The Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud

by Saïd K. Aburish

This explosive examination of the Saud dynasty, whose greed and corruption have brought Saudi Arabia to the brink of bankruptcy - and the world to the edge of disaster - "raises important questions, not the least of which is whether Washington can afford to blithely close its eyes to developments within Saudi Arabia" (Newsday). of photos.

Genres: History, Politics, Middle East, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Palestinian journalist and writer.

Saïd K. Aburish was born in the biblical village of Bethany near Jerusalem in 1935. One of his grandfathers was a Muslim judge of the Islamic High Court and a lecturer at the Arab college; the other was a village headman.

Aburish attended school in Jerusalem and Beirut, and university in the United States. He returned to Beirut as a reporter for Radio Free Europe and the London Daily Mail. He consulted for two Arab governments and written several books.

Reviews

[Kalle Wescott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read /The Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud/, by Said K. Aburish:

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/29/st...

Wow, what an eye-opener. The first editions of this book came out in 1994, so the information is twenty-seven+ years old. And yes, we all know that Saudi Arabia has been somewhat despotic and repressive through the very recent past (c.f., Jamal Khashoggi)... though MBS is now transforming the Kingdom in to a much more tolerant nation, that will have more vacation spots attracting tourists within five years than the rest of the GCC/Middle East combined.

I had no idea regarding some of the actual facts (I'm assuming that what Aburish writes is true, and will have to investigate whether he's been beheaded yet - he does write that he was banned from the Kingdom).

Here are just a few tidbits.

For example, the house of Saud, unlike the royal family of Jordan, does not have royal lineage nor are the various kings and princes descended from the Prophet. King Ibn Saud paid an Egyptian sheik (Muhammad Tammini) handsomely to fake the lineage from the Prophet (just like the King of Egypt, King Farouk, who hired the same sheik to fake his family's lineage). In the 1940s ARAMCO (back then using 700 camels for labor, now a US $7 trillion company no longer dependent on camels) paid for a similar study.

Comparing the original King (Ibn) Saud with Qaddafi and Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi and Hussein come out quite a ways ahead in their benevolence... they just had less money and oil (there's a detailed chart in the book).

The original Kings of this family (who took over Riyadh by ambushing and beheading their enemies), beginning with Ibn Saud, and continuing with Faisal in 1964, and later, Fahd, drink heavily, fuck thousands if not tens of thousands of women, and waste enormous sums of money of course... but while Saud was still King (1953 through 1964), the CIA used to procure boys for him as well.

I hear the British edition of this book is called /The House of Sod/, with the paperback trade eidtion called /Sodding This and Sodding That/.

Ibn Saud fathered approximately 170 children, with his 42 favored sons marrying 1400 women (this is in addition to the harems, sex slaves, the little boys, and yes, the animals).

I'm going to have to find in the book which King or member of the royal family regularly travelled with 200 sheep and bags of aphrodisiacs in his plane. "Sheep" isn't in the index at the back (though it should be) so I'm still looking for that reference.

You can't make this stuff up... I believe truth is stranger than fiction.

[Sarah Ensor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've just found my old copy of this in a clear out, which I read around 2010 and I've been thinking about it ever since. Saudi Arabia is an extraordinary phenomenon. Its existed for less than a 100 years and was essentially created by deals between foreign imperialist oil interests and the Saud family, because they were prepared to make those deals and work towards creating a capitalist state. This book is useful for understanding the background and the power that oil gave the ruling family. What's most remarkable now is how the regime has been able to reinvent itself since this book was published.

Osama bin Ladin, remember him? Very close to the Saudi ruling family. Remember Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who opposed his government's murderous corruption? He was murdered by the Saudi government’s agents in 2018. They were probably Mohammed bin Salman’s thugs. And of course the state likes to execute its opponents who are all labelled as terrorists. The state is certainly terrified of opposition including trade unionists. But the power of oil and being America's tightest ally, after Israel, means they haven't fallen and appear fairly impregnable. 

But it remains a country based on contradictions that create internal conflict and resistance. There's the enormous gap between official morality and the behaviour of its ruling elite. The repression of women and minorities. The state really wants to recognise Israel and the great mass of Saudis don't, they support the Palestinians. And capitalism itself drives internal resistance - the state keeps finding those “terrorists" to execute. So though this is over 25 years old it still has a lot to say. 

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book which can bog down at times. The author has a strong Pan-Arabist bent, but this sometimes swaps, too readily, for a Pan-Islamist bent, or vacillates between viewing non-Arabs in the region as either suspect as "others" or included.

It's a well-informed book about the Saudi Royal Family, but its outrage spills over frequently into rant because of an unfocused window - one built on desired outcomes rather than the option that just as Saudis whom he quotes can speak of their rights and national property as Saudis, Saudi Arabia might have interests which do not align with others in the region. After all, if the history which placed these resources in the hands of various rulers were not itself legitimate, what legitimacy for Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, etc. . .?

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

> What Saudi Arabia represents, and the disproportionate power it wields, cannot be considered acceptable in the modern world.

If only Allah would grant Aburish to be the king and despot of all Arabs! Of course his enemies will die slowly, but the survivors will earn eternal bliss and $500 each, right?

[T Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories but author lacks general understanding of how Gulf dynasties work and use Islam to their advantage.

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found that Said did a wonderful job here in making a compelling presentation of his view of the "House of Saud".

Yes, this book is heavily critical of the current Saudi kingdom, but I think he is a very careful author and explains things very well.

I find what he is saying to be believable and he definately is very knowledgable on the subject. It definately was worth the read, especially since I am interested in the happenings in the Middle East.

It really makes you wonder why the U.S.A. supports Saudi Arabia.

[Tom LaVenture · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in preparation for the Gulf War deployment in 1991. Enlightening look at a charismatic warrior patriarch and how King Ibn Saud Abdul Aziz forged his destiny by manipulating the western powers into winning his own private war against his rivals and establishing the 20th century boundaries of Saudi Arabia and Iraq following WWI.

[مساعد · Rating 2 out of 5]

كتاب مفصل من داخل العائلة والعلاقات مع العائلات الثرية ايضا
لا اعتبره كتاب في السياسية ،،بل تفاصيل كثيرة عن علاقات عائلة بن محفوظ و غيرها بالبيت السعودي

تحياتي

[Linda Powless · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start...of the Kingdom & Knowledge of Middle East

[Nur · Rating 4 out of 5]

the rise, the richest and corrupt...

[Irfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lacks references to many of its more contentious claims. Otherwise a good read.

[Marika C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madly out of date (pre 9-11) and very partisan, but a great intro to the history and politics of Saudi Arabia.