000			01751nam a2200229 a 4500
008			160203s2015 xxu eng d
020			_a1848858019 (paperback)
020			_a9781848858015 (paperback)
082			_a297.81409538 Commins 30884 1st 2015 Islam
100	1		_aCommins, David Dean. _919776
245	1	0	_aIslam in Saudi Arabia
250			_a1st ed.
260			_aUK : _bI.B.Tauris, _c2015.
300			_a192 p. ;
490	1		_aIslam in series.
520			_aThe common image of Saudi Arabia portrays a country where religious rules dictate every detail of daily life: where women may not drive; where unrelated men and women may not interact; where the latter veil their faces; and where banks, restaurants and cafes have dual facilities: one for families, another for men. Yet life in the kingdom, contrary to perception, is not so clear cut as simply obeying dogma. David Commins challenges the stereotype of a country immune to change by highlighting the ways that urbanization, education, consumerism, global communications and technological innovation have exerted pressure against rules issued by the religious establishment. He places the Wahhabi movement in the wider context of Islamic history, showing how state-appointed clerics built on dynastic backing to fashion a model society of Sharia observance and moral virtue. But beneath a surface appearance of obedience to Islamic authority he detects currents that reflect Arabia's heritage of diversity (where Shi'i and Sufi tendencies survive in the face of discrimination) and the effects of its exposure to Western mores.
650			_aSaudi Arabia _919777
650			_aIslam _9963
650			_aWahhābīyah _919778
650			_aIslam and state _919779
942			_cBK
999			_c7311 _d7310