Abstract
Abstract The chapter examines post-1973 migration to the Middle East, above all Saudi Arabia. The flooding of the Middle East with oil money after the OPEC-induced oil shock led to massive labor demand. It was strongest in Saudi Arabia, a country of fear and fascination for the West. The chapter provides a political history of Saudi Arabia, exploring the pact between the monarchy—the House of Saud—and Wahhabi clerics. The king welcomed both low-skilled Arab workers and Islamist intellectuals, hoping that nurturing Egyptian political Islam would undermine pan-Arabism across the Middle East, while employing Islamists in Saudi media, universities, and bureaucracy would provide a counterweight to hardline Wahhabi clerics. The strategy backfired: Egyptian political Islamists encouraged domestic criticism of the Saudis as corrupt and materialist Western patsies. The result was an intensification of Wahhabi restrictions.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
