In the world of politics, Saudi Arabia is seen as a defense against any kind of social or political reform. It is a secret weapon that conservatives and the so-called rightists use every time issues of foreign policy and social agendas rise into the spotlight.
Time and time again, I hear generalizations about the Middle East thaw use Saudi Arabia as the focal point. Whenever women in the western world protest for equality and equal pay, the opposition deflects by acting appalled that privileged women would even think of complaining about their status when Saudi women are not allowed to even drive—which as of last week is a new freedom granted to Saudi women. When politicians and activists try to make gains by reforming how Muslims and Muslim-Americans are perceived by the world, some conservatives are bound to proclaim that Muslims are only here to spread Sharia and turn America into the extremist Saudi Arabia.
Well, they have one thing right. Saudi Arabia is an extremist country, and as an extremist country, they do not represent the norm. In fact, the word extremist itself indicates a fanatical activity that is different from the standard. The actions and human rights violations perpetrated by the Saudi government do not speak for the rest of the Middle East and should be condemned in the modern era.
Yet, with the rise of terrorist organizations such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, a lot of political rhetoric has been focused on condemning all Muslim majority countries for the actions of Saudi Arabia. From the right comes a constant flow of accusations that target people and countries identified with Islam. The most common argument is that Saudi Arabia is trying to spread Sharia into the west.
To start off, Sharia in accordance to the Qur’an is a moral set of guidelines for Muslims to follow, and for each person, this experience is going to be articulated differently. The Sharia in Saudi Arabia is completely different from its Islamic origin. Only three countries in the Middle East operate by a political Sharia system: Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. The rest of the Middle Eastern countries function on different political systems and are not restricted by the religious codes in their everyday life. In fact, Turkey has had more female heads of state than the United States, and many Middle Eastern countries are constantly undergoing social reform. It is important to reiterate that while Saudi Arabia should be held responsible for the heinous crimes committed, using the country as an example for the rest of the region is an extreme generalization.
This issue stems from the inability of people to differentiate between culture and religion. The Middle East is a Muslim-majority region, and religion is inevitably intertwined with culture. There needs to be a greater awareness that culture does not always interpret the religion correctly. Saudi’s constraining culture is based on a certain interpretation of the Qur’an that does not apply to other countries.
The belief that Saudi Arabia is comparable to the entire Middle East is a stereotype that must be done away with. It allows discussions that target and demonize other Middle Eastern countries to enter political and social arenas. That is not to say that Saudi should be given a clean slate. Their atrocious violations need to be denounced by everyone, but it is not fair nor is it correct to perpetrate this degenerate stereotype in any conversation.