What do you think?
Rate this book
Columbia Global Reports
The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project
Everyone talks about "Saudi money," but no one really knows what it is. Journalist Krithika Varagur, a longtime chronicler of religion and politics, tells the story of Saudi influence as it has never been told before, in a book reported across the breadth of the Muslim world, from Nigeria to Indonesia to Kosovo.
The Call connects the dots on Saudi Arabia's campaign to propagate its brand of ultraconservative Islam worldwide after it became oil-rich in the 20th century. Varagur visits diverse outposts of its influence, from a Saudi university in Jakarta to a beleaguered Shi'a movement in Nigeria. She finds that the campaign has had remarkably broad and sometimes uniform effects, from the intolerance of religious minorities to the rise of powerful Saudi-educated clerics. The kingdom has spent billions of dollars on its da'wa, or call to Islam, at many points with the direct support of the United States. But what have been the lasting effects of Saudi influence today? And what really happened to their campaign in the 21st century, after oil revenues slumped and after their activities became increasingly subject to international scrutiny? Drawing upon dozens of interviews, government records, and historical research, The Call lays out what we really talk about when we talk about Saudi money.
The Call connects the dots on Saudi Arabia's campaign to propagate its brand of ultraconservative Islam worldwide after it became oil-rich in the 20th century. Varagur visits diverse outposts of its influence, from a Saudi university in Jakarta to a beleaguered Shi'a movement in Nigeria. She finds that the campaign has had remarkably broad and sometimes uniform effects, from the intolerance of religious minorities to the rise of powerful Saudi-educated clerics. The kingdom has spent billions of dollars on its da'wa, or call to Islam, at many points with the direct support of the United States. But what have been the lasting effects of Saudi influence today? And what really happened to their campaign in the 21st century, after oil revenues slumped and after their activities became increasingly subject to international scrutiny? Drawing upon dozens of interviews, government records, and historical research, The Call lays out what we really talk about when we talk about Saudi money.
229 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2020
10 people are currently reading
940 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 12, 2022
This book elucidates how Saudi Arabia has spread its version of Islam over the years. It focuses on three countries where it has been successful - Indonesia, Nigeria, and Kosovo.
We are first presented with the Wahhabi/Salafism puritanical view of Islam that is expounded in Saudi Arabia. With the advent of petro-dollars after the Second World War this enabled the religious to proselytize across the world. The addiction (more so of the West) to Saudi oil gave means to spread “The Call” (dawa). Much like the various branches of Christianity, Saudi Arabia came to understand quickly what enabled this growth.
Page 44 (my book)
What did Saudi Arabia displace when it became a leader of the Muslim world, with Western support, in the 1980s? Arab nationalism, socialism, secularism, progressivism. Saudi Arabia bet on religion and political quietism instead of progressive Muslim organizing and thus reshuffled the religious landscape of the Muslim world. Saudi foreign policy helped sublimate the revolutionary anti-imperialist energies of the post-colonial world into religion… to project a pious empire around the world.
Various groups in Saudi Arabia, starting in the 1960s, were set-up to proselytize - the Muslim World League, World Assembly of Muslim Youth, Islamic University of Medina, and many others, notably charitable foundations. The Quran and other theological texts were translated into several languages and distributed free by the thousands in mosques and Islamic centres around the world. So obviously there was a strong linguistic department at the religious universities. Promising students were recruited, sent to Saudi Arabia with all expenses paid to train to become Imams’, and then return to their native country.
Because so many different groups are involved and interact results in mosques can be variegated – from innocuous to fundamentalist intolerance of other branches of Islam (notably Shia), a repressed and marginalized role for women (it should be noted that many mosques are sex-segregated) – to the recruitment of mujahideen (in the past Afghanistan, the Balkans, and most recently for ISIS in Syria and Iraq).
Saudi Arabia's brand of Islam succeeded over nationalist and to some extent communist ambitions in many Third World countries. But now its influence is starting to wane due to diminished oil revenues; and after 9/11, funding came under much closer scrutiny and some of it dried up. As the author shows us in the 3 countries under examination Islam has taken a self-sustaining hold in these countries regardless of Saudi Arabia’s diminished input. Indeed, extreme groups like Boka Haram in Nigeria have rejected the Islam of Saudi Arabia as corrupted. Other Muslim groups in Indonesia have also become self-propagating and have become more puritanical over the years. The long Afghanistan conflict has created a unity and purpose among the faithful. Many returning foreign fighters returned to their homeland radicalized. Some of the Bali bombers had fought in Afghanistan.
