Resumo de Changed Identities

Based on interviews with some seventy Saudis aged between
fifteen and thirty, born in the 70s and early 80s, Changed Identities
presents a lively account of social change in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-born female
academic, Mai Yamani was able to interview both men and women (though two
radical salafis insisted on talking to her by telephone); her
interviewees also come from different regions of Saudi Arabia and different
backgrounds, mostly from the broad middle class, but also from the royal family
and other politically and commercially powerful families.

Changed Identities opens and closes with fictional biographies
composed to illustrate different aspects of young Saudis'' lives. And much of it
presents the perspectives of the interviewees, both in their own words and in
summary. This is accompanied by succinct presentations of context and
background ? a social history of three generations since political unification
in 1932, a history of the education system, a brief economic history, and so
forth. The result can be read without any prior knowledge of Saudi Arabia,
and indeed makes quite a nice introduction to the country. Changed Identities
may be of particular interest to some because a number of the September 11
hijackers came from the demographic group it describes.

For young Saudis tradition is embodied in family, despite drastic changes
over the last two generations (their grandparents were most likely subsistence
farmers); other identities are tribal, regional, national, Gulf, Arab, and
Islamic. Exposure to modernity has come through the media and travel abroad.

Hadi (23), from Riyadh,
uses the Internet but believes that access should be selective. For example, it
should not access things that contradict the Islamic religion.

The market and civil society are contrasted with the traditional patrimonial
state. Young Saudis are not politicised, but incoherent criticisms of government,
corruption and double standards are slowly forming into a call not for revolt
but for more autonomy to pursue the goals that their education and experiences
have led them to expect.

Education that will lead to employment prospects involves knowledge of
English (symbolically opposed to Arabic) and often overseas study.

The domination of higher education by the ''ulama has
led to a general rise in complaints by Saudi students about the curriculum''s
lack of relevance to their everyday practical needs. Rasha (27), from Mecca, thinks that university in Saudi Arabia
has a bad approach: Universities teach you what does not benefit you in the
world. The Saudi education system is also criticized for its emphasis on rote
learning.

The economic downturn is perhaps the most potent force driving social
change. The paternal and ever-present state that supplied certainty to their
parents has been forced to scale back its support, and this has made the lives
of Saudi young people increasingly uncertain. Many blame the West or foreign
workers (with calls for Saudi-ization of the workforce), while others see the
need for internal change, personal and sometimes political.

Young Saudi women have more options than their mothers and grandmothers ?
education (in some fields) and sometimes overseas study ? and rights to
property and divorce, but they are still narrowly constrained by patriarchy.
Islamic feminism is one response; criticisms of strict segregation are also
common.

Asma (28), from Jeddah, talked about the beneficial effects
of letting young people of both sexes mix socially before marriage. This is
happening with greater frequency among the middle classes. One of the new
trends is to hold supervised DJ parties for young people. Asma said that she
approved of certain mothers agreeing to these mixed parties and that it was
unnatural for a hundred girls in a room to dance with one another. This, she
warned, can trigger lesbianism.

Islam was central to the self-perceof all the interviewees, even the
few liberal modernists. While radical Islamists are a small minority, their
language and ideas are broadly influential, with religion providing one of the
few avenues for criticism of the state.

Like many of the new generation, Issam (21) sees the forces
of modernity and the West as inevitable. The priority then becomes judging what
can benefit Saudi society and what must be excluded to protect Islam. He looks
up to and trusts the state to carry out this task.

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