by Kim Ghattas
they were amateurish snapshots: S. Kamali Dehghan, “Qassem Suleimani Photo Makeover Reveals Iran’s New Publicity Strategy,” Guardian, October 14, 2014.
Prince Khaled bin Salman: J. Vela, “Saudi Prince Flew Jet in Syria ISIL Attacks,” National (Abu Dhabi), September 24, 2014.
Iran’s “destabilizing activity”: K. Ghattas, “Why Saudi Arabia Has Lost Faith in the US,” BBC News, May 18, 2015.
Iran warned the kingdom against: “The Sword Unsheathed,” Economist, October 18, 2014.
19: Murder on the Bosporus
never fully adhered: “Jamal khashoggi: men yasar hekmatyar ila yamin turkil faysal ahenn ilal sahafa” [Jamal Khashoggi: from Hekmatyar’s left to Turki al-Faisal’s right], Asharq al-Awsat, March 11, 2005.
one infamous incident: D. Filkins, “A Saudi Prince’s Quest to Remake the Middle East,” New Yorker, April 9, 2018.
on a “short leash”: K. House, “Profile of a Prince: Promise and Peril in Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030,” Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, April 2019, available online at https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/profile-prince-promise-and-peril-mohammed-bin-salmans-vision-2030.
a path to the top: Ibid.
had angered many of MbS’s older cousins: M. Mazzetti and B. Hubbard, “Rise of Saudi Prince Shatters Decades of Royal Tradition,” New York Times, October 15, 2016.
in the 1950s about King Saud: W. Hangen, “Arabia Preparing Extensive Reform,” New York Times, December 11, 1953.
been held in a palace: B. Hubbard, M. Mazzetti, and E. Schmitt, “Saudi King’s Son Plotted Effort to Oust His Rival,” New York Times, July 18, 2017.
in self-imposed exile: Private communication between author and Khashoggi in June 2017, in which Khashoggi stated he was in self-imposed exile in the United States.
“I’m under pressure”: D. Ignatius, “Jamal Khashoggi’s Long Road to the Doors of the Saudi Consulate,” Washington Post, October 13, 2018.
reportedly lived below the poverty line: K. Sullivan, “Saudi Arabia’s Riches Conceal a Growing Problem of Poverty,” Guardian, January 1, 2013.
Sofana Dahlan wanted to believe: Author interview with Sofana Dahlan, Jeddah, May 2018.
“What happened in the last 30 years”: M. Chulov, “I Will Return Saudi Arabia to Moderate Islam, Says Crown Prince,” Guardian, October 24, 2017.
“this Wahhabism—please define it for us”: J. Goldberg, “Saudi Crown Prince: Iran’s Supreme Leader ‘Makes Hitler Look Good.’” Atlantic, April 2, 2018.
Eleven activists had been: K. Ghattas, “Saudi Arabia’s Dark Nationalism,” Atlantic, June 2, 2018.
religion played too big a role: ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, “Arab Youth Survey 2018.”
democracy was the solution: TRT World, “In Remembrance of Jamal Khashoggi,” video, available online at https://www.trtworld.com/video/social-videos/in-remembrance-of-jamal-khashoggi/5bccb605315f18291a6c78f4.
The Saudi embassy in Washington had directed him: K. Jovanovski, S. Smith, F. Bruton, and D. De Luce, “Jamal Khashoggi Was Fearful of Saudi Government Before Disappearing, Friends Say,” NBC Palm Springs, October 8, 2018.
he laughed at friends: B. Hubbard and D. Kirkpatrick, “For Khashoggi, a Tangled Mix of Royal Service and Islamist Sympathies,” New York Times, October 14, 2018.
“Fine, my darling”: S. Mekhennet and L. Morris, “Missing Journalist’s Fiancee Demands to Know: ‘Where Is Jamal?’” Washington Post, October 8, 2019.
“My understanding is”: S. Flanders, V. Nereim, D. Abu-Nasr, N. Razzouk, A. Shahine, and R. Hamade, “Saudi Crown Prince Discusses Trump, Aramco, Arrests: Transcript,” Bloomberg, October 5, 2018.
fifteen men had traveled to Istanbul: Details of Jamal Khashoggi’s killing are taken from D. Ignatius, “How the Mysteries of Khashoggi’s Murder Have Rocked the U.S.-Saudi Partnership,” Washington Post, March 29, 2019; D. Ignatius, “The Khashoggi Killing Had Roots in a Cutthroat Saudi Family Feud,” Washington Post, November 27, 2018.
