Dear FRONTLINE,

As a first generation Asian-American I had the fortunate opportunity to experience both Asian and American cultures, good and bad. Not only did I struggle growing up with both cultures, but I also had to help my parents adapt with their new adopted culture. What I hope for the people of Saudi Arabia and the House of Saud is for them to be able to modernize while preserving their culture. They must realize that change IS inevitable and undeniable. They need to open their eyes to the world around and study other countries' revolutions such as China, France, Russia, USA, Japan, and India then. Haven't the House of Saud learned anything from King Louis 16 or the Romanovs, or are they too busy out shopping for the 20 Rolls-Royces.

Christophe Liu
Richardson, TX

Dear FRONTLINE,

I was extremely dissapointed by your program simplistic analysis of the Saudi-American relationship and the problems facing Al-Saud. Instead of being imformative, the program instead addressed extremely shallow issues. Your show portrayed the problem being one of the Wahabbis vs. Al-Saud vs. America. When in reality it is not that simple. Most Saudi's, and most Arabs for the matter, are not anti-american because they believe that western culture is somehow "weakening" Islam but because they are against American foriegn policy. The Wahabbi's have capitalized on this anti americanism and on Al-Saud's relationship with America and have used that to gain support for their mission. Al-Saud also has been capitalizing on this anti-americanism by potraying itself as the "Custodian of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina" and as the protector of Palestinian rights. Whilst the reality of the situation is that Al-Saud portrays itself as such only to divert the Saudi people's attention from its corrupt regime. The true situation is that of a people who are frustrated by US foreign policy (specifically US support for Israel, as well as US support for Al-Saud's corrupt regime), frustrated by the lack of democracy in saudi arabia, and frustrated by the Wahabbi extremists. A regular Saudi is against american foreign policy and pro-islamic but anti-Wahabbi. In otherwords, most people who are anti-wahabbi but also pro-reform and pro-democracy are also anti-american. This is what the west has failed to understand. I am extremely dissapointed with the fact that PBS chose not to address this issue.

Rasha Al-Mahroos
Arlington, Virginia

Dear FRONTLINE,

I, my civil engineer husband and three young children, lived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1969. It was wonderful to see Ambassador Eilts in the program, as we had many interactions with him during those years. I remember well his telling us at the time that the Saudi government was taking "two steps forward and one step backward" on everything because of the influence of the religious elements, and influence that was built-in to the operation of the Kingdom. We were there during the 6-day war with Israel, ready to be taken away by the US. Sixth Fleet on a moments notice, if necessary.

It was a dramatically challenging and amazingingly wonderful time. But things move VERY SLOWLY in the "moderization" of Saudi Arabia. When I was there (in the 'mid and late '60s) a woman (even an American woman) could NOT leave the country for ANY REASON without the written approval of both her husband and a Saudi official. This was true even if there was a medical emergency. I recently read that just 3 months ago the FIRST foreign woman was allowed to leave the country without the approval of those two men.

The Saudi people are warm and wonderful. If you admire something in their houses, you just might find it being delivered to you as a gift the next day.
Thanks so much for such a wonderful and informative program. Certainly, in spite of all the difficulties, I treasure my time in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Jewell Kutzer
St. Augustine, FL

Dear FRONTLINE,

From all we have learned up to this point, it is apparent that our ideas of a democracy and their implementation of an Islamic democracy will be very different. This does not have to be viewed as a loss for the west, but it does look very dark.

Stephanie Hataway
Houston, Texas

Dear FRONTLINE,

Wow, that was a very very informative show. I did not know much about the Gulf War nor any of the political/religious reasonings behind the Jihad waged by Osama Bin Laden. I truly appreciate hearing an Arabic perspective of the Gulf War, and the political/religious conflicts happening. Though I used to hate George Bush and what he stood for, I have to admit that I have been wrong. This show brought to light a new perspective that I did not see.

Ray Juang

Dear FRONTLINE,

It was a fascinating glimpse into the history of the Saudi Royal family and the emergence of extremist elements in that society. I am hopeful about the reform prospects of the Saudi people. Many of its neighbors such as Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait have already started implementing political reforms. If Iraq is able to progress towards democracy and stability, the pressures to reform Saudi institutions will be even greater.

