Saudi Arabia: Between the Name of God and the Politics of Power (Part Two) Author: Gouya Roshan
Saudi Arabia: Between the Name of God and the Politics of Power (Part Two) Saudi Arabia presents itself as the Guardian of the Two Holy Mosques, and its national flag bears sacred words. But when a state identifies itself in the name of religion and the sacred, people naturally expect more from it than from an ordinary government. Such a state is judged not only by its economy, military strength, or foreign policy, but also by its moral principles and humanitarian conduct. My question is this: How can a government that places the name of God at the highest symbolic position allow its policies to contribute to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent people? The war in Yemen has been one of the greatest moral tests of Saudi Arabia's policies. Since 2015, the Saudi-led coalition's military intervention in Yemen—a poor and vulnerable country—has resulted in the deaths of thousands and has pushed millions into hunger, disease, and displacement. The children who died in...