“I listen to music”: M. Chulov, “Jamal Khashoggi: Murder in the Consulate,” Guardian, October 21, 2018.
“young, ambitious, divinely inspired reformer”: K. M. Abou El Fadl, “Saudi Arabia Is Misusing Mecca,” New York Times, November 12, 2018.
“I may have caused some of our people”: S. Samuel, “Trump’s Evangelical Advisers Hear from the Saudi Crown Prince on Khashoggi,” Atlantic, November 9, 2018.
her brother spoke out: F. Gardner, “‘Shrouded in Secrecy’: Saudi Women Activists’ Trial Hearing Delayed,” BBC News, April 17, 2019.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book took longer to research and write than I expected and was a much tougher project than I anticipated, but I made it to the finish line thanks to the incredible constellation of people in my life and on this journey: longtime friends, amazing colleagues and mentors, total strangers who provided crucial support or shared their stories with me, serendipitous encounters that brought me pieces I didn’t even know were missing from the puzzle of this book—their trust and faith in my work, their unwavering support, and their love carried me forward and brought light to the darkest hours of writing.
For my second book, I am incredibly grateful to have had the same stellar team by my side again, at both Henry Holt and William Morris Endeavor. At Holt, my editor, Serena Jones, pulled out all the stops to make sure I would publish with her again and took a chance on yet another unusual project. I am thankful for her wise guidance shepherding the project from start to finish, her prodding questions while reading my drafts, her constant encouragement and patience, all of which she delivers with incredible calm even when I’m weeks behind and her workload has skyrocketed because she’s received a massive and well-deserved promotion. Madeline Jones read and reread the manuscript and answered my inane questions about Word, footnotes, and schedules. I am, once more, so grateful for the patience and support of the production editor Chris O’Connell. Maggie Richards and Patricia Eiseman have been there for me from the minute I walked into their offices back in 2011. I could not ask for better champions of my work. With Declan Taintor, they make sure that when the tree falls in the forest, someone is around to tell the story and the books get an audience. Many trees were felled to make this book; in exchange, I have contributed to a reforestation project of cedars in Lebanon. Please consider doing the same at www.adoptacedar.org. Thank you to Stephen Rubin and Ben Schrank for making me feel that I have a home at Henry Holt. At WME, my agent, Dorian Karchmar, is the best in the business, and I am so lucky to have her in my corner. She’s both visionary and relentlessly detail oriented; she pushes me so much further than I think I can go while also protecting me from the pressures that go with writing a book. She goes beyond the call of duty herself and her high standards keep me on my toes. She also has an incredible knack for coming up with the best title for a book. She gets credit again for this one.
Whom does a writer call in her darkest hour of need? Domenica Alioto. Between pasta and Perugia, Domenica provided a pair of fresh eyes and a constant presence while her expert hands helped polish my prose. Joy Johanessen came through on a very tight deadline to provide a crucial fine comb. At the BBC, I thank Paul Danahar, Andrew Roy, and Jonathan Munro for giving me the time off to write this book; and to all my former colleagues at the BBC, thank you for an incredible twenty years.
I am indebted to several institutions that gave me critical support, space to write, and intellectual freedom to create. At Carnegie Corporation, I must thank Hilary Weisner, Nehal Amer, and especially president Vartan Gregorian. At the Rockefellers Brothers Fund, my thanks go to Ariadne Papagapitos, Karen Karnicki, and president Stephen Heintz. Henri Barkey was the first to alert me to the possibilities of fellowships at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, where I spent six months. Robert Litwak’s enthusiasm for my project and his help in sorting out some of the logistics meant a lot while I was buried under my books in a cubicle. I miss the wonderful libra
ry staff and the resourceful Arlyn Charles. I had the privilege of being a senior visiting fellow for fifteen months at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where Ambassador Bill Burns welcomed me like a member of the family and gave me all the latitude (and longitude from DC to Beirut and beyond) I needed to get the research and writing done. His feedback and comments on my work, but especially his kindness, were a true gift. The inimitable Elizabeth Dibble worked out all the behind-the-scenes arrangements so I could just focus on the work; Hilary McGraw, Jin Wang, and Yu-Chieh Chou administered the grant, and I am so grateful for their patience. At Carnegie Beirut, Maha Yahya and Mohanad Hage Ali were wonderful colleagues and sounding boards.
