[narrator] Saudi Arabia. An enormous, almost uninhabited country. Endless deserts. In the olden days, only the Bedouin
caravans traveled through here. Today, Saudi Arabia is one of the richest countries
on earth... and an important religious hub for the Muslim world. A place of pilgrimage like no other. More than two million people visit these holy sites
for their yearly pilgrimage. One family has been solely ruling
this country for 300 years with an iron fist. One pact, once made
between a religious zealot and a visionary Sheik, is still in force to this day. [oriental music playing] [narrator] The landscapes of Saudi Arabia
seem to be from another planet: A world burnt by the sun, approximately nine times the size
of the United Kingdom, but with vast uninhabited areas. Mountains, deserts and volcanoes: An inhospitable peninsula
with extreme conditions to live in. The biggest continuous sand desert
in the world, the Rub al Khali,
called the "Empty Quarter," extends over the South. The North is dominated by
the red sand dunes of another big desert: the Nefud al-Kabir and yet, the Arabian Peninsula
is an ancient cultural landscape. In a landscape where nature opposes life, some little paradises can be found. They owe their existence
to the few springs and wells. Wherever water accumulates,
life is blooming. Plants, animals and people have adapted to the harsh conditions
of their surroundings. For the desert dwellers,
the oases were green islands in an endless sea of sand and stones. For thousands of years, the Bedouins
have been traveling their ancient routes through the waterless wasteland
to get from one oasis to the next... a mobile life. Everything they own has to be portable. The population had not settled,
but they were Bedouins. Since they had always been wandering
from one location to the next, the generations
could not really build up on each other. Sometimes they had to start
all over again. That is why this area was
never a really advanced civilization like Iraq or Syria, for example. [narrator] And yet the North of the
Arabian Peninsula had been populated by ancient
advanced cultures for quite some time. Petroglyphs from the former inhabitants bear testimony to this: The oldest ones known to us
were carved into stone 7000 years ago. They reveal something unexpected: There were fertile regions
here in the past. [male voice] In prehistoric times,
there were numerous lakes in this area that vanished over time due to dry spells. Their shores were definitely inhabited. The population was
concentrated at these lakes mainly in prehistoric times
during the New Stone Age. That ultimately showed us that, back then, the desert was actually green. [narrator]
But then Arabia's climate changes. The previously fertile savanna
with its rich wildlife turns into an extreme desert. [narrator]
If people want to survive in this, they have to choose
even their pets wisely. Dromedaries, for instance: Their physiology is perfectly suited
for life in the desert. They are ideal
transport animals for nomads and merchants like the Nabataeans. They settle around 500 BCE in the North of the Arabian Peninsula and specialize in trading frankincense. Frankincense is made
from the resin of a tree that grows in the South
of the Arabian Peninsula. In the whole ancient world the fragrant resin is used as a precious offering, in religious cults, and for healing purposes. It is even supplied
all the way to Europe. The Nabataeans are controlling the trade
on the Arabian Peninsula, from today's Yemen all the way
to their settlements in the North. Their capital, Petra, in today's Jordan is an impressive illustration of the
wealth generated from trading. At the beginning of the Common Era, the city, with its monumental tombs
carved out of rock, has a population of 40,000 people. The southernmost outpost
of the Nabataean empire is Mada'in Saleh in the North-West
of today's Saudi Arabia, an important trading post in those days. It's over 100 monumental graves
that were carved into rocks more than 2000 years ago
are a testimony to that. It is striking, however, that there are barely any depictions
of people or Gods. The graves are simply adorned
by geometric stone reliefs. The religion of the Nabataeans
remains a mystery to this day. One of the characteristics
of this religion is that it is not just based on deities and depictions of deities as customary, but that it has also developed a cult that can be described as a stone cult. [narrator] According to ancient
traditions, the peoples of Arabia at the
time were also worshipping holy stones that they mostly left unaltered, along with unusual stone formations
found in nature. Religious influences from other cultures
reach the Arabian Peninsula through the merchant caravans
of the Nabataeans. The whole world of the Greek
and Roman Gods, as well as the one God
of the Jews and the Christians. These religions coexist by and large peacefully together. At that time, a trade hub
for the merchant caravans was located close to today's Mecca. For ages, the city has also been
a religious center for the Bedouin tribes of the region. Legend has it that a sanctuary
