Two strains of tradition are inseparably bound to the political history of Saudi Arabia: family and religion.

In order to defeat his rivals, the Al-Rashids, Abdul Aziz realized he needed more than the promise of plunder to keep the loyalty of traditionally fickle tribes. A firm believer in Wahhabism, a strict and puritanical form of Sunni Islam propagated by Abd al-Wahhab, he created a whole class of fanatical, ascetic Islamic warriors–-the Ikhwan, or "the Brethren," --whom he settled on agricultural settlements in the Najd (the central heartland of Arabia). By 1912, the Ikhwan settler-warriors numbered 11,000.

Instrumental in unifying the Arabian Peninsula under the control of the Al Sauds, Abdul Aziz realized, even before the kingdom was fully consolidated in 1932, that he would have to temper the militant zeal of the Ikhwan. The Ikhwan became restless with inactivity as battlefields diminished and were discontented with the introduction of modern technology such as autos, airplanes, and telephones, which they considered the devil's devices. After a confrontation with the King in 1929, the independent military of the Ikhwan was broken forever. The Ikhwan was more or less disbanded, although though tribal levies were again used in 1934 during the brief war with Yemen.

Saudi Arabia was founded on a partnership between politics and religion. The country struggles yet today to find the proper balance between tradition and modernity, religious zeal and political prudence.

Photo and commentary by Carol J. Riphenburg, Ph.D.
riphenbu@cdnet.cod.edu

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