DoS Travel Guidance

Here is the link to the US Department of State (DoS) travel guidance on Saudi Arabia. The most notable section is the one titled "Local Laws and Special Circumstance" :

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/saudi-arabia.html

Note that the DoS page was last updated on September 26, 2016. The date is important. 

Contained in the "Local Laws and Special Circumstance" section, there is a link to the 2015 International Religious Freedom Report published by the DoS Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Similar to the travel guidance, the information given is quite revealing.

In looking at the reports, it is important to note that intolerance of non-Muslims and oppression of women and homosexuals is not behavior limited to jihadists, the kinetic arm of Islamist ideology. Instead, the Obama-era DoS guidance surrounding travel to Saudi Arabia reveals how the most important Sharia-governed official state on the planet generally does business.

As this war progresses, it is critical that citizens in the West begin to grasp the basic structure of our opponents. To this end, the below article from Brookings is a great primer to understanding various shades of Islamism, as well as how to define Salafism and Jihadism.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/07/15/islamism-salafism-and-jihadism-a-primer/

Further, it is important to understand Wahhabism, where it fits into Salafism, and its origination to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/03/29/what-is-wahhabism-the-reactionary-branch-of-islam-said-to-be-the/

Some closing questions:

1) The job of Saudi Arabia's Mutawwa (religious police) is to enforce the laws which generated warnings in the DoS travel guidelines. If you were head of the Mutawwa, how would you view Western liberal society's stance toward homosexuals, women, and non-believers?  

2) For decades now, there has been a lot of talk about the war on terror as being a struggle in 'good vs. evil.' ISIS has been characterized as being of an evil nature. The Hisbah is a group which serves as religious police for the Islamic State. In your opinion, does the Hisbah's likely view the United States as good or evil? Why?

3) Clearly indicate whether you think the Mutawwa's view of the United States is substantially different from that of the Hisbah.

4) Fill in the bank by selecting from the choices below:

Many people think U.S. foreign policy has been bad for a long time. The U.S. is widely disliked by many Muslims around the world, and many people think this is because of U.S. foreign policy. Therefore, a case can be made that U.S. foreign policy is to blame for  _____________________. (Think about the religious identity of the people or landmarks destroyed in each of the attacks listed below)

a) 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center bombing in New York

b) 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC, and Flight 93

c) 2001 destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan statues in Afghanistan

d) 2006 destruction of the Askariya (aka "Golden") Shiite Mosque in Samarra
e) 2008 Kosovo independence from Serbia
f) 2008 shooting attack in Mumbai

g) 2015 complex attack in Paris
h) 2016 vehicle-ramming attack in Nice
i) 2016 vehicle-ramming attack in Berlin
j) 2016 bombing of Baghdad's Karrada district

k) 2017 bombing of Sufi-Muslim mosque in Pakistan

l) c, d, e, f, j, and k
m) a, b, g, h, and i
n) re-entry of high rise jeans into many department stores worldwide
o) The Donald

p) Kenny dying 34 times

q) the demise of Radioshack

r) many yuge world problems; definitely all of the above and much more