had existed in Mecca since the beginning of time. Long before Mecca
becomes the center of the Islamic world, it is already a pilgrimage destination, a place where
the Divine becomes palpable. But it is a simple building
in which the pilgrims offer their sacrifices and prayers. Already back then,
a veritable pilgrim industry developed around the shrine. [female voice] You have to imagine
that people made a pilgrimage to certain places or trees or stones or to the Kaaba cube because
they expected a benefit from it. I am going there. I am performing certain rites, maybe I am making an offering also, and in return I will be blessed
or maybe helped by a deity. [men speaking foreign language] [narrator] Inside the Kaaba, deities of very different cults
were worshipped. Weather Gods and fertility Gods of natural religions, the God of Jews and Christians, and early Christian Saints. One black stone had enjoyed special worship for ages it is said to be of divine origin. [Khorchide] Mecca was multi-religious, there were different religions
or worldviews, as one would say today, but it was not religion
that kept society together, but the loyalty to a certain tribe. There were different tribes, and each
had its own individual tribal rules. There was no universal
common law for everyone. The tribes also often went to war
against each other, as they were competing for supremacy
on the Arabian Peninsula. [narrator] In the seventh century BCE, a man emerged in Mecca
who succeeded to ultimately unite the enemy tribes of Saudi Arabia and who changed large parts
of the world forever. Mohammed! An angel had delivered
divine messages to him: this is the Muslim belief. Soon enough, the charismatic prophet
is attracting more and more listeners. His teachings are not unknown in Arabia. He preaches the one God who rules
the destiny of the world and mankind. The essential doctrine says
that there is one sole God who created mankind and everything else. This is where we see clear similarities
with the Jews and Christians. That one God is watching over them, expects obedience,
judges them at the end of time, and then either sends them into hell or into paradise, close to him. [narrator] Mohammed opposes
the polytheism in Mecca, which is not well received
by the local priests and merchants. After all, they live off the pilgrimages. A controversy arises. The Prophet and his followers
are expelled from Mecca. He flees to Medina. This is where he allegedly dictated the texts of his divine revelation
to his scribes. After his death,
they get arranged in order and put together in a book: the Quran. Mohammed becomes the founder
of a new religion. He is one of the most
influential figures in world history. But first, Mohammed returns to Mecca eight years later with armed soldiers. They are seizing the
city almost without a fight. He immediately starts to destroy
all idol imagery around and inside the Kaaba. The cult figures have to also disappear from private homes. The Prophet makes an offer
to all residents of Mecca to either follow him or leave the city within a short period of time. The Kaaba becomes the center
of his monotheistic beliefs. The black stone
is also spared by the Prophet. Legend has it
that he installed it himself into a corner of the Kaaba. That is where it still remains today. The Muslims call the Kaaba
"The House of God." The ritual circles begin and end
at the black stone. It is a mystery to this day
what the stone is made of. There are a lot of hypotheses about this. Is it an agate, as was speculated before? Is it maybe a meteorite,
or simply a piece of lava or basalt, or is it even made of glass? Its physical composition
is completely unexplained to this day. That is part of the mystery
that should be preserved, because it is sometimes beneficial
if things stay mysterious, like the idea behind the nature of things. [narrator] The faith taught
by Mohammed is a unifying power, but his religious movement
develops into a political dynamic that changes the world. The successors of the Prophet
first conquer the Arabian Peninsula and then the adjacent regions
of the world. Never before has a religious movement
been expanding so quickly and with such lasting effects. [male voice] One of the characteristics of
the Islam which made it so very successful is actually its flexibility. You don't have to do a
lot to become a Muslim. You don't have to prove you have
a lot of theological knowledge to belong to the community of Muslims and, in principle, anybody can join. That is ultimately
the success story of Islam, which is similar, by the way,
to the Roman Catholic Christianity, which can be so well applied
to the local cultural circumstances in all parts of the world. [narrator] The pilgrimage to Mecca
is one of the five pillars of Islam. Every Muslim is required
to make this pilgrimage at least once during their lifetime. In earlier times, some pilgrim caravans
took many months for this journey. The importance of Mecca
as the Muslim spiritual center also manifests in
all the Faithful around the world bowing in prayer towards
the Kaaba and the holy city. The former caravan hub has turned
into a massive pilgrimage center, today, with an infrastructure