It’s no exaggeration to say that I could never have achieved this impossible task in the time I had without my two incredible research assistants and their complementary roles: Zeead Yaghi, with his master’s in neuroscience and keen interest in the topic of collective memory, and Micheline Tobia, with her master’s in international affairs and her love of all things cultural and artistic. They pored over hundreds of newspapers, books, and academic publications; they dug deep and found hidden gems; they assembled an incredible library of documents that represent forty years of the region’s history. We relied extensively on the world-class Jafet Library at the American University of Beirut—an unbelievable resource that deserves more recognition. Thank you, Lokman Mehio, Mona Assi, and Carla Chalhoub, for putting up with our endless requests for months on end. Thank you as well to Ali el-Yasser and Jane Olin-Ammentorp who were there at the genesis of this project and helped me believe it was possible to pull it off.
There were many “last miles,” moments when I thought I could see the finish line only to slump back in my chair. The absolutely very last mile would have been a painful slog were it not for the incredible timing of a residency I was awarded at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in the spring of 2019. Surrounded by the lush green hills of Umbria and fed a steady diet of magnificent pasta and secondi piatti, I ended the isolation of the working day with dinner in the company of the brilliant minds of the other fellows—writers, poets, composers, and visual artists. They changed my understanding of language, writing, and creating. Civitella is a magical place and I will never forget the people who make it so: Dana Prescott, Diego Mencaroni, Ilaria Locchi, Sam Lloyd-Knauf, and all the staff. I left a few pounds heavier, but I have forgiven the fantastic chef, Romana Cubini, and her duo of Patrizia sous-chefs. A huge thank-you to Tom Fletcher for connecting all the right dots.
I also spent many weeks on the road, interviewing people and researching the countries I chose to focus on in these pages. Some of my sources prefer to remain anonymous, and I thank them for their trust. In Egypt, I found an oasis filled with love and good food in the home of Tamara al-Rifai and Khaled Mansour. Hamada Adwan was my driver, bodyguard, big brother, and all-around excellent companion from Cairo to Alexandria. Ahmed Naji was a hoot to hang out with and a mine of information. Both he and Khaled read my Egypt chapters and provided much-needed feedback. I’m grateful to Ebtehal Younes for welcoming me into her home and telling me her incredible story. Thanks as well to Emad Abou Gad, Amro Ali, and Amr Ezzat for their expertise and kindness. In Iraq, I was in the company of the larger-than-life Khaled Ali and Haidar Abboud, who arranged all the logistics and interviews and drove me around from Baghdad to Najaf. In Najaf, I had the privilege of being in the company of the wonderful, smart Hayder al-Khoei, who not only shared the story of his father but introduced me and facilitated access to clerics from the hawza and experts who spent hours talking to me about the intricacies of the holy city and Shiism. In Baghdad, Husham Hashmi and Hana’ Edward filled in important pieces of the puzzle. I am also grateful to Ambassador Fareed Yasseen for his help and insights. In Pakistan, my wonderful friend Shaban Khalid was the most generous host and made the trip a success. No trip to Pakistan is complete without Shaan and Wajahat Khan. From Islamabad to Peshawar, Lahore to Karachi, my trip was filled with incredible people who all contributed in invaluable ways to my research and reporting: Ahmad Rashid, Haroon Rashid, Hoori Nourani, Rahimullah Yousefzai, Sheema Kermani, and Farid Ghul Mohammad. Aamna and Shehrbano Taseer spent hours talking to me about their lives and their country; Mehtab Rashdi welcomed a total stranger into her home and told the best stories. Alia Chugtai and Khudai Noor provided essential logistical support. My thanks also go to Hussain Haqqani, Farahnaz Ispahani, Bina Shah, and Raza Rumi, who read and commented on my pages. In Saudi Arabia, several of the people I spoke to wished to remain anonymous. I had many conversations with Jamal Khashoggi before his gruesome killing. Jamal was incredibly generous in sharing his story, imparting knowledge, and responding to endless follow-ups over email and messaging. He is missed but his memory lives on. Thanks to Ahmad Badeeb and Mohammad al-Sulami as well for their time. In DC, New York, and Tunis, I am also indebted to Rashed Ghannoushi, Andrew Scott Cooper, Hassan Hassan, Hassan Abbas, Ambassador Abdallah Al-Saud, Prince Turki al-Faisal, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Mohammad al-Yahya, and Saoud al-Kabli. I could not have written my chapters on Iran and all things Iranian without Mohsen Sazegara, Masih Alinejad, and Kambiz Foroohar. In Beirut, in specific connection to the book, I thank Hazem Saghieh for Saturday morning breakfasts served with endless wisdom and knowledge; Badia Fahs, who fed me and taught me all she knew about Iran and Shiism; Hussein al-Husseini and his sons Ahmad and Hassan al-Husseini, who shed light on an essential but forgotten period of history and whose friendship is precious and unwavering across continents; Saoud al-Mawla, who provided the stepping-stones for several of the chapters; and Elias Khoury, who shared his unique perspective. I wish I could have devoted more pages to Syria and Yemen—two humanitarian disasters that are a stain on our collective conscience. I’m glad others have taken on this essential task and can do it much better than I could. I am in awe of Yassin al-Haj Saleh’s unwavering commitment to freedom, pluralism, and democracy, and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for allowing me to tell his story and reminding me of what really matters. The story of how I secured permission to use the lines of poetry and lyrics in this book is worthy of a book in itself. For now, my immense gratitude to Omar Kabbani, the Faiz Foundation Trust and Salima and Moneeza Hashmi, Joumana Hawi, Abla al-Ruwaini, Arsalan Baraheni, Asif Farrukhi, Farzaneh Milani, Fayrouz as well as Fawzi Moutran, Mashrou’ Leila, Vali Nasr, Farid Gul Mohammad, and Maziar Samiee.