Page 29-30
Salafism offers a powerful sense of community all around the world – taking part is a religious revival…Salafism tells you how to behave and what to do. “I had a lot of questions. And Salafis had a lot of answers.”
This book gives us a view of Salafist Islam and how it has managed to spread itself across the globe by setting up charitable foundations with strings strongly attached to devotion to Islam. Money was dispensed to build mosques and it gave prestige to the faithful to become leaders in mosques. Due to the enormous wealth of Saudi Arabia religious donors became plentiful and harder to pin down as to what they were funding – as in terrorist groups. Names of these groups were changed frequently so as to camouflage their origins.
We are provided with many insights on Saudi Arabia and how it has spread its religious brand to many different countries. The three countries show the different adaptations of Islam and why it has flourished.
We are first presented with the Wahhabi/Salafism puritanical view of Islam that is expounded in Saudi Arabia. With the advent of petro-dollars after the Second World War this enabled the religious to proselytize across the world. The addiction (more so of the West) to Saudi oil gave means to spread “The Call” (dawa). Much like the various branches of Christianity, Saudi Arabia came to understand quickly what enabled this growth.
Page 44 (my book)
What did Saudi Arabia displace when it became a leader of the Muslim world, with Western support, in the 1980s? Arab nationalism, socialism, secularism, progressivism. Saudi Arabia bet on religion and political quietism instead of progressive Muslim organizing and thus reshuffled the religious landscape of the Muslim world. Saudi foreign policy helped sublimate the revolutionary anti-imperialist energies of the post-colonial world into religion… to project a pious empire around the world.
Various groups in Saudi Arabia, starting in the 1960s, were set-up to proselytize - the Muslim World League, World Assembly of Muslim Youth, Islamic University of Medina, and many others, notably charitable foundations. The Quran and other theological texts were translated into several languages and distributed free by the thousands in mosques and Islamic centres around the world. So obviously there was a strong linguistic department at the religious universities. Promising students were recruited, sent to Saudi Arabia with all expenses paid to train to become Imams’, and then return to their native country.
Because so many different groups are involved and interact results in mosques can be variegated – from innocuous to fundamentalist intolerance of other branches of Islam (notably Shia), a repressed and marginalized role for women (it should be noted that many mosques are sex-segregated) – to the recruitment of mujahideen (in the past Afghanistan, the Balkans, and most recently for ISIS in Syria and Iraq).
Saudi Arabia's brand of Islam succeeded over nationalist and to some extent communist ambitions in many Third World countries. But now its influence is starting to wane due to diminished oil revenues; and after 9/11, funding came under much closer scrutiny and some of it dried up. As the author shows us in the 3 countries under examination Islam has taken a self-sustaining hold in these countries regardless of Saudi Arabia’s diminished input. Indeed, extreme groups like Boka Haram in Nigeria have rejected the Islam of Saudi Arabia as corrupted. Other Muslim groups in Indonesia have also become self-propagating and have become more puritanical over the years. The long Afghanistan conflict has created a unity and purpose among the faithful. Many returning foreign fighters returned to their homeland radicalized. Some of the Bali bombers had fought in Afghanistan.
Page 29-30
Salafism offers a powerful sense of community all around the world – taking part is a religious revival…Salafism tells you how to behave and what to do. “I had a lot of questions. And Salafis had a lot of answers.”
This book gives us a view of Salafist Islam and how it has managed to spread itself across the globe by setting up charitable foundations with strings strongly attached to devotion to Islam. Money was dispensed to build mosques and it gave prestige to the faithful to become leaders in mosques. Due to the enormous wealth of Saudi Arabia religious donors became plentiful and harder to pin down as to what they were funding – as in terrorist groups. Names of these groups were changed frequently so as to camouflage their origins.
We are provided with many insights on Saudi Arabia and how it has spread its religious brand to many different countries. The three countries show the different adaptations of Islam and why it has flourished.