equipped to accommodate more than two million people
at the same time. If one observes Hajj,
undertakes the pilgrimage to Mecca, and asks Allah for forgiveness
of one's sins, one can be sure
that God answers one's prayers. That is the belief of many... [sings Islamic prayer] ...and also that praying here entails
a 100,000 times bigger reward than a prayer in any other mosque. During Hajj, the Faithful
circle the Kaaba several times. This ritual is inspired
by the story of Father Abraham. [Khorchide]
The pilgrimage is a reconstruction of the narrative of Abraham. Abraham, who had constructed
the Kaaba in the first place, who had turned seven times
around the Kaaba. Allegedly his footprint
is still visible today, beside the Kaaba,
in a small separate building. It is about the symbolism
and the symbolic power. They make it possible
to reconstruct an experience. [narrator]
The Quran adopted Father Abraham from the Judeo-Christian tradition, but different from what is passed on
in these traditions, the Quran says that Abraham
is moving to the desert with his wife Hagar
and their son Ishmael. God is supposed to have
revealed himself to Abraham at the exact location of today's Mecca, because this is supposedly
where the first human, Adam, built a house of prayer. God is said to have told Abraham
to leave Hagar and Ishmael here. [Krämer] This tale of Abraham
shows miraculously how Mohammed connects to biblical stories, but tells them differently, presenting Abraham
as the founding figure of Islam. Add to this his wife Hagar,
who, in this dramatic scene, is concerned about her young child, and who then receives divine help. So, linked interestingly, done
differently, and individually used. [narrator] When Hagar
and her son almost die of thirst, the desperate mother
is looking for water. According to the legend,
she is running back and forth seven times between two hills in search of water. Then God comes to her rescue. At the exact location
where she has left her child, a spring is starting. [narrator] Legend has it
that this is the well Zamzam, which is frequented
by the Faithful in the courtyard of the Grand Mosque in Mecca
to this day. The hills Safa and Marwa, between which Hagar
allegedly paced back and forth, are situated underneath
the big group of buildings today. In memory of Hagar's quest for water, the pilgrims walk the distance
in between the hills seven times. [Khorchide] When I am walking
back and forth between two hills, it is up to each individual to put
this into a different context. Where am I now,
what am I looking for in life? What is important? What is necessary today to survive
in a spiritual sense? That is where spirituality comes in again. I am moving back and forth
searching for myself and the whole pilgrimage
is a journey towards your own self. [narrator]
On the evening of the first day of Hajj, the pilgrims are leaving the city. Draped in white clothes, as is the rule, they move on foot into Mina, one valley East of Mecca,
around five kilometers away. Here they spend
the night in a gigantic tent city that can accommodate
up to three million people. The next morning,
the pilgrims move on to a hill in the Plain of Arafat, 20 kilometers East of Mecca. In the Islamic tradition,
this Hajj ritual is perceived as "standing before God". The pilgrims recite the Quran, give blessings about the Prophet, and offer prayers of petition. [Khorchide] Popular belief has it
that pilgrimage redeems all sins and that is why many postpone
their pilgrimage into old age. People tell themselves:
I am living in the here and now, I do not want to miss out
on alcohol, or certain business practices, or I do not have time to pray right now, life is too hectic, but later, later I will go to Mecca
and start a whole new life. [narrator] Shortly before dawn
of the third day, the pilgrims return towards Mecca. The four to six days of Hajj,
taking place only once a year, mean one of the biggest
mass gatherings around the globe. This is why it is a source of income
for the merchants in the desert country
that never dries up. To ensure the safety of the pilgrims, elaborate logistics are necessary. That is because the pilgrims' paths
have bottlenecks, like the Jamarat bridge. Here the Faithful
are performing the ritual of symbolically stoning the devil by throwing seven small stones
onto columns. Only afterwards,
the pilgrims return to Mecca. By obliging the Faithful to pilgrimage, Mohammed created an effective mechanism. It visualizes the Muslim
worldwide community. Nowadays,
typically over one million pilgrims gather for the concluding prayer
in the Great Mosque. The pilgrimage concludes with
another walk around the Kaaba. It is covered with the Kiswah,
a black cloth of raw silk, embroidered with Quran
verses made of gold and silver threads. Very privileged pilgrims
receive a piece of the Kiswah, which is replaced every year. No less than 400 kilograms of gold
and silver are woven into the covering. Today, it is manufactured in Mecca, but up until 100 years ago,
the covering was made in Cairo. Every year, a festive procession moved from Cairo to Mecca with the new Kiswah, but, in 1926, a dispute between