To tell this story and the stories of the people on its pages, I knew I had to get away from Washington, DC, and immerse myself in the Middle East, its history, politics, music, poetry, and food, so I moved back to Lebanon for a year. In the process, I decided to stay in Lebanon, adopted a dog, and left full-time journalism. Washington remains my other home, and I am ridiculously fortunate to have two tribes, on both sides of the Atlantic, friends who provide encouragement, comic relief, spirited conversations, drinks, and gourmet dinners. Most of all, they give me space to disappear and write for weeks on end—it’s a miracle that they’re always there when I reemerge.
Kate Seelye, Lamia Matta, Joyce Karam, and Lynn Chia kept me sane, happy, and alive. I could not have done this without them by my side. Muna Shikaki tried hard to keep me fit, then fed me steak. Yuri Kim, Sonia Dridi, Vivian Salame, Reema Dodin, and Hannah Allam are the smartest, coolest gang a girl could wish for in DC. Dani Isdale and Toby Holder were heaven-sent guardians of everything. An extra-special thank-you goes to Randa Slim, who like me divides her life between the United States and Lebanon—without her incredible wisdom and analysis about the Middle East, we would all be the poorer. She has been a friend, a mentor, and a role model. In 2014, when I first came up with the idea at the heart of this book, I envisioned a magazine piece. David Rothkopf gets the credit for convincing me that I was onto something that deserved a whole book. He pestered me for weeks until I began to write a proposal to submit to my agent. Lissa Muscatine is a powerhouse, a fellow writer, a friend, and a writer’s best friend, and such fun to hang out with. Dana Milbank read the proposal,
played wordsmith with the subtitle, gave reactions to the cover design, and checked in on a regular basis—a list of self-assigned duties that come with his wonderful friendship. Marwan Muasher is my intellectual mentor and sparring partner, my favorite sounding board and partner in the crime of continuous hope that our region will have a better future. He was there when the idea for this book was born, guided me along the way, kept me wise, and saved me from many errors. Karim Sadjadpour, forever known as DC’s handsome sheikh, was a constant presence along the way—his friendship and intellect make me richer. Emile Hokayem is one of the smartest and kindest people I know, and our friendship travels where he goes. Both he and Karim know more about this subject than I do, and their feedback to the draft made it so much better. Thanks as well to Shadi Hamid and Daniel Levy for their essential comments. Mark Landler, Angela Tung, Adam Brookes, Susan Lawrence, Jennifer Ludden, Gerry Holmes, Nicole Gaouette, and Flore DePreneuf are my extended family in DC. I wish I could hang out with them more often.
The list of people to thank in Beirut is simply too long. This is a city where the social network is vast and strong and where emotional support comes from close friends but also from neighbors who ring the doorbell with homemade food and the newspaper vendor who cuts out articles he thinks will be useful. Key to the Beirut tribe are Karim and Michele Chaya—they remain my anchors and their home is my haven. Raya and Michel are always next door, and Claudia and Kris provide the island extension of the happiness bubble. Jad Salhab remains part of the Beirut tribe even while in DC. I’m grateful that Loubna Dimashqi cares little about politics. Nada Abdelsamad, Maya Beydoun, Diana Moukalled, and Hazem al-Amine endured endless conversations, questions, and absences but never gave up. Christine Codsi provided lunches and escapades. Kamal Mouzawak and Rabih Keyrouz are my source of all things beautiful. Jehanne Phares, Tony Yazbek, Amira Solh, and Carine Chebli are always there, even when they’re far. My mother and my sisters remain at the heart of everything.