January 27, 2023
Chapters:
Chapter 1: The Call
Chapter 2: Oil Money in the Archipelago
Chapter 3: The Intolerance Factory
Chapter 4: Nigeria’s Salafi Ouroboros
Chapter 5: The Thousand-Day Protest
Chapter 6: Rebuilding Kosovo
Chapter 7: Rebel Imams
Chapter 8: Many Calls
My final opinion on the book
I like it. I usually review each chapter, but in this case the audiobook was only a few hours long with no clear chapters as such. She just travels around the world exploring how Saudi Arabia props up Muslim fanatics in Indonesia, Kososo, Nigeria and other countries. Often going against Iran's version of Islam. So there is a constant war. For example the current civil war in Syria created by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also makes sure Muslim countries become extremist. They try to do this in Kosovo and Indonesia. While African countries like Nigeria often have terror-cells developing from such funding. They go their own way inspired by the power created by Muslim organizations. Saudi Arabia used to directly sponsor terrorism by not checking for it. But they have always been a great friend of USA as they were both anti-communist like for example dividing the expenses for Afghanistan 50/50 to defeat USSR. So when USA uncovered their terrorist support, especially post 9/11, it was kept secret. We just know they supported terrorists somehow. And that they are trying to go away from it because of pressure from USA. Of course the private people in Saudi Arabia still often hate Israel and are pro terrorist organizations so you can't fully stop this economic flow.
I like her writing style and stories. And she's a very critical thinker. Basically a liberal who understands that Islam is not 100% good in all cases and that parts of it are extremely harmful and destructive. But she never gets irritated or mad. Rather she is describing events and happenings as she sees them. Of course she is an outsider so it's not like she understands anything about Kosovo or Saudi Arabia. She just describes what she sees and what she read about it. A local person would give us more details and more history and culture lessons. But in lower IQ communities it's hard to find top-tier writers. Also, in the West such writers earn 10 times more hence why they can take the time to write a book about such small stuff while some random journalist from Kosovo wouldn't really make any profit on a similar book. Unfortunately her way of telling the stories also makes this a book of names. A ton of Muslim scholars are presented. People she interviewed or describes. And their stories are used to write this book, but it's a mess of names at times.
I recommend it as a small story about how Islam is propped up in the world and how Saudi Arabia throw billions at imams and religious people all over the world if they are willing to teach often anti-Israel and very specific version of Islam. Saudi Arabia is focusing on a anti-communist, pro conservative version of Islam where men and women have seperate lives and you must be extremely religious to get grants. But once you do it's an unlimited amount of money unless you become too liberal and they cut you off.
Recommended book, but it's basically a podcast episode not a deep dive. Still, great writing and storytelling and it's stuff like this that is very fun and engaging to read.
Chapter 1: The Call
Chapter 2: Oil Money in the Archipelago
Chapter 3: The Intolerance Factory
Chapter 4: Nigeria’s Salafi Ouroboros
Chapter 5: The Thousand-Day Protest
Chapter 6: Rebuilding Kosovo
Chapter 7: Rebel Imams
Chapter 8: Many Calls
My final opinion on the book
I like it. I usually review each chapter, but in this case the audiobook was only a few hours long with no clear chapters as such. She just travels around the world exploring how Saudi Arabia props up Muslim fanatics in Indonesia, Kososo, Nigeria and other countries. Often going against Iran's version of Islam. So there is a constant war. For example the current civil war in Syria created by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also makes sure Muslim countries become extremist. They try to do this in Kosovo and Indonesia. While African countries like Nigeria often have terror-cells developing from such funding. They go their own way inspired by the power created by Muslim organizations. Saudi Arabia used to directly sponsor terrorism by not checking for it. But they have always been a great friend of USA as they were both anti-communist like for example dividing the expenses for Afghanistan 50/50 to defeat USSR. So when USA uncovered their terrorist support, especially post 9/11, it was kept secret. We just know they supported terrorists somehow. And that they are trying to go away from it because of pressure from USA. Of course the private people in Saudi Arabia still often hate Israel and are pro terrorist organizations so you can't fully stop this economic flow.
I like her writing style and stories. And she's a very critical thinker. Basically a liberal who understands that Islam is not 100% good in all cases and that parts of it are extremely harmful and destructive. But she never gets irritated or mad. Rather she is describing events and happenings as she sees them. Of course she is an outsider so it's not like she understands anything about Kosovo or Saudi Arabia. She just describes what she sees and what she read about it. A local person would give us more details and more history and culture lessons. But in lower IQ communities it's hard to find top-tier writers. Also, in the West such writers earn 10 times more hence why they can take the time to write a book about such small stuff while some random journalist from Kosovo wouldn't really make any profit on a similar book. Unfortunately her way of telling the stories also makes this a book of names. A ton of Muslim scholars are presented. People she interviewed or describes. And their stories are used to write this book, but it's a mess of names at times.
