Saudi Ruler Rewrites History to Shrink Islamic Past
A new national narrative guides a top-down social revolution that’s opening cultural and economic doors while slamming political and civic ones.
The revolution has been televised.
Photographer: Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty ImagesFew countries have ever undergone the kind of dramatic transformation underway in Saudi Arabia. In just a few years, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has thoroughly upended cultural norms and expectations in the Kingdom. Now he's rewriting the national narrative, sidelining the role of Islam and emphasizing Saudi nationalism, history and the royal family.
Last week the nation celebrated a new holiday, Founding Day. It identifies 1727 as the origin of Saudi Arabia. That directly challenges the traditional narrative, celebrated since the country's modern founding in 1932, that identified 1744 as the foundational moment.