Only country named after a family (7,000 member al-Saud tribe, protectors of
Muslim traditions and holy places after defeating the Hashemites in 1925)
• 1744 alliance with Abdul Wahhab,a puritanical Islamic theologian
• Saudi Arabia is governed according to the Sharia or Islamic law
• Monarchy + religion
• Shura council (consultative assembly)
• Religious leaders decide education policy
• No political parties