I recommend it as a small story about how Islam is propped up in the world and how Saudi Arabia throw billions at imams and religious people all over the world if they are willing to teach often anti-Israel and very specific version of Islam. Saudi Arabia is focusing on a anti-communist, pro conservative version of Islam where men and women have seperate lives and you must be extremely religious to get grants. But once you do it's an unlimited amount of money unless you become too liberal and they cut you off.
Recommended book, but it's basically a podcast episode not a deep dive. Still, great writing and storytelling and it's stuff like this that is very fun and engaging to read.
December 27, 2020
How Saudi monarchs and their henchmen used petrodollars to pump their poisonous ideas into the cultural bloodstreams, and ultimately into the politics of Indonesia, Nigeria and Kosovo is this book’s story. It is well-told, in journalistic prose of the kind seen in The New Yorker, with sharp, brief portraits of persons and scenes. The Saudi ‘Call’, proselytizing fundamentalist Sunni Islam, has been not only an end in itself, but also a strategy of religious warfare, chiefly against Shia Islam and its heartland Iran. However other geopolitics have also been at play, yielding paradoxes and outright contradictions. On the one hand, the Saudis and other sheikdoms have bankrolled Western pursuits. They have helped mount anti-communist crusades, destabilize pesky secular regimes in the middle east, keep vulnerable regimes ‘onside’, and of course the monarchies have bought massive amounts of weaponry and other goods and services. Meanwhile, well before 9/11, Saudi money was sowing upheaval and outright terror, even in the US homeland. Yet despite this ‘blowback’ and resulting ‘forever wars’, the US and its allies have tolerated and indeed indulged the Saudi ideological project and its self-sustaining spinoffs. At the same time the West's 'helping hand' appears in austerity policies that polarize societies. As a result, fundamentalism gains millions more adherents, primed for intolerance and hate in the name of a True Faith. The book has little to say about those paradoxes, but succeeds in its own terms. It merits wide attention.
February 18, 2021
Another amazing Columbia Global Reports entry, the Call takes a deeper look at the Saudi “dawah” network And how its soft power influence vis a vis Islamic proselytizing has enabled it to create a network and indeed, a generation of Islamic scholars of the Salafi - Wahabi madhabs to influence Islamic communities that have either never developed their own unique autonomous traditions, or those that don’t have strong independent instituons you safeguard their religious practices.
The case studies - Indonesia, Nigeria and Kosovo were all treated equally, presented with a history on the geopolitical climate of the nation and the rise of Islamic proselytizing through the decades especially at the advent of Prince Faisal expanding the dawah network.
While I wish that more case studies would have presented, I enjoyed the short primer on the Saudi network on Salafist/Wahabi outreach.
The case studies - Indonesia, Nigeria and Kosovo were all treated equally, presented with a history on the geopolitical climate of the nation and the rise of Islamic proselytizing through the decades especially at the advent of Prince Faisal expanding the dawah network.
While I wish that more case studies would have presented, I enjoyed the short primer on the Saudi network on Salafist/Wahabi outreach.
December 7, 2025
While this book is well-researched, it was not my favorite! I picked this one up to learn more about Saudi Arabia which is a country I haven’t studied much. I think it would have been more enjoyable if I already had a baseline knowledge of Saudi’s Arabia already.
June 14, 2020
‘Follow the money’ is not only the most famous phrase in investigative journalism, it is a time-tested approach to uncovering and understanding the facts behind complex issues in business and politics. During my brief journalism career, I took part in one investigation and while the subject wasn’t particularly complicated, I remember well how intensive and difficult it was to track down and verify details, and the way those facts often created new leads to pursue.
This lengthy intro is my way of saying just how impressive I found award-winning journalist Krithika Varagur’s The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project, a deeply reported examination of Saudi Arabia’s program to spread its ultra-conservative brand of Islam through charity, humanitarian aid, educational materials and scholarships, and construction projects. Her prose is clear and highly readable, and the information is presented cogently.