Egypt and Saudi Arabia arises. The centuries-old privilege to deliver the magnificent
silk covering for the Kaaba is lost for the Egyptians. The argument began when the Kiswah
was transferred from Egypt to Mecca in the usual procession
on a certain frame called Machmal. Many followers of Ibn Saud were furious that horns were blown on that occasion. They considered that music,
and music was banned and, on top of that, they claimed
that this Machmal with the Kiswah was being worshipped by the Egyptians, making it somewhat of an idol. [Islamic religious chanting] [narrator] Islam as practiced
in Saudi Arabia was stricter than elsewhere in the world
already back at that time. This Islamic movement
is tied to a name: Mohammad Ibn Abd el Wahab. He grows up on the Arabian Peninsula at the beginning of the 18th century and soon makes a name for himself through his pursuit of scholarliness. [male voice] Ibn Abd el Wahab
was an exceptional person from an early age on, and that has mostly to do
with his family background. His father and his grandfather
were already among the most famous
religious scholars in Central Arabia, and in Central Arabia,
religious authority was passed on from one generation to another, actually to this day. [boy recites Islamic prayer] [narrator] It is presumed that
the young boy had already memorized the Quran at the age of ten. At the age of 11,
he goes on his first pilgrimage to Mecca and starts preaching. His main interest is the Hadith, stories about the life,
words and acts of the Prophet, directing faithful Muslims in all aspects of life. Abd el Wahab develops
his radical Islamic teachings as a reaction to crisis. [Steinberg]
Central Arabia during the 18th century is an immensely poor region troubled by a number
of very catastrophic crises: draught periods, plagues of locusts. Many residents
had to leave Central Arabia. It appears Ibn Abd el Wahab
was looking for a solution. He was asking himself: What is the reason for God punishing us? And his answer was,
at least, after his return from Medina, that a return to the true Islam
of the faithful forefathers of the 7th century
would be the appropriate answer. [sings Islamic prayer] [narrator] Abd el Wahab's
interpretation of Islam, the submission to God's will, is a radical devotion to
the foundation of the religion, to the Quran and other sources considered genuine. Everything else is rejected. [Krämer] The essence of the teachings of Mohammad Ibn Abd el Wahab is to say: There is one very clear Islamic doctrine that was watered down by Muslims. And this clear doctrine means
there is just one God, one sole God, and no one else. And that man is not allowed to do anything that Prophet Mohammed
did not do during his time. That includes, for instance, the banning
of music and tobacco and other things, that means a very strict doctrine. [narrator] Whoever doesn't follow
Abd el Wahab's strict rules, renounces one's faith, according to him. For the residents of his village,
however, this goes too far. They force him into exile. Abd el Wahab's place of birth is located in a central region of Saudi Arabia: Nadschd. The Jabal Tuweig sprawls
over almost 100 kilometers here: a steep slope out of limestone. During the rainy season,
the valleys at the foot collect water, making traditional
irrigated farming possible. Lush vegetation can form
where fertile marsh is sprawling. One of these oases is Deeryiah, the home of the clan of the Al Saud. This is where Abd el Wahab finds refuge, after repeatedly
running into trouble elsewhere because of his radical teachings. The leader of this clan,
Mohammad Ibn Saud, becomes his best ally. Their encounter should change the world. These two men seemingly
liked each other from the start. Both were determined,
both were inspired missionaries, but both were also underdogs of sorts. Because of external conspiracies
of dark powers, they had not yet been able
to develop their full potential, and then these two forces
form an alliance, one grants the other asylum, and the other provides him
with authority in return. I think these two figures
were both very charismatic and they saw an extremely useful
alliance in each other. [narrator] Mohammad Ibn Saud
realizes clearly that he could utilize
the teachings of Abd el Wahab for his own ambitions. Because the traditional Islamic point of
view sees the world divided up into the "House of Peace" ruled by Islam, and the "House of War," which is the world of the Infidels. If all who do not follow the teachings
of Abd el Wahab have been renouncing their faith, he is able to relentlessly take action,
even against Muslim enemies: That is his clever conclusion. The radical monotheistic teachings
of Ibn Abd el Wahab certainly had political effects. He is of the opinion that only someone
who strictly adheres to his rules, thus the rules of God,
can be a true Muslim. And this interpretation
means that the residents of important neighboring territories, but definitely the Ottomans
and the Egyptians, are all looked upon as Infidels. And needless to say
that these Infidels need to be fought in a Holy War called Jihad. This constitutes the enormous explosive
