The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in the throes of a revolution, potentially of profound significance for both the country and the region. The leader of the revolution is none other than King Abdallah Bin Abdul Aziz, the 86-year old monarch who has ruled the Kingdom for 14 years – nine as Regent (after his half-brother King Fahd suffered a major stroke) and five as King. For a revolutionary leader, the King's manner tends to be low-key. There are no bombastic speeches. Those who know him speak of his modesty and simplicity. But, with remarkable political skill and utter resolve, he has set in train radical changes in the country's internal and external policies which are nothing short of revolutionary. Together they are turning Saudi Arabia into a regional powerhouse, with influence far beyond the Middle East. Anyone who attended the Janadriya last week – the great National Festival of Heritage and Culture now in its 25th year, organized by the Saudi National Guard and presided over by the King – could not fail to note the pride and patriotic fervour with which the proceedings were conducted. This is a country of some 20 million citizens, plus another 7 million expatriates. In addition, there are thought to be between one and three million illegal immigrants. One million Saudis are rich or very rich; 60 to 70 percent are members of a middle class of widely varied incomes and lifestyles; while 22 percent live below the poverty line. With the spread of education, the population growth rate has fallen from 4 percent to 2.4 percent. But perhaps the most significant statistic of all is that 83 percent of the Saudi population are under the age of 29. Traditionally, Saudi Arabia has been mainly preoccupied with the affairs of the Arabian Peninsula -- that is to say with its immediate neighbors, the Gulf States and Yemen. But the King has reached out beyond Arabia, opening the Kingdom to the world. Although an ally of the United States, Saudi Arabia is diversifying its alliances. China is now buying more Saudi oil than the US. France was the guest of honor at this year's Janadriya. Frédéric Mitterand , France's Minister of Culture, led a large delegation. The French pavilion was a showpiece of the festival. Another signal, which could not have been lost on the US, was that Yevgeny Primakov, Russia's former Prime Minister and intelligence chief -- and veteran Arab expert --was seated next to the King at the official dinner. Saudi Arabia has been much preoccupied by America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The King was one of the first to understand the danger of the American neo-conservatives' campaign against Islam during the presidency of George W Bush. Setting out to fortify the region against these neo-con attacks – and especially against their geopolitical fantasy of reshaping the Middle East to Israel's advantage – the King did not hesitate to declare that the US presence in Iraq was illegal. His goal was to neutralize the damage of Bush's foreign policy as well as to promote peace in the Arab environment. Hence his efforts to resolve tensions within the Gulf Cooperation Council; to reconcile the warring Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas; to urge compromise in Lebanon; and to renew ties with Syria. The resolution of Arab conflicts must, he believes, remain in Arab hands. At the same time, internally in Saudi Arabia, a great ideological battle is in progress of great interest to the whole region. Militant radicals, including Al-Qaeda, are very active against the Kingdom – and against the King's reformist vision. They have sought to spread their extremist ideas over the Internet, in mosques, in classrooms, and among women, often the most conservative members of society. The King has worked hard to counter their influence. Terrorists have been dealt with very firmly, while attempts have been made to neutralize would-be terrorists with campaigns of re-education and rehabilitation. But, in combating extremist thinking, the King's favorite method is dialogue. At first, fundamentalist critics refused to engage in dialogue with the authorities. But Saudi intellectuals eventually took part and interaction is now leading to lively discussions. This is a cultural milestone. The fundamentalists are on the defensive, but they are by no means defeated. This year's Janadriya brought together over 400 intellectuals from Saudi Arabia, the Arab and Islamic world and beyond, some critical of what the Kingdom was becoming. The fruitful and animated debate was itself a demonstration that Saudi Arabia is modernizing and reforming its society and its modes of thinking, while retaining its firm basis in Islam. The emphasis on education is perhaps the most spectacular of the King's revolutionary changes. Two schools are being built every day. Half a dozen years ago there were only four universities in the Kingdom. Today there are 24, spread over the Kingdom's 13 regions. They are often in partnership with foreign universities. The accent in these new campuses is on business management, accounting, IT, law, medicine and engineering. In addition some 70,000 students are at universities abroad – in the US, Europe, China, Japan and elsewhere. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), built on the Red Sea coast north of Jeddah, is intended to become a world-class graduate institution with an endowment of $10bn. It is co-educational – in itself a revolution – and has inevitably come under attack from the fundamentalists. The promotion of women as equal partners in society is one of the King's most cherished ambitions. An open-minded woman, Noura Al-Faiz, has been appointed deputy minister for women's education -- the first time a woman has risen to such a post. Brushing fundamentalist criticism aside, she has made the first three primary school grades co-educational. But perhaps the most spectacular evidence of the King's attention to women's education is the Princess Noura University for Women now taking shape among a forest of cranes along the road to Riyadh's international airport. The buildings of this vast multi-billion dollar project – named after the favourite sister of King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, the Kingdom's founder – are spread over several kilometres, linked by a monorail. The authorities are very conscious of the need to provide jobs for the rising, educated Saudi generation. They are planning to spend more than $100bn over the next five years on roads, railways and ports, as well as on ‘economic cities', so as to create the right environment for domestic and foreign investment in industry and services. In Riyadh itself, another huge project under construction is the King Abdullah Financial District which aims to bring together in one place banks, insurance companies and financial services of all sorts on the model of Wall Street or the City of London. Saudi Arabia is changing very rapidly. What is striking to any visitor is that the revolution taking place is not only in the physical and architectural environment but in men's minds. __