After a brief introduction to establish necessary background, the author examines the influence of Saudi money in the nations of Nigeria, Indonesia and Kosovo. These geographically separated regions — West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Balkans — not only demonstrate the scope of Saudi ambitions but also serve as a useful reminder that Islam isn’t a monolith: the faith in each region developed in distinct ways.
The author interviews various leaders in the political and religious communities of each nation, and examines the various ways Saudi money, directly and indirectly, affected the local evolution of Islam. Of particular note, to me, was how international scrutiny of Saudi operations after 9/11 and internal terrorist attacks resulted in a significant curtailment of money into their various external programs. Even so, in the three nations studied the seeds planted had matured to the point where local leaders and organizations were ready and able to carry on without the support from Saudi Arabia.
The Call is informative and timely, and there are plenty of reasons to study contemporary Saudi Arabia. The ongoing regional rivalry with Iran has the potential to develop into a direct conflict, for any number of reasons. Disturbing reports of the kingdom’s aggressive pursuit of nuclear technology, likely to maintain pace with Iran’s perceived ambitions. ISIS isn’t really gone. An ambitious, ruthless and relatively young crown prince consolidating power. Or, look to the future: what happens if the climate crisis forces a significant portion of the world to abandon fossil fuels?
Be sure to include The Call in your syllabus.
This lengthy intro is my way of saying just how impressive I found award-winning journalist Krithika Varagur’s The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project, a deeply reported examination of Saudi Arabia’s program to spread its ultra-conservative brand of Islam through charity, humanitarian aid, educational materials and scholarships, and construction projects. Her prose is clear and highly readable, and the information is presented cogently.
After a brief introduction to establish necessary background, the author examines the influence of Saudi money in the nations of Nigeria, Indonesia and Kosovo. These geographically separated regions — West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Balkans — not only demonstrate the scope of Saudi ambitions but also serve as a useful reminder that Islam isn’t a monolith: the faith in each region developed in distinct ways.
The author interviews various leaders in the political and religious communities of each nation, and examines the various ways Saudi money, directly and indirectly, affected the local evolution of Islam. Of particular note, to me, was how international scrutiny of Saudi operations after 9/11 and internal terrorist attacks resulted in a significant curtailment of money into their various external programs. Even so, in the three nations studied the seeds planted had matured to the point where local leaders and organizations were ready and able to carry on without the support from Saudi Arabia.
The Call is informative and timely, and there are plenty of reasons to study contemporary Saudi Arabia. The ongoing regional rivalry with Iran has the potential to develop into a direct conflict, for any number of reasons. Disturbing reports of the kingdom’s aggressive pursuit of nuclear technology, likely to maintain pace with Iran’s perceived ambitions. ISIS isn’t really gone. An ambitious, ruthless and relatively young crown prince consolidating power. Or, look to the future: what happens if the climate crisis forces a significant portion of the world to abandon fossil fuels?
Be sure to include The Call in your syllabus.
September 21, 2020
I’ll be honest, I don’t typically tend to read a lot of non-fiction and my knowledge of Saudi Arabia is basic at best. While I do try to stay as up to date as possible with world affairs, Middle Eastern politics is somewhat of a mystery to me; I know that it is an area I need to learn more about but am often a little confused as to where to begin.
If, like me, you want to learn more about Saudi Arabia and its influence across the globe then you are certainly in safe hands with Krithika Varagur. Clear, precise and detailed without being too presumptuous of the reader’s prior knowledge, Varagur expertly examines Saudia Arabia’s determination to spread its ultra-conservative brand of Islam, focusing in particular on a selection of countries where its campaign has been most successful. Whether it be through construction projects, humanitarian aid or the establishment of schools and universities, The Call provides a fascinating look into how Saudi money has been strategically invested over the years in order to propagate its own agenda.
It is evident that Varagur is an expert in her field; featuring interviews with various political and religious leaders accompanied with the author’s own insight, the book is a truly invaluable source of information and discussion into Saudi Arabia’s place within the modern world. Skilfully written in a way that will, I’m sure, be of value both those who already have prior knowledge of Saudia Arabia’s political history and, like me, those whose understanding is rather limited, it is an informative and enlightening deep-dive into extremism, counter-terrorism and the forces of power at play within the Middle East. I highly recommend!
