The Mecca siege inspires reforms—and fears
Of all the countries in the troubled Middle East, none is more important strategically to U.S. interests than Saudi Arabia, which now provides 16% of U.S. oil imports. To see how the ruling House of Baud is coping with the country's external and internal crises, TIME Correspondent William Drozdiak visited the desert kingdom last week. His report: s is our democracy," explained Saudi Arabia's royal chief of protocol, Ahmed Abdul Wahab, as he led his guests through the opulent marble palace in Riyadh to a thickly carpeted reception hall. Inside, about a hundred supplicants from various Bedouin tribes clustered beneath a huge crystal chandelier, awaiting their turn to approach Crown Prince Fahd. One by one they knelt before him, asking a special favor or voicing a complaint; the portly Prince nodded in sympathy, then told a member of his entourage what must be done. This ancient ritual, known as the majlis, enables even the lowliest Saudi citizen to express his desires or worries to the royal family. Supposedly it also keeps the royal family attuned to the faintest rumblings of discontent.
Three months ago, however, a well-armed band of zealous dissidents attacked the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, holiest of all Muslim shrines, and proclaimed one of their leaders the new Mahdi, or messiah. It took Saudi forces nearly two weeks to dislodge the invaders, and the audacious assault has jolted the royal family to its gilded foundations. "They were shocked and embarrassed, to say the least," says a Saudi with close ties to the ruling elite, "but it drew their attention to things they had neglected in the past."
The most influential princes of the royal family appear to have closed ranks, as they have done in previous crises. Ailing King Khalid, 67, has embarked on a series of pilgrimages throughout the country to solidify support for the royal family. Crown Prince Fahd, Deputy Prime Minister and heir presumptive to the throne, continues to handle day-to-day chores; most—although not all—observers in Riyadh believe his authority has increased as he seeks to carry out reforms to quell potential unrest. The next princes in line, National Guard Commander Abdullah and Defense Minister Sultan, seem to have buried their long-running feud in the interests of family unity.
Since the Sacred Mosque siege, the Saudis have reshuffled security and intelligence officials, replaced several top military officers and appointed a new governor for the Mecca district. Crown Prince Fahd has sought to emphasize the royal family's concern for the people by opening roads and schools with great fanfare. In response to growing popular resentment over corruption, he has taken steps to channel government money into showcase welfare projects, including a manpower training program to reduce the country's alarming dependence on foreign labor. To appease fundamentalist religious leaders, Fahd has tightened strictures that forbid women to work. To set an example to potential troublemakers, the regime beheaded 63 of the surviving terrorists of the Mecca siege.