Sufia Khalid states that “the worst things about Western society are its social aspects: substance abuse, divorce rates, unwanted pregnancies, and so on” (“Saudi Arabia: A world away — but not that far,” Feb. 28, p.7). What she fails to point out are the many positive social aspects of Western society: freedom of religion, speech, assembly and expression. She also states that “the [Islamic] culture encourages…respect for others.” Contrary to this rosy picture painted by Sufia, Saudi Arabia is a fragile monarchy where none of these fundamental Western rights sees the light of day, and all religions other than Islam are institutionally persecuted.

Sufia is right that Saudi Arabia is modernizing — but only superficially. The kingdom still adheres to Wahhabism, an anti-modern, sectarian version of Islam. And it is not as if Saudi Arabia has a booming, technologically advanced and diversified economy. It is oil revenues and oil revenues alone that sustain the Saudi monarchy, and that allow it to modernize its repressive security services and build shopping malls, Starbucks and Longhorn’s. This vast oil wealth has also gone towards financing radical Sunni Islamic groups around the world, as well as grandiose mosques, whose Wahhabist imams indoctrinate their congregants with a virulent anti-Western and anti-Semitic ideology. Western society certainly has its flaws, including an excessive liberalism that places too few limits on human beings, who are inherently fallible creatures. But compared to Saudi Arabia, the West is light years more modern. For even as we speak, the influential clerical establishment in Saudi Arabia is trying to drag the entire Muslim world 1,400 years into the past.

Alex Steinberg CAS ’07