power of a very religious teaching. [narrator] In 1744, Abd el Wahab
and Ibn Saud make a pact: Saud agrees to enforce
the Wahabite teachings in his territory and, in return, the preacher grants him
the authority to fight his enemies. [Khorchide]
It was a mutual instrumentalization, and, as a result, both established
a position of power, unfortunately at the expense
of an enlightened Islam, at the expense
of a spiritually ethical Islam. [narrator]
The aspiring Saud is determined to use the explosive power of Abd el Wahab's
fundamentalist teachings for his own lofty plans. Up until now, he is just another small tribal chief
among many others. That is about to change. Because Wahabism declares other tribes
and their leaders to be Infidels, he is justified in the name of God
to mobilize against them and to subject them to his rule. This is how Mohammad Ibn Saud's
conquering expeditions become a holy mission for his fighters, and they are willing to die for them. These are not simply mercenaries
who were rounded up, but they underwent a formal
Wahabite education. They had the Wahabite teachings
forced down their throats, and that was unusual at time. Previously,
regions were conquered by looting and by simply looking for
mercenaries and allies. That's what Ibn Saud did, too, but what is added here
is the fact that the soldiers, the fighters who called themselves
Al Ichwan, meaning brothers, had really been ideologically
indoctrinated and sent out with the teachings of Wahabism. [narrator] With the help of religion, Mohammad Ibn Saud accomplishes what no other clan leader
before him had ever achieved: to unite Central Arabia under one rule. After 1745,
he conquers region after region through faith and sword
and enables Abd el Wahab to promote his teachings,
in compliance with their pact. Finally, his successors close in
on Mecca and Medina. While reaching for the Kaaba
in the heart of Mecca, the Al Saud are making a bid
for the leadership of the Islamic World. They are willing push through
with the sword. A Muslim daring to attack
the holiest sites of Islam, and even in the name of the prophet, that had happened only once before. However, two years earlier, the Wahabites had vandalized mosques and Shiitic shrines in what is now Iraq. They had killed thousands
of people in the process. They still do not show any mercy
this time around. Any resistance
is mercilessly extinguished. In Medina, the crowds of Ibn Saud destroy early Islamic tombs of men worshipped as Saints because
they consider this blasphemy. Only the grave of the
Prophet himself gets spared. From now on, only their rules apply. The destruction of these tombs and the
enforcement of the Wahabite rules during the pilgrimage lead
to a big discord in the Muslim world. Certainly not to the extent
of the discord in the 20th century, but it is by all means a moment
that turns the Wahabites into a global political factor. [narrator] Today only
a few monuments in Medina are still reminiscent of
the time before the Wahabites. The best known is the Prophet's Mosque
with its green dome on top of the grave of Mohammed. The original construction
was enlarged again and again. Today it ranks among the biggest
sacral buildings in the world. Yet still radical Wahabites today demand to transfer
Mohammed's mortal remains to a secret location. They are even critical
of the honoring of the Prophet and the sumptuous gravesite
could tempt people to do so. At the beginning of the 20th century, the mosques of Mecca and Medina were still relatively modest buildings. Nowadays,
they have mind-blowing dimensions and impress with modern technology, like fully-automated sun shades
made in Germany. Each of them shades several
hundred square meters. The Saudi Royal Family
spent 5.3 billion euro on the construction in recent years. In 1950,
Medina had only 51,000 residents. Today, 1.3 million people live here. The number of pilgrims grew similarly. To make room for them,
more than 100 houses in the immediate proximity
of the Prophet's Mosque had to yield. Today, the grounds are expected to hold up to 1.6 million people
at the same time. The Wahabites cannot imagine
a life agreeable to God to be compatible
with many pleasures. Smoking, music, singing, extravagant clothing and jewelry are among such pleasures, and, especially, dancing. All these things are being banned
after the Wahabites took over the holy sites at the beginning
of the 19th century. Those who do not obey the rigid laws are at risk of lashing,
mutilation, or execution. The acquisition of
the spiritual center of the Islamic world by a radical movement
is a provocation for many Muslims. Especially for
the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople, today's Istanbul. Like his predecessors, he is the ruler
of large parts of the Arab world and, nominally, the Calif, the successor of the Prophet,
and the leader of the Sunnite Muslims. [chanting in foreign language] [narrator] He deploys troops to Arabia. The leading power in the Arab world by its own estimation at the time was the Ottoman Empire. Having these holy sites
so disdainfully taken by a sectarian movement that was fairly unknown at the time was a provocation that the Ottomans
