SUSRIS
is reprinting an interview from this time last year on the
occasion of Parade
magazine's labeling of King Abdullah one of the worst
dictator's in the world. The annual portrait gallery struck
many as missing the mark in providing an objective picture of
developments in the Kingdom and, especially, the aggressive
reforms of the economy, social life and government led by King
Abdullah.
Among
those was Afshin Molavi, author and Fellow at Washington's New
America Foundation, who spoke with SUSRIS about his evaluation of
King Abdullah and his assessment of Parade's effort. Last
year Molavi praised David Wallechinsky, who writes the series for Parade,
for his work in addressing freedom and human rights around the
world but said the portrayal of Abdullah was not fair and Parade
did not give readers the complete story of Saudi
Arabia.
We
recommend reading the Molavi interview and the Wallechinsky
portrait in Parade, and reviewing the hundreds of SUSRIS
items that have chronicled King Abdullah's role in developments in
Saudi Arabia. Please feel free to share your thoughts on
this question. [email to: [email protected]
]
REPRINT
- February 19, 2007
Editor's Note
Every year about
this time Parade magazine, a widely circulated American
weekend newspaper tabloid insert, seeks to inform its readers
about the worst dictators in the
world. Those named, according
to David Wallechinsky writing for Parade, "exercise
arbitrary authority over their citizens" and "suppress the
freedoms of speech and religion and the right to a fair trial."
Some of these leaders, we are told, also "commit torture,
execute opponents and starve their own people." The annual
series has included King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia among its list
of the world's ten worst dictators.
After last year's "Top Ten" list was circulated by Parade,
SUSRIS provided a media note that sought to balance the record
for Americans interested in knowing more about King Abdullah. It
included comments from Thomas Lippman, an adjunct scholar at the
Washington-based Middle East Institute and a journalist who
specialized in Middle East affairs. He wrote "Inside the
Mirage," a comprehensive book on US-Saudi relations.
Speaking of Parade and Mr. Wallechinsky Mr. Lippman said,
""What planet do these people dwell on? You know, if [King]
Abdullah is the world's worst dictator then the world is in
better shape than it has been at any other point in my
lifetime."
He continued, "You don't want to get into invidious comparisons
but the fact is [King] Abdullah doesn't even fit the category of
dictator. He's not a dictator. He's a negotiator. That is what
he is. That's the only way he can run Saudi Arabia. I'd ask any
American who has been to Saudi Arabia, do you see armies of
regimented slaves starving and chained in the factories? I don't
think so.. ..the references that we always see of Saudi Arabia
as a quote absolute monarchy unquote, are just not correct.
That's just not the way Saudi Arabia operates. The metabolism
there is one in which individual Saudis take on other individual
Saudis in argumentation and discussion and questioning. And it's
one in which maybe what happens in the public arena is
constrained, but that doesn't mean it's an absolute dictatorship
like North Korea, for heaven's sake."
The SUSRIS media note also shared an assessment by Richard Haass,
President of the Council on Foreign Relations, who talked with
Barbara Walters after her interview with King Abdullah in
October 2005. "We couldn't do better right now than Abdullah,"
Haass said.
Given those assessments by objective specialists one might be
chagrined to see Parade again fall short in providing a
balanced assessment of king Abdullah's effect on the people of
Saudi Arabia. We are therefore fortunate today to share the
assessment of Afshin Molavi on King Abdullah and the portrait
provided by Parade and David Wallechinsky.
Mr. Molavi is a fellow at the New America
Foundation, a
Washington-based public policy institute. He focuses on economic
developments and democratization in the Middle East. Mr. Molavi
has reported for Reuters from the Gulf and has written a book on
Iran. His writings have appeared in The New York Times,
Foreign Affairs, The Financial Times, Smithsonian, National
Geographic, BusinessWeek, The New Republic, Foreign Policy, The
Christian Science Monitor, The Nation, the Journal of Commerce,
and The Wilson Quarterly, among other publications.
Mr. Molavi was interviewed by telephone on February 16, 2007.
