Book Talk With Krithika Varagur - "The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project"

Everyone talks about "Saudi money," but no one really knows what it is. Journalist Krithika Varagur, a longtime chronicler of religion and politics, tells the story of Saudi influence as it has never been told before, in a book reported across the breadth of the Muslim world, from Nigeria to Indonesia to Kosovo. The Call connects the dots on Saudi Arabia's campaign to propagate its brand of ultraconservative Islam worldwide after it became oil-rich in the 20th century. Varagur visits diverse outposts of its influence, from a Saudi university in Jakarta to a beleaguered Shi'a movement in Nigeria. She finds that the campaign has had remarkably broad effects, from the intolerance of religious minorities to the rise of powerful Saudi-educated clerics. Drawing upon dozens of interviews, government records, and historical research, The Call lays out what we really talk about when we talk about Saudi money.

Krithika Varagur is an award-winning American journalist based in Southeast Asia. She is the Indonesia correspondent for the Guardian, a National Geographic explorer, and contributor to many other publications including The Atlantic, The Financial Times, Foreign Policy, and more. Her work has been supported by the Pulitzer Center and International Women's Media Foundation. 

The event is moderated by Margaret Scott, Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU Wagner.

Watch below.

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