadism,but not in the way most Westernliberalsthink. The admonition for “tolerance”has much to recommend it as Saudi leaders think a long term, but the more immediate task is a to convince those attracted to Salafism that theviolentpath is, as the Saudiclericssay, “deviant.” Liberal “reforms”in Saudi Arabia are not going to convincepiousSalafis that their interpretation of Islam is incorrect. Rather, the Saudis have to redouble their efforts to use the domestic and international institutions of Islam that they created and funded to convince believers that Salafi Islam itself prohibits the acts of violence perpetrated in its name.

H

edit

M

edit
  • Saudi Arabia is the heart of theMuslim world…even if all the Muslim countries in the world were steeped in inequity and laxity it would not cause as much harm to the cause of Islam, as it would if, God forbid, Saudi Arabia starts showing these trends...
    • Abul A'la Maududi,quoted in Asaf Hussain,Islamic movements in Egypt, Pakistan, and Iran(Mansell Pub., 1983), p. 72.
  • After the US came to the rescue of Israel during theYom Kippur Warof October 1973, Saudi Arabia used oil to reset global politics. Angered by Israeli’s successful counterattack and push into Arab territory, Riyadh announced a complete oil embargo against the US. To ensure that Washington felt economic pain even if oil slipped in through the back door, Saudi Arabia – followed by the OPEC cartel which it dominated – cutproductionultimately by 25 per cent, and between September 1973 and March 1974 the oil price quadrupled.Sheikh Yamani,the Saudi Arabian oil minister, declared: ‘What we want is a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Arab territories and then you will have the oil.’ The Saudis thus launched what became known as the ‘oil weapon’.Henry Kissinger,US secretary of state,referred to these démarches as ‘political blackmail’ and as the ‘most important of our century’. The Saudi oil minister spelled out the geopolitical implications by referring to a ‘new type of relationship’ where ‘you have to adjust yourself to the new circumstances’. The US secretary of state adjusted, Israel retreated back east of theSuez Canaland the embargo was lifted, butglobal politicswould never be the same again. Saudi Arabia, as the swing producer, had demonstrated that it possessed the power to drive upinflationand break economies, regardless ofpoliticsin the West. That threat has been Saudi Arabia’s entry pass to the global political stage, and it is still there today, but that entry pass is only valid as long as Riyadh is the swing producer. It was the first time that a group of relatively weak states had provoked such dramatic changes in the lives of the vast majority of people on the planet. The consequence eventually was aworld economic crisis,but the raising of the oil price was only one factor. The US had abandoned thegold standardin 1971, and as a consequence theBretton Woods systemcollapsed. Thereby the long period ofeconomic growthin the developed world ended. InWest Germanydriving was banned on Sundays, and the autobahn was given over to pedestrians and cyclists.GDPthere fell by 1.5 per cent, and unemployment climbed above one million.
    • Martin McCauley,The Cold War 1949-2016(2017)

N

edit

O

edit

P

edit
  • The Saudis have never shown any respect for human rights, either now or in the past. Even apetty burglarfaces having one of his hands chopped off. Theliberalpressin America prefers to ignore all this, although they don't hesitate to blacken the reputation ofIran.
  • The West’s medieval client, Saudi Arabia – to which the US andBritainsell billions of dollars’ worth of arms – is at present destroyingYemen,a country so poor that in the best of times, half the children are malnourished. Look onYouTubeand you will see the kind of massive bombs – “our” bombs – that the Saudis use against dirt-poor villages, and against weddings, and funerals. The explosions look like smallatomic bombs.The bomb aimers in Saudi Arabia work side-by-side withBritish officers.This fact is not on the evening news.

R

edit

S

edit
  • The formula that food is the way to derive peace actually should be more properly understood in reverse.The answer to my question of why we have so many hungry people on the planet when there is no need for that is that it is a deliberate decision that some human beings make in order to appropriate the resources of others, or, as in the case of one of the hot spots on the planet right now for hunger, which isYemen,it was a deliberate strategy to disrupt the food system specifically to weaken the country in the pursuit of the war between proxies, Saudi Arabia and Iran.And so, it’s important to remember that hunger does not always happen because of natural disasters, which is a mental model that most of us fall back upon; it is often the result of things that we actually do to each other deliberately.

T

edit
  • I love the Saudis. Many are in this building. They make a billion dollars a day. Whenever they have problems, we send over the ships. We say “we’re gonna protect.” What are we doing? They’ve got nothing but money... Saudi Arabia without us is gone. They're gone... Saudi Arabia is in big, big trouble. Now, thanks to fracking and other things, the oil is all over the place. And I used to say it, there are ships at sea, and this was during the worst crisis, that were loaded up with oil, and the cartel kept the price up, because, again, they were smarter than our leaders. They were smarter than our leaders.

W

edit
  • The case of Saudi Arabia highlights the difficulties that democracies face in trying to support freedom, human rights, anddemocracy.King Abdullahheads aroyal familythat completely controls Saudi society. Thanks to the fact that they own the world's largest reserves of oil, they are virtually immune from international criticism and they do not bother to hold even fake nationalelections.By law, all Saudi citizens must beMuslims.It is illegal for Saudis to follow a different religion. A Saudi woman cannot appear in public with a man who is not a relative. Women are required to completely cover their bodies in public and they must wear veils. Some Saudi women have expressed satisfaction with the restrictions in the country. However, the strict suppression of women is not voluntary, and Saudi women who would like to live a freer life are not allowed to do so. King Abdullah and his relatives follow an intolerant version of Islam known in the West as Wahhabism. Since 1975, theSaudi royal familyhas spent more than $70 billion financing mosques and Islamic centers worldwide, including more than $300 million in the United States, where most Muslims studying inArabicuse Saudi textbooks, some of which are virulentlyanti-Christianandanti-Jewish.If Saudi Arabia did not control so much oil, King Abdullah and the Saudi royal family would be treated just as much as pariahs as areThan Shweand theBurmesegenerals.
    • David Wallechinsky,Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators(2006), p. 2

See also

edit
edit
Wikivoyage
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for:
Find more information on Saudi Arabia by searching Wikiquote'ssister projects
Encyclopedia articlesfromWikipedia
Dictionary definitionsfromWiktionary
TextbooksfromWikibooks
Source textsfromWikisource
Images and mediafromCommons
News storiesfromWikinews
Learning resourcesfromWikiversity
Retrieved from "https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Saudi_Arabia&oldid=3610072"