An American Muslim, Michael Wolf, a reporter, describes the Hajj. Circa 1997 report from ABCNews Nightline with Ted Koppel.

Run time: 00:06:48

A behind-the-scenes look at what it was like working on the new National Geographic documentary, Desert Seas” A natural history documentary featuring Saudi Arabia’s two seas; the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, produced by Icon Films and underwritten by Saudi Aramco.”

Took two years to shoot and shows Saudi Arabia’s two seas and marine life as never seen before.

David Attenborough narrates the documentary.

Attached is 12 minutes long and only the behind-the-scenes footage

A description and overview of the history of the International Energy Forum.

Run Time: 9:08

Second Chance in Saudi Arabia from francismead@airpost.net on Vimeo.

This is part of a series of films made for the UN looking at how and why people leave terror groups. Khalid Al-Jhani was, at one time, an explosives trainer for Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan. He was later captured and held in Guantanamo for over four years. He was then returned to Saudi Arabia where he passed through a rehab programme that the Saudis created a few years ago. Today he leads an almost normal life.

Run Time: 15:14

Clear Gold: Water as a Strategic Resource in the Middle East from CSIS on Vimeo.

Is Yemen almost out of water? Will it happen in this decade? This video talks about the implications of water scarcity and provides background for the CSIS “Clear Gold” report by Jon Alterman and Michael Dziuban. Check out the SUSRIS Exclusive Interview with Alterman [here], and the one-hour video program of the report’s launch [here].

Run Time: 00:02:02

One of King Abdullah’s achievements in moving Saudi society forward was the creation of the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue in 2003 when he was Crown Prince. The Center promotes his call for “continuing the dialogue so that more people can take part in the exchange of views.” The creation of the Center on August 3, 2003 followed the first dialogue forum that brought together Saudis of “different persuasions and schools of thought.”

In announcing the founding of the National Dialogue Center King Abdullah addressed his concerns about extremism in the Kingdom that followed the Spring 2003 Al Qaeda attacks, the Saudi “9/11,” by noting, “I have no doubt that the establishment of the center and the continuation of the dialogue will turn out to be a historic achievement, which could go a long way toward creating a new channel for responsible self-expression. In the long run, this will be very effective in fighting extremism and fanaticism and can create a healthy and clean environment which promotes enlightened attitude and rejects terrorism and terrorist ideologies.”

The National Dialogue process, however, has addressed a broad range of issues in the Kingdom apart from countering fanaticism. Among the topics of the national meetings have been: national unity; women’s rights; young people’s expectations; world cultures dialogue; education reform; work and employment; health services and, most recently, tribalism and regionalism.

The Center’s origins, mission and process are explored in this video. [Link Here]

Run Time: 00:12:31

Related Items:

• King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue
• National Dialogue Chief Says No Boundaries in Forums – SUSRIS -Apr 26, 2007

This video, without narration, shows scenes from all over Saudi Arabia.  The slide at the end attributes it to “Saudi Stdudents Denver,” produced by “Saud Almadhi.”  It is a compilation of clips from numerous sources.

Run Time: 00:10:32

The television show “On the Road in America” will be featured at an “unveiling” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies event this month, as the second season is introduced in America. The “documentary-reality” series shows four young Arabs — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine are represented — on an American cross country tour, LA to DC by RV in May 2009. A note from the “OnTheRoadInAmerica.tv” Web site:

“To many foreigners, the words Christian, Imperialist, Capitalist, and Racist aptly describe American culture. In the second season, we take a hard look at these phenomena. We do not ignore the clichés but dispel and contextualize them and introduce our cast to the enormous complexity of these issues, and ultimately reveal them to be a part of the much larger and infinitely varied subject that is America today. Apart from episodic themes, the larger story and the one that the viewers will follow is the evolving attitudes of the characters: the people that they meet along the way are in a sense mentors and the events, catalysts in their journey.. ..The diverse cast of the second season will help American viewers better understand and appreciate the mosaic of faiths, geography, cultures and value systems that constitute the ‘Arab world.’”

Through the web site you can find more information about the “cast” and photos and videos from their travels. SUSRIStube.com will provide more details about U.S. airing of the series, as information becomes available.

A brief profile of Saudi Arabian King Abdulaziz, founder of the Kingdom, by SaudiPride.

Video Run Time: 00:04:35