Muted Modernists: The Struggle Over Divine Politics in Saudi Arabia

Speaker: Madawi Al-Rasheed, LSE Middle East Centre Chair: Toby Dodge, LSE Middle East Centre Analysis of both official and opposition Saudi divine politics is often monolithic, conjuring images of conservatism, radicalism, misogyny and resistance to democracy. In this event, Madawi Al-Rasheed launches her new book in which she challenges this stereotype by examining a long tradition of engaging with modernism that gathered momentum with the Arab uprisings and incurred the wrath of both the Saudi regime and its Wahhabi supporters. She also challenges much of the scholarly received wisdom on Islamism in general, blurring the boundaries between secular and religious politics. Recorded on 14 January 2016.