Rare Footage of 1960s Saudi Arabia - Religion and Reform in the Arab Cold War (1966)

Apr 27, 2024 | On 22 June 1966, ITN broadcasted a special report by Alan Hart on King Faisal's Saudi Arabia. In a 25 minute programme, Hart examined Saudi Arabian society and culture as its king, Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, embarked on a large-scale project of social and economic development. The desert kingdom’s enormous oil wealth was being used to modernise the nation’s infrastructure and raise standards of living, all in an effort to address the social grievances which, if left unaddressed, might lead to support for Communism. The development efforts also served to compete with similar nation-building projects being undertaken by leaders of revolutionary Arab nationalist regimes in the region, led by Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser and supported by the Soviet Union. Hart’s report, which includes an interview with King Faisal, offers an insight into Saudi society at the height of what became known as the Arab Cold War. It also highlights some of the tensions at the heart of Saudi society, in particular the codependent but nevertheless uneasy relationship between the ruling House of Saud and the country’s religious establishment.