The Holistic Picture of King
Abdullah
You Won't Find in Parade Magazine:
A Conversation with Afshin Molavi
SUSRIS:
Thank you for taking time to talk with us today about King
Abdullah and the recent Parade magazine portrayal of him. What
was your reaction to the story that labeled him as among the
world's worst dictators?
Mr. Afshin Molavi: Thank you for the chance to talk about
this important leader. The first point I would make is about the
title of the article itself, "The World's Worst Dictators." That
approach is a critique of individuals instead of systems. If we
were to put Saudi Arabia, as a system, to a test in terms of the
criteria laid out I think perhaps Saudi Arabia would not fare
well. However, if we put King Abdullah to the test he does
pretty well among world leaders.
King Abdullah is doing things for his country that dictators
don't do. A dictator wouldn't be the champion of economic,
social and political reform in his country. A dictator wouldn't
be sending 10,000 students to study in the United States and
another several thousand to study in Europe and Asia on
government scholarships. A dictator wouldn't create the King
Abdul-Aziz National Dialogue which is bringing together people
from all walks of life -- people from different ethnic groups --
bringing Sunni and Shia together and engaging in discussions
about the future of Saudi Arabia. These are just two of the many
things he has done since he came into office which are very much
reform minded.
Based on numerous trips to Saudi Arabia, twice in the past year,
I would say he is probably one of the most popular leaders among
one's own people. In normal everyday conversations, without
prompting, people would say that King Abdullah was different.
Perhaps they were comparing him to previous kings. But they
would say things like King Abdullah was looking out for their
best interests, he was looking out for the people of Saudi
Arabia. He cares, they would say. He's a man of the people.
Obviously it's difficult to be a man of the people and a king at
the same time. But if you look at the things that he is doing
you can understand these sentiments. Several times a month he is
opening a new university or a new factory or a new industrial
zone. This is a man who is significantly contributing to the
economic dignity of ordinary Saudi citizens.
That leads me to the second point I think should be made about
the characterization in the Parade article. The author of "The
World's Worst Dictators," Mr. Wallechinsky, looks at reports
from organizations like Freedom House and Human Rights Watch and
so forth. I believe in human rights and I believe in democracy.
They are very important. I also believe we need to consider how
a political leader cares for the economic future of the people
in order to make a proper judgment. At the end of the day for
most ordinary Saudis, ordinary Egyptians, ordinary Americans for
that matter, economic issues tend to be most important in their
lives.
When you travel in the region, when you talk to people, when you
look at polls such as those by Zogby, jobs and economic security
are at the very top of most people's priorities. When you have a
leader that is actively doing things to promote a significantly
better economic future for his people that is probably among the
most important things he can do for his country.
King Abdullah has shown that while he has been in office as
King, and as Crown Prince before that, he really does care about
the economic well-being of his people. He has an affection for
the poor that few leaders, much less dictators, would
necessarily have. He personally gives a great deal to charity.
His concern for those at the lower levels of the economic ladder
was shown recently when he was distressed about reversals in the
stock market. He was concerned that there were people who had
lost money who couldn't afford it so he is working to build
protections into the system.
King Abdullah has been very forward thinking in his rule. He has
been very active in rooting out corruption among the ruling
elite. He has been very active in fostering a climate of
openness in Saudi Arabia. Newspapers are publishing things, that
I was very surprised they were saying, that they wouldn't have
been able to publish a few years ago. So the climate King
Abdullah has brought to the Kingdom is one that is very
different than the climate of just a few years ago. In that
respect he seems to be improving the environment. Even critics
of al Saud rule point to Abdullah as a reformer.
The last point I would make is that King Abdullah has been very
robust in working to bring peace and stability to the region. In
the past month alone he has met with numerous leaders. He met
with officials from Hizbollah to resolve problems in Lebanon,
with officials from Hamas and Fatah to hammer out an historic
peace agreement among Palestinians. He met with top envoys from
Europe, top officials from Iran and with the President of
Russia. This is a man engaged in forward leaning diplomacy with
one broad goal in mind - peace and stability.
