Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Middle East Policy

Faysal: Saudi Arabia's King for All Seasons.

Article Excerpt
Faysal: Saudi Arabia's King for All Seasons, by Joseph A. Kechichian. University Press of Florida, 2008. 291 pages. $34.00 hardcover.

Joseph A. Kechichian, a respected and well-published Middle East scholar, takes a look in this book at the influential role that King Faysal bin Abdul Aziz Al Sand (1906-75) played in Saudi Arabia's history. Faysal was the third son of the founder of the modern Saudi state, King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (ruled 1932-53). As preparation for rule, Faysal led Saudi forces in 1922 to suppress uprisings in Asir, participated in the Yemeni-Saudi War in 1934 and served as viceroy of Hijaz beginning in 1926, as chairman of the al-Shurah Council beginning in 1927, and as the first foreign minister after 1930 (p. 1).

Kechichian argues King Faysal's legacy consists of three parts: the strong political leadership of the Al Saud family, the particular branch of Islam commonly referred to as Wahhabism (he uses the term "Unitarian," believing "Wahhabi" to be a pejorative), and a desert culture. Kechichian writes that this culture is mistakenly viewed in the West as one in which Saudi...