However, we must appreciate their challenges. A society grows and changes thru generations. The American experiment itself has been the fruits of 200+ years of struggle, which in itself was the fruition of several hundred/thousand years of European political and religious reform. In the end, we must let all people follow their own path of evolution. So I am left wondering what else America can do, besides trying to spark democracy in the Arab lands. The most natural conclusion is to end our addiction to oil.

Mohammed Raheem
New York, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

Thank you for a well-balanced report on the Saudi Royal family. Perhaps, we need to rethink our global war on terrorism policy as it does appear biased against the Arab community. Wahabbism is a real threat however, clearly we are behind in understanding the system ripples that occur with our intransigent foreign policy and insistence that the world follow our "democratic" leadership. Our brand of democracy also includes free-market competition at the expense of others less fortunate than ourselves which has led to greed and power the very things that we abhor in other foreign governments-it sure did not serve the Roman civilization very well according to human history. We must work on our diplomatic agendas before using our military muscle throughout the world. I fear we are embarking on a very dangerous path that will cost us dearly unless cooler heads prevail.

I continue to serve in the Armed Services in the defense of our country. Thank you.

Tom Shelton

Dear FRONTLINE,

I could not have been the only viewer of this program who was stunned at the howling irony of the assertion by one of the Saudi interviewees that religion permeates all aspects of Saudi life to an extent that Western nations could never understand.

Americans are becoming increasingly familiar with the effects of religious fundamentalism on a nation's government and culture.

The extent to which public policy is being determined by the psychotic superstitions of religious extremists is no less alarming in the U.S. at the present time than it is in Saudi Arabia. Is this an exaggeration? No, I don't think it is.

Tom Farley
Doylestown, PA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Many congratulations for a highly interesting review of the history of Saudi Arabia. Being only 23 years old, much of the content of the report was new to me; however, I realise now some things happening today are related to events in the Kingdom some years ago. Also, explaining the two divisions in the "governing body", i.e. the king and his concil vs. the fatwa, clarifies much about why so many Saudi youth are involved in terrorist activities. An education system based on hatred tells much about the paths that are offered to their youth.

Simon Mastrogiuseppe

Dear FRONTLINE,

How can anyone really believe we can win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people after viewing the "HOUSE OF SAUD"?

Ross Dewar
Seffner, Florida

Dear FRONTLINE,

The question is not whether the people of Saudi Arabia can find a balance between tradition and modernization. The question is whether the political power of the fundamentalist/extremists can be broken so that the people of Saudi Arabia can then try to find a balance that works for them. Unless and until that happens, Saudi Arabia will continue to be a source of terrorist funding and a base from which terror will continue to be exported throughout the world.

It is ironic that to some extent Israel faced the same question, when the Orthodox branch tried to force the State of Israel to enforce Orthodox practices as the law of the land. The State of Israel did not do so and has been able to find a balance that allows its citizens to find their own balance while retaining the identity of a Jewish state.

On another topic, I found the university professor's comment that the repression of women was due to the weakness and powerlessnes of the Saudi men very interesting. I wonder whether her comments will be broadcast in the kingdom; and if so, I hope she suffers no reprecussions from that comment!

Kathleen Grover
Manchester, CT

Dear FRONTLINE,

Your broadcast of House of Saud was very interesting. I was shocked and horrified that some of the fundamentalist Muslim teachers are teaching that women are inferior! This is the 21st century and women's equality is still not accepted. I agree that western culture is not ideal but their refusal to allow women equal rights is barbaric. I feel sorry for the women who have to live in that kind of society.

M M
City, IA

Dear FRONTLINE,

There is a major issue that is not addressed in this broadcast. Saudi Arabia is the largest welfare state in the world...and unemployment rates in most Islamic countries are very low by western standards. With no way to excel economically, how can citizens of Arab and Muslim countries be expected to not agree with the anti-western rhetoric that is going on currently? Industrialization, not necessarily Westernization, is the key to solving the problems in these economically under-developed lands. Provide jobs and a way out of poverty, and these "problem regions" will no longer be a problem.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Ralph Maccio
Maddison, Wisconsin