could not let go unpunished. [narrator] The Al Saud
and their Wahabite army get defeated. The leader, Abdallah Al Saud, is awaiting his execution
on December 17th, 1818 in Istanbul. The reasons for the death sentence are: "Corruption on Earth," "Division of Muslims," and "Rebellion Against the Calif." Three generations after the pact between the Al Saud family and the Wahabites, the triumph of the religious zealots
seems to have stopped. [loud blow] [narrator] The Al Saud Empire
disintegrates into tribal regions again. Many relatives of the family
get executed or move into exile, but Mohammad Ibn Abd el Wahab's seeds are sprouting and growing further. The Al Saud
will also continue to make history. Because it was not just a tribal movement with a ruler as the leader
who can be eliminated and then all goes up in smoke, but rather because it was a religious
and political movement. It is not hard to imagine that something
was consolidated there again in disputes with other local rulers
on the Arabian Peninsula, which explains why it isn't a miracle that the Saudis are gathering once again. [narrator] Their biggest enemy,
the Ottoman Empire, is on a decline at the end
of the 19th century. The former world power has shrunk
to a fraction of its former size. Europe is talking about
the sick man on the Bosporus. Sultan Abdulhamid II
is planning an ambitious project to reinforce his ruling authority
for all Muslims. A railway line is supposed to link
Damascus with the holy sites. The railway line is following
an old pilgrim route for more than 1300 kilometers, much to the dismay
of the Bedouins who live there. [Gerlach] The tribes had been able
to benefit extensively from the caravan trading
and the pilgrimages. The pilgrim caravans
were like today's tourists, they left money along the way. They went into restaurants,
they stayed overnight and they paid a pathway tax. At the very moment
the Ottomans built this railway line, the Bedouins are literally
standing next to it and see that the train
has left the station. [narrator] In 1914, the First World War erupts in Europe. The Sultan joins forces
with the German Empire under William II, a decision with serious consequences. For some Arab tribes,
this war is an opportunity to free themselves from
the dominance of the Ottomans. They support the British and start
a rebellion against the Turkish regime. Lawrence of Arabia’s life memoirs are
a literary monument of this rebellion. His autobiography
makes the acts of sabotage and the raids of
the rebellious Arabs world-famous, but their dream of independence
will not come true. The British probably did not
expect at all that this Arab rebellion, brought into being by the sheriff of Mecca together with Lawrence of Arabia
and various other stakeholders, would be successful at all. They were quite surprised themselves
about the good progress and the demands and expectations
associated with this. So the British did
what they have always done. They washed their hands of it and said: Sorry friends, there must have been
a misunderstanding, we did not mean it this way. [narrator] In the years following
the First World War, new borders are established
in the Middle East. The future Syria and the Lebanon
are controlled by France, the future Iraq and Palestine
are controlled by the British. Today's Israel, Jordan and
the Autonomous Palestinian Territories all stem from
the mandated territory Palestine. Many Arabs perceive this division
as a betrayal of the Muslim world. Another opportunity for another Al Saud. Abd el Aziz Ibn Saud, a descendant
of the founder of the first Saudi state, comes on stage like a thunderbolt: [Gerlach] Abd el Aziz shows his character basically with his very first
big appearance in world history. He travels to Riyadh on horseback,
allegedly with 40 followers, and kills the local
Ottoman governor by his own hand. That is obviously
quite an entrance into world history, but the main characteristics
of this figure were not only his extreme
determination and his brutality, but also his dealings
with international politics. [narrator] Abd el Aziz realizes
the power void in his homeland. With his army of Wahabite warriors, he is able to conquer
the Arabian Peninsula again. In 1924, Mecca and Medina
fall into his hands. In 1932, he proclaims himself king. From then on, his empire
bears the name of his family: the Arabia of the al Saud, Saudi Arabia. The national flag is a religious creed
at the same time: Green is the color of the Prophet. On green it is written: "There is no other God than God
and Mohammed is His Messenger." Close to the oasis Diriyah, where the pact between Ibn Saud
and Abel Wahab has been made, a new capital is emerging: Riyadh. Today, it is a metropolis with
about seven million residents. It was a simple stroke of luck
that facilitated the leap from medieval times to the modern age: In 1938, crude oil was struck, which is the fuel
of the industrialized Western nations. Through their massive oil fields,
the Al Saud are becoming a power house in global politics. In 1945, King Abdel Aziz meets the most
