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Secrets of the Kingdom

Articles in this series examine the society, politics, religion and global influence of Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the United States that remains one of the world's most secretive countries.

Articles in this series examine the society, politics, religion and global influence of Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the United States that remains one of the world's most secretive countries.

  1. Saudi Royal Family Is Still Spending in an Age of Austerity

    Low oil prices are forcing questions about whether the huge family can maintain both its lavish lifestyle and its grip on power.

     By Nicholas Kulish and Mark Mazzetti

    Members of the Saudi royal family at a reception at the palace in Riyadh last year. There are thousands of princes and princesses in the House of Saud and many are accustomed to a lavish lifestyle.
    CreditKarl-Josef Hildenbrand/Deutsche Presse-Agentur, via Alamy Live News
    Secrets of the Kingdom

  2. Rise of Saudi Prince Shatters Decades of Royal Tradition

    Prince Mohammed bin Salman has quickly emerged as the most dynamic royal in the Arab world’s wealthiest nation, setting up a potential rivalry for the throne.

     By Mark Mazzetti and Ben Hubbard

    Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef of Saudi Arabia. Many Saudis and foreign officials believe Prince bin Salman’s goal is to become the next king.
    CreditFayez Nureldine/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

  3. Saudi Arabia, Where Even Milk Depends on Oil, Struggles to Remake Its Economy

    Low crude prices and the war in Yemen have sent a shock through the kingdom’s budget and forced it to revise its social contract even as it seeks to diversify its businesses.

     By Nicholas Kulish

    The Almarai dairy in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
    CreditSergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
    Secrets of the Kingdom

  4. Saudis and Extremism: ‘Both the Arsonists and the Firefighters’

    Critics see Saudi Arabia’s export of a rigid strain of Islam as contributing to terrorism, but the kingdom’s influence depends greatly on local conditions.

     By Scott Shane

    Muslim pilgrims surrounding the Kaaba, the black cube at the center of Islam’s holiest mosque in Mecca, in 2003. The Saudis’ export of Wahhabism has special cachet because the country is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.
    CreditA. Abbas/Magnum Photos

  1. A Saudi Morals Enforcer Called for a More Liberal Islam. Then the Death Threats Began.

    A longtime morals enforcer began to question the rules. He told his story to a Times correspondent who spent weeks in Saudi Arabia trying to understand its hyper-conservative strain of Islam, which is often blamed for terrorism.

     By Ben Hubbard

    Saudi women standing on the opposite side of the hall from the men at the Amex Luxury Expo in Riyadh in March.
    CreditSergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

  2. ‘Ladies First’: Saudi Arabia’s Female Candidates

    In this documentary, The Times takes us into the largely inaccessible world of Saudi women by profiling three women running for public office, including Loujain al-Hathloul, in the first Saudi election open to female candidates.

     By Mona El-Naggar, Adam Bolt and Yousur Al-Hlou

    Yousur Al-Hlou for The New York Times
    CreditYousur Al-Hlou for The New York Times

  3. How One of the Deadliest Hajj Accidents Unfolded

    A survivor’s story of how he was almost crushed to death at the 2015 hajj.

     By Sarah Almukhtar and Derek Watkins

    CreditAssociated Press

  4. Saudis Bankroll Taliban, Even as King Officially Supports Afghan Government

    Saudi Arabia has voiced support for American efforts to nourish Afghanistan’s democracy, but it has also lavishly funded Sunni extremism under various guises.

     By Carlotta Gall

    A hilltop overlooking Kabul, where a $100 million Saudi-funded mosque and education complex was to be built. Construction was scheduled for completion this year, but the hilltop site remains a dusty lot where boys fly kites and drug addicts crouch beside a cemetery wall.
    CreditSergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

  5. ISIS Turns Saudis Against the Kingdom, and Families Against Their Own

    Adopting elements of a Sunni creed known as Wahhabism, the Islamic State has recruited Saudis to kill their own relatives and to bomb mosques.

     By Ben Hubbard

    Mishari al-Rashidi, whose foster brother, Sgt. Bader al-Rashidi, was killed by six of his own cousins who had joined the Islamic State.
    CreditSergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

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