‘Traitor’ Is the New ‘Infidel’ as Nationalism Grips Saudi Arabia
- Rhetoric turns divisive as kingdom pursues identity makeover
- Some Saudis worried trend might rupture strained social fabric
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Muna AbuSulayman was relaxing in bed last month when her phone pinged with news that the grand mufti, Saudi Arabia’s religious leader, had died.
After checking that the alert appeared to originate from an official source, the former talk show host shared it with 544,000 Twitter followers. It was a misjudgment that pitched a woman who loves her country deep into an ugly struggle over what it means to be Saudi as the kingdom forges a new identity under its young crown prince.