powerful man in the Western world: the American President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The cultural backgrounds of both men
could not have been more different, but joint interests connect
both nations to this day. [Gerlach]
The Saudi oil did play an important role in establishing America as a global power, but Saudi Arabia also has another role. Saudi Arabia was one of
a few countries to be certain: this Wahabite monarchy is not going
to become a communist country, and if other countries in the region
do become communist, then the Saudi Arabians
will do anything in their power to make sure that this
will not spill over to their country. [narrator]
But not only godless communism, but also capitalism
and its temptation to consume holds dangers that need to be faced: While King Abd el Aziz
owns the most recent luxury cars, his sons are supposed to be aware
of their origins in the desert. All his sons have to spend some of
their earlier years with the Bedouins and swap the palace's luxury
with the Spartan life in a Bedouin tent. The simple Bedouin way of life,
culture and mentality fit in with the strict teachings
of Wahabism. The princes have to get used
to walking barefoot and riding horses and camels. This is an adventure holiday
with an educational component, because this is also about toughening
up and preparing for succession. In order to preserve the family's power, the King appoints his successor alone, thus breaking the tradition
of the tribal elders having a say. The honorary title
"Servant of the Two Noble Sanctuaries" is more important to him
and his successors than the title of King, because that
is the true foundation of their power. The price of oil explodes
in the seventies. The Saudis use oil as
a bargaining chip for their politics. They are modernizing their nation
with the aid of the petrodollar and are getting
closer to the Western World. That causes criticism
in their own country. The ruling family is accused
of moving too far from the puritan principles of Wahabism. On November 20th, 1979, the discontent of the religious zealots
erupts in a dramatic riot in Mecca. The military has to intervene because around 500 heavily armed rebels have occupied the Grand Mosque and taken the Faithful
gathered inside hostage. They are demanding a split
from the Western world and deny Al Saud any authority. The assassins
and their leader are defeated only with the help
of a French special unit. They are executed, but they did accomplish something. The ruling family knows now that there
is a problem with its power base and they react to that. They react to that with a conservative
Wahabite turnaround of sorts. As of 1979, they give free rein
to the Wahabite religious teachers throughout all levels
of the Saudi Arabian society. [narrator] New Islamic universities
get established throughout the country. A young generation of Wahabite
fundamentalists gets shaped here. They are supposed
to promote their teachings. In fact,
this ultra-strict Islamic doctrine is now being exported
around the globe out of Saudi Arabia. It is ironic: Wahabism, opposed to all pomp and luxury, made the Al Saud family immensely rich. They did not only enable
the family to expand the holy sites to a size and splendor never seen before, but to also globally promote
their own very puritan version of Islam. [Steinberg]
The Saudis changed Islam mostly by giving tremendous significance
to a reform movement that had originated on the periphery
of the Islamic world. I would say that Wahabism today
has indeed gained a global political importance. That is only imaginable because,
in the 20th century, the State of Saudi Arabia
with all its money, strength, and newly-won importance, ensured that the Wahabite teachings
will make it over into the 21st century. [narrator] Riyadh's appearance
as a 21st century city arrived a while ago. Even strict Wahabism
was not able to prevent the spread of modern temples of consumerism, but the goods of the Western world
bring Western ideas with them. Calls for democratization,
for political voices to be heard, and for more women's rights
are growing progressively louder. The future of Saudi Arabia
will also depend on how much its citizens will be able to identify with their nation, for many are still financially
at the mercy of the immensely rich ruling family. [Khorchide]
It is still uncertain if Saudi Arabia will be able to implement change, not just superimposed from the top, but also a certain democratization
of society and politics. Without democratization
this will all stay on shaky ground, because a reform from the top can be
turned around again from the top tomorrow. This is why I am hoping
that democratic processes will slowly be established
in Saudi Arabia in the near future. [narrator] The fast and sometimes
radical changes of modern times have left their marks on Saudi Arabia. Oil, the source of wealth
for the Al Saud, is limited. The nation is in need of
an independent economic alternative. The absolute monarchy
of the Al Saud is under high scrutiny. Mecca will likely never
lose its spiritual appeal but Saudi Arabia offers
many other treasures that the world is just
starting to learn about.