If, like me, you want to learn more about Saudi Arabia and its influence across the globe then you are certainly in safe hands with Krithika Varagur. Clear, precise and detailed without being too presumptuous of the reader’s prior knowledge, Varagur expertly examines Saudia Arabia’s determination to spread its ultra-conservative brand of Islam, focusing in particular on a selection of countries where its campaign has been most successful. Whether it be through construction projects, humanitarian aid or the establishment of schools and universities, The Call provides a fascinating look into how Saudi money has been strategically invested over the years in order to propagate its own agenda.
It is evident that Varagur is an expert in her field; featuring interviews with various political and religious leaders accompanied with the author’s own insight, the book is a truly invaluable source of information and discussion into Saudi Arabia’s place within the modern world. Skilfully written in a way that will, I’m sure, be of value both those who already have prior knowledge of Saudia Arabia’s political history and, like me, those whose understanding is rather limited, it is an informative and enlightening deep-dive into extremism, counter-terrorism and the forces of power at play within the Middle East. I highly recommend!
September 27, 2020
Outstanding read!
I was reaching nearly a quarter of this book when it suddenly hit me to realize that this is what exactly happening in some non-Muslim counties around us even at this very moment. Saudi Arabia even now is planting the seeds of fundamental Islamic ideology in non-Muslim third world countries through various strategies, and these mechanisms indeed remain invisible until it reaches some point of establishment. That is when the works like this become truly important as it helps us to understand the complex system of “Saudi Dawa”, with well-researched facts.
“The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project” by Krithika Varagur was the first book I read on this topic, and I think this is one of the books that everyone should have their eyes on. It was a comprehensive and fact-filled book on how Saudi Arabia used its enormous wealth or the “oil money” to spread Islamic teaching through education, charity, and terrorism. I felt this would be an excellent guidebook for scholars as it reveals an important social phenomenon that has been happening from past to present with a clever evolution. I should also admire the commendable writing and reporting skills of the author for penning such a deep content clearly and understandably. Highly recommended read!
I was reaching nearly a quarter of this book when it suddenly hit me to realize that this is what exactly happening in some non-Muslim counties around us even at this very moment. Saudi Arabia even now is planting the seeds of fundamental Islamic ideology in non-Muslim third world countries through various strategies, and these mechanisms indeed remain invisible until it reaches some point of establishment. That is when the works like this become truly important as it helps us to understand the complex system of “Saudi Dawa”, with well-researched facts.
“The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project” by Krithika Varagur was the first book I read on this topic, and I think this is one of the books that everyone should have their eyes on. It was a comprehensive and fact-filled book on how Saudi Arabia used its enormous wealth or the “oil money” to spread Islamic teaching through education, charity, and terrorism. I felt this would be an excellent guidebook for scholars as it reveals an important social phenomenon that has been happening from past to present with a clever evolution. I should also admire the commendable writing and reporting skills of the author for penning such a deep content clearly and understandably. Highly recommended read!
September 20, 2020
This was my first time reading one of Krithika Varagur’s books and it couldn’t have been better. The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project is a great book about the Saudi influence and how it has turned the world.
This book was definitely interesting for me to learn more about the Saudi Arabia's campaign to propagate its brand of ultraconservative Islam worldwide. I know about the Islam, but very shallowly, so this was a great opportunity for me to educate myself.
We understand that Muslims, like all religions, try to convert other people into their beliefs. Sometimes this is done pacifically, but honestly in most of the times it is by violence which generates wars and innocent deaths. The Saudi propaganda has had a great influence in the Muslims daily life as some of them started to question their practices and if they should change into the Saudi beliefs.
If you are interested in the history, then this is the right book for you. Krithika provides us the history without being biased and she is an amazing writer and an award-winning Harvard journalist.
This book was definitely interesting for me to learn more about the Saudi Arabia's campaign to propagate its brand of ultraconservative Islam worldwide. I know about the Islam, but very shallowly, so this was a great opportunity for me to educate myself.
We understand that Muslims, like all religions, try to convert other people into their beliefs. Sometimes this is done pacifically, but honestly in most of the times it is by violence which generates wars and innocent deaths. The Saudi propaganda has had a great influence in the Muslims daily life as some of them started to question their practices and if they should change into the Saudi beliefs.
If you are interested in the history, then this is the right book for you. Krithika provides us the history without being biased and she is an amazing writer and an award-winning Harvard journalist.