So, given all of these things it is very unfair, in my view, to
lump this man in with the world's worst dictators. If anything
he is improving an admittedly flawed system of government in
Saudi Arabia. If we are going to put the system on trial, fine,
let's put the system on trial but let's not put a man on trial
who is actually improving the system.
SUSRIS: In Wallechinsky's Parade article the focus in the
case of King Abdullah is almost completely on religious freedom.
He refers to human rights organizations and the US State
Department. You touched on the these issues but can you expand
on what is happening in this area?
Molavi: To be sure Saudi Arabia is a deeply religious
society. It is the birthplace of the Prophet. It is the home of
the holiest places in the Islamic world. When I was traveling in
Saudi Arabia I went to Qatif in the Eastern Province - the
largest center of Shia in the Kingdom. The Shia I visited told
me that there are still prominent Sheikhs in Saudi Arabia who
call the Shia population heretics and reject them. However, they
point to King Abdullah as someone who is cushioning them from
such blows. They point to King Abdullah as someone who has
opened up the system to them in ways that the previous kings had
not. They point to the National Dialogue, the very important
institution that King Abdullah created. They also say that the
King has created a new climate that has made the Shia of Saudi
Arabia feel more as part of the national narrative of Saudi
Arabia through the National Dialogue.
In some ways the great secret of Saudi Arabia is that the
rulers, the al-Saud, are often more progressive than the
population of Saudi Arabia, whereas in places like Iran the
opposite is true. The population is more progressive than its
rulers. In Saudi Arabia you have a leader, King Abdullah
bringing society forward step by step, rather than pushing
forward too fast which could lead to serious disruptions and
major social dislocations.
The Parade critique falls short in that it puts certain facts
into a template and does not look at the context, it does not
look at the history, it does not look at the progress that is
being made. Anyone who goes to Saudi Arabia today knows that it
is a place on the move. The place is changing. A lot of that
comes from civil society developments but a lot of that comes
from this climate of openness that King Abdullah has engendered
in the country.
SUSRIS: How should Americans evaluate King Abdullah if,
as you point out, the Parade magazine articles does little to
place him in the true context of what is really happening in
Saudi Arabia?
Molavi: You could say that the system is flawed but the
particular leader at the head of the system right now is someone
who is actively trying to change it. I don't want to minimize
human rights abuses that take place inside Saudi Arabia. I don't
want to minimize the lack of political freedoms. But you can't
pretend, either, that Saudi Arabia is a place like Swaziland,
where you have a leader, King Mswati who has been in power for
over 20 years. The population there has about a 40 percent AIDS
rate yet he absolutely ignores his people. This man who is
steeped in corruption was not on Parade's list of the 10 worst
dictators.
In Saudi Arabia you have a flawed system that has significant
issues that need to be raised and worked out -- human rights,
political freedoms, religious freedoms. But, again put it into
the proper context. I think the Saudis can move a little faster
but everyone agrees that King Abdullah is someone who is making
significant moves to reform the system. That needs to be told.
That's why I think it's unfair to characterize him in the way
Parade magazine has done.
One more point I'd like to make is that I think economic
opportunity is a human right. I think education and access to
education is a human right. I think that infrastructure is a
human right. People chuckle when you say infrastructure is a
human right. But if you're from the Nejd region of Saudi Arabia
you remember how difficult it was 40 or 50 years ago to get from
point A to point B because you had bad infrastructure.
There's no nostalgia for the previous era. You're happy that you
have better roads now. You're happy that you have medical care.
You're happy that your children can get an education. You're
happy that you have access to the world through the Internet.
Saudi Arabia has become very globalized. If you're an
entrepreneur in Saudi Arabia you appreciate these things. The
World Bank, in its annual report on "Doing Business" around the
world listed Saudi Arabia as having the best environment for
business in the Middle East. I think these things matter.
Entrepreneurship and the right to business ownership, and access
to credit, all these things in my view are human rights. As a
result I think we have to weigh these positive things along with
the negative things to make it a more holistic picture.
