Archaeology as a clerical fear in Saudi Arabia

Besides Iran, Saudi Arabia's own past is also an object of fear among certain quarters of the ruling elites in the still family-based kingdom. Many other Muslim-majority countries, such as Egypt and Turkey, do not seem to find knowledge of pre-Islamic pasts so faith-threatening. Indonesia, where the population of Muslims is largest in the world on earth, is never afraid of displaying its Hindu and Buddhist heritage in the form of ancient sites or buildings, like Prambanan and Borobudur.

Stereotyping people from Saudi Arabia wrong