An article published Monday by the Guardian indicated that Saudi Arabia is “ripe for revolution” as the factors that motivated the Arab uprisings are present at the kingdom.
An article published Monday by the Guardian indicated that Saudi Arabia is “ripe for revolution” as the factors that motivated the Arab uprisings are present at the kingdom.
Pointing out the presence of tens of thousands of political prisoners -most without charge- the high unemployment rate in this country oil rich country, the huge discrepancy between classes, and the royal family’s treatment to the country and people as private property, Saudi writer Saad Al-Faqih considered that like other places in the Arab world, “the expansion in communication tools has broken down barriers and deprived the Saudi regime of the secrecy and deception on which its legitimacy relied.”
He referred that “one anonymous twitter account, @mujtahidd, has attracted more than 220,000 followers thanks to its ability to expose corruption in a detailed, accurate manner,” and continued to attract followers even after “blocking his account inside the kingdom”.
Moreover, Al-Faqih who stressed the presence of “reformists from many different backgrounds” in the kingdom, said that the western media only focused on the “the Shia revolt and the position of women”.
He added that even though “it is true that the Shia are very active in protest – their demonstrations are massive. However, they are a minority and the regime links them with Iran, so their protests remain isolated and self-contained. The regime has so far successfully used these protests in its favor, by persuading the Sunni majority of a threat of a Shia "takeover" of the Eastern province.”
Here, the writer indicated that “the regime is more concerned with its portrayal in the west as a stable and resilient regime than being seen as serving minority rights or encouraging western values. Any major internal challenge to its stability would result in western powers losing confidence in its ability to serve their interest.”
