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Playing for both teams: base camp for the clash between extremist Muslims and the West is the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a county that seems to be a Western ally but that also supports terrorism.

Article Excerpt
For 200 years Muslim civilization was overwhelmed by foreign cultures. From 1750 to 1950, European powers ruled over Muslim lands across North Africa, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, Central and South Asia; in fact, every region where Islam was the leading religion.

Even though nations such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Morocco are now independent they remain under the influence of outsiders. Let's take a closer look at Saudi Arabia.

The country is ruled by the al-Saud family, after whom it is named. It contains most of Islam's holiest sites including the birthplace of Mohammed.

The al-Sauds have styled themselves "royal" and do not like those who disagree with them. Opponents are jailed and handled with extreme brutality.

Political parties are banned. Women are treated atrociously.

The al-Sauds maintain control of the country through a complex web of interrelationships. The extended royal family has 30,000 members and very strong ties to the religious leaders. Since the creation of the state, the House of Saud has partnered with clerics who follow the strict form of Islam that comes from the 250-year-old teachings of a preacher called Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab.

Mercy and tolerance are hallmarks of Islam. However, Wahhabi teaching declares that Muslims who do not follow his particular version of Islam are deserving of death. Wahhabism is extremely puritanical. Alcohol and tobacco are strictly forbidden: so too is music, dancing, even loud laughter.

Wahhabi clerics control education in Saudi Arabia, and for decades they have raised many youngsters to hate Christians, Jews, and others. One textbook explains that Jews and Christians were cursed by Allah "and turned into apes and pigs." Universities focus on religious instruction and ignore the skills that would help young Saudis find employment.

One result is that foreigners make up a staggering 90 percent of all employees in the private sector. Millions of foreign "guest workers" from Asia, often treated like servants and accorded absolutely no civil rights, keep the country running by filling the jobs Saudis are unable or unwilling to do.

At the same time, the government is corrupt to its core and has mismanaged the economy. Saudi Arabia floats on a sea of oil that accounts for about a quarter of the world's known reserves. Given the huge wealth generated by oil exports it's surprising that the Saudi government managed to rack up deficits...

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