On the economic issues, on the access to education issues, on
the access to credit issues, the system and King Abdullah work
pretty well. On the political ones maybe it doesn't work so
well. Then again the attempts to reform the system are very
significant.
SUSRIS: Many people have heard about political reforms,
like developments in the Majlis Ash Shura, the Consultative
Council, and municipal elections last year. What else is
happening in the area of political reform?
Molavi: It's important to note that dictators don't
create a system that would take power away from their own hands.
By creating the Allegiance Institution, King Abdullah has
essentially taken power away from himself. The King will no
longer have the power to select the Crown Prince. This new
institution will have the power to choose the successor to Crown
Prince Sultan. A dictator might have reserved power to himself
to chose his son or some other relative to take on that role.
Many people I spoke with in the Kingdom said that was one of the
more important reforms of the modern Saudi state and it happened
only because King Abdullah is reforming the system.
SUSRIS: What would you tell Parade magazine and Mr.
Wallechinsky about their assessment of King Abdullah?
Molavi: I would tell them to look at Saudi Arabia in a
comprehensive way. If his work was called the world's most
flawed systems, then okay, Saudi Arabia could be on the list as
a flawed system. But if you are looking at individuals I think
you have a man, King Abdullah, on this list who is actively
reforming the system.
He is actively promoting modern education for young Saudis -
boys and girls; actively promoting economic development,
actively reaching out to the poor, actively reaching out to
minorities and disaffected groups in Saudi Arabia - especially
women and the Shia of Saudi Arabia; fostering the new climate of
openness in the Kingdom; fostering the National Dialogue which
has done enormous good about the discussion of the future. He
has taken significant steps to root out corruption in the
Kingdom.
So for all of those reasons I think that if you take him in the
context of a country that is on the path of modernization, then
this is a man who is a reformer within the system. He is not
someone who is deserves to be compared to Than Shwe of Myanmar,
or Mswati of Swaziland, or Qaddafi of Libya - they are driving
their countries into the past. King Abdullah is bringing his
country forward.
I would also tell Mr. Wallechinsky that I think economic dignity
is a human right, infrastructure is a human right, access to
education is a human right and access to credit is a human
right. I would also tell him that he should continue to keep up
his work, because the mission of protecting human rights,
protecting religious freedom, protecting people's political
rights is very important work. However, it is also important for
people to be told the complete story.
SUSRIS: Thank you for sharing your time to put the
portrait of King Abdullah in context and to add balance to the
assessment made by Parade magazine.
Molavi: You're very welcome.
On
SUSRIS
About King
Abdullah
About Afshin
Molavi
Afshin Molavi is the author of Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys
Across Iran, which was nominated for the Thomas Cook
literary travel book of the year. A former Dubai-based
correspondent for the Reuters news agency and a regular
contributor to The Washington Post from Iran, Mr. Molavi has
covered the Middle East and Washington for a wide range of
international publications. His articles have appeared in the
Financial Times, Businessweek, The New Republic, Foreign Policy,
The Christian Science Monitor, The Nation, the Journal of
Commerce, The Wilson Quarterly, among others. Born in Iran,
but raised and educated in the West, Mr. Molavi holds an M.A.
from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of
Advanced International Studies in Middle East History and
International Economics. He has also worked at the International
Finance Corporation, the private sector development arm of the
World Bank.
As a New America Fellow, Mr. Molavi will study the links between
economic development and democratization with a special emphasis
on the Middle East. He argues that the region's widespread
economic failure represents the largest obstacle to regional
democratization because it creates societies that have weak
middle classes that are overly dependent on the state or
susceptible to the utopian promises of undemocratic opposition
forces. At New America, he will examine U.S. efforts to promote
democracy in the Middle East and will also explore and interpret
regional trends in politics, culture, and economics. Mr. Molavi
is also interested in issues related to global economic
development, globalization and culture, and the economics of
immigration.
Source:
New America Foundation Web Site
On SUSRIS
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