From the war in Yemen to raves in Riyadh, political analyst Sami Hamdi analyses the ‘modern’ Saudi Arabia as a regional power. Many see the country to be a staunch ally, even stooge of the United States, yet others hail its recent strategic turn under Muhammad Bin Salman as a sign that at last the country is looking to forge an independent path. From moon sighting to Hajj, the country remains at the centre of Muslim religious life, yet we can’t but observe with horror the activities of its crown prince and de facto leader and his vanity infrastructure projects such as NEOM. So how do we analyse the country and its future?
Sami Hamdi is the Managing Director of the International Interest, a global risk and intelligence company. He advises governments on the geopolitical dynamics of Europe and the MENA region and has significant expertise in advising companies on commercial issues related to volatile political environments and their implications on market entry, market expansion, and managing of stakeholders. Sami is also featured as a commentator for Aljazeera (Arabic and English), Sky News, BBC, TRT World, and other outlets.
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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 92
00:00 Introduction
01:37 Saudi's increasing liberalisation
03:41 Introduction of entertainment facilities
10:42 A reaction to Salafism?
13:28 Popularity of measures among Saudis
19:30 Foreign interventions
25:13 Vision 2030
26:57 Economic growth and religious reforms
31:22 New rules in masjids
41:37 What makes Islam a threat?
45:36 Keeping Muslims in the dark
51:16 Regional politics
51:51 Truce with Iran
1:00:00 China
1:02:41 Saudi and the US
1:07:21 MBS's genius statesmanship
1:12:10 Ties with Israel
1:21:50 The future of the Ummah in the region
1:28:00 Allah preserves his religion
