Comments on: Most Saudis Oppose al Qaeda

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:11:35 +0000

legion: You're working from the stereotype. Stop by Crossroads Arabia for a while and see what Saudis and the Saudi government are actually up to.

By: legion

legion — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:58:50 +0000

Impervious is not the same as insensate. While it's wise to listen to your subjects & keep them reasonably happy, their opinions are largely irrelevant. Like any monarchy, so long as it keeps the nation's rich and powerful... rich and powerful, the average Saudi is of little importance.

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:59:07 +0000

legion: Your comment assumes--incorrectly--that the Saudi monarchy is impervious to public opinion. The exact opposite is true. It is subject the the opinions of numerous publics--including the Ulema who are far more conservative that most royals. It also listens to the average Saudi, though their opinions may be weighted less than other power blocks'.

By: legion

legion — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:40:36 +0000

Unfortunately, since Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, the opinions of the majority of the populace don't really mean much. What royal family is Bin Laden related to again?

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:18:38 +0000

My take on this survey can be found at Crossroads Arabia. You can find a link to the full survey, including methodology there.

By: Crossroads Arabia » Blog Archive » New Poll Shows Saudis Oppose Al-Qaeda

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:17:16 +0000

[...] to Outside the Beltway for drawing this survey to my attention. December:18:2007 - [...]

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:28:14 +0000

Rats! You beat me to posting on this!

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:27:31 +0000

I would think that fearful Saudis would be more likely to parrot the hard-Sharia line.

Agreed. The results ring true to me, really, but it's always necessary to caveat these type polls.

By: Anderson

Anderson — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:07:28 +0000

and 15 percent supported the recent sentence of 200 lashes and six months imprisonment of a 19-year old Shiite woman for being with a male acquaintance before she was gang-raped by seven men.

Only 15%? That's good news. And on that question at least, JJ's caveat seems misplaced - I would think that fearful Saudis would be more likely to parrot the hard-Sharia line.