Unholy Kingdom

THE FAULT LINES OF THE MIDDLE EAST CONVERGE IN SAUDI ARABIA

Ruthven's unblushing polemic treats Jamal Khashoggi's gruesome murder in Istanbul and its cover-up as representative of the Saudi kingdom's recent policies rather than, as their defenders claim, a regrettable aberration

Ruthven is the leading British authority on modern Islam. His books are essential for understanding what is going on in the Middle East today

One of today's most perceptive observers and historians of religion

One of our most consistently sophisticated and stimulating writers on contemporary religion in
general and Islam in particular. In a crowded field Ruthven remains way ahead of the pack.

A shocking exposé of ruthlessness and folly. Ruthven gives a timely study of Saudi Arabia in its historical context and biting insight into its politics in an unravelling Middle East.

An eye-popping and unsettling read ... meticulous

Informed and insightful ... Ruthven has won a deserved reputation as one of the most informed and acute writers on the Islamic world, eschewing angry pontification or clever instant commentary. This book ... deserves to be read by anyone seriously interested in Saudi Arabia and its growing influence in the world ... excellent

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Malise Ruthven worked as an editor with the BBC Arabic Service and World Service in London before teaching Islamic studies and comparative religion at universities on both sides of the Atlantic. He is the author of several books on Islamic affairs as well as fundamentalism and religion in America. In 2004, London's Prospect Magazine ranked Ruthven among the 100 top public intellectuals in the UK. His blog on the New York Review of Books , Revolution by Latrine, won an award from the Overseas Press Club of America in 2011. He contributes regularly to the Guardian , Independent , The Financial Times , New York Review of Books , and the London Review of Books .