June 1, 2020
The Call was an enlightening read on the history of Saudi influence on other countries.
While I was aware of the relationship between The US and Saudi Arabia previously, this work highlighted the way in which Saudi Arabia has built its own sphere of influence using money and Islamic fundamentalism.
Three locations are the focus of this book: Indonesia, Nigeria, and Kosovo. I did not have much knowledge about these locations prior to reading this book. The author skillfully described the cultures of these places and the manner in which the Saudis have gained influence through aid and the spread of Islam. Learning the intricacies of these locations was my favorite part of the book.
Disclosure: I was given a PDF of the book by the author
While I was aware of the relationship between The US and Saudi Arabia previously, this work highlighted the way in which Saudi Arabia has built its own sphere of influence using money and Islamic fundamentalism.
Three locations are the focus of this book: Indonesia, Nigeria, and Kosovo. I did not have much knowledge about these locations prior to reading this book. The author skillfully described the cultures of these places and the manner in which the Saudis have gained influence through aid and the spread of Islam. Learning the intricacies of these locations was my favorite part of the book.
Disclosure: I was given a PDF of the book by the author
November 18, 2020
A nice piece of investigative journalism on Saudi proselytisation - known as dawa, the call to Islam which promotes Salafism, fundamentalist Islam. This book made it more clear and confirmed what I've been hearing about and seeing here in the Balkans for the past 30 years. Very informative, detailed and easy to understand.
The author focused on 3 countries where Saudi dawa had had the most influence - Indonesia, Nigeria & Kosovo. She interviewed various leaders in the political and religious communities of each 3 nations, and examined the influence of Saudi money and how it affected the local evolution of Islam and what it entailed.
For anyone interested in politics.
The author focused on 3 countries where Saudi dawa had had the most influence - Indonesia, Nigeria & Kosovo. She interviewed various leaders in the political and religious communities of each 3 nations, and examined the influence of Saudi money and how it affected the local evolution of Islam and what it entailed.
For anyone interested in politics.
March 2, 2022
This book covered how the Saudi-based Wahhabi methodology, due to its extensive proselytization efforts with a lot of funding, had a significant impact around the world. That impact has also given rise to terrorist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram, whose ideology is rooted in that Wahhabi methodology, so the two-Wahhabi methodology and terrorism-cannot be separated. It also mentions how the Wahhabi/Salafi methodology is on the decline, as it should be, being that it is in opposition to sound, traditional Islam.
May 16, 2020
A deep-dive into recent Saudi economic and political history and the influence of the Salafi sect, a strict Sunni Muslim movement. For people who already know a bit about power struggles that tie to this region and who want to learn more about the nuances of relationships between groups, this is a good reference. It explains more about how we've collectively arrived at where we are today.
July 22, 2022
3.5 stars.
July 17, 2023
read this bc zain khalid cited it as an influence on brother alive
April 1, 2022
A thoroughly insightful journalistic account of how the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia has extensively promulgated its ultraconservative Salafi ideology to the far ends of the Muslim world including, but not limited to, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Kosovo.
Award-winning journalist Krithika Varagur lucidly illustrates the Sunni majoritarian ideological influence over the religious climate of once-secular or at least non-Islamist regions. The author goes on to highlight the nexus between the nexus between the petrodollar-fueled campaigns and events of geopolitical significance, including 9/11, the Bosnian War and the Syrian Civil War. Furthermore, the Sunni-Shia schism, which eventually evolved into the proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been explored with emphasis on the spheres of influence in the Middle East.
The extensive research that has gone into the making of this book is laudable. Only time will tell how the sociopolitical future of the desert kingdom would be under the leadership of its current heir-apparent, Crown Prince MbS.
Award-winning journalist Krithika Varagur lucidly illustrates the Sunni majoritarian ideological influence over the religious climate of once-secular or at least non-Islamist regions. The author goes on to highlight the nexus between the nexus between the petrodollar-fueled campaigns and events of geopolitical significance, including 9/11, the Bosnian War and the Syrian Civil War. Furthermore, the Sunni-Shia schism, which eventually evolved into the proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been explored with emphasis on the spheres of influence in the Middle East.
The extensive research that has gone into the making of this book is laudable. Only time will tell how the sociopolitical future of the desert kingdom would be under the leadership of its current heir-apparent, Crown Prince MbS.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews