Everyone is talking about «Saudi money», but nobody really knows what it is. Journalist Krithika Varagur, a longtime columnist for religion and politics, tells the story of Saudi influence that has never been told in a book about the Muslim world, from Nigeria to Indonesia and Kosovo.
The conversation links the points of Saudi Arabia’s campaign to spread its ultra-conservative Islamic brand around the world after it became rich in oil in the 1900s.
The Carer by Deborah Moggach Free
Varagur visits several outposts of his influence, from a Saudi university in Jakarta to a movement xi oppressed in Nigeria. She believes the campaign has had a remarkably broad and, at times, unified impact, from the intolerance of religious minorities to the rise of powerful Saudi priests. The kingdom has spent billions of dollars on its da’wa or called Islam in various ways, with direct support from the United States. But how did Saudi influence have a lasting impact today? And what really happened to your campaign in the 21st century, after oil revenues fell and your activities became increasingly subject to international control? Based on dozens of interviews, government records and historical research, The Call determines what we really mean when we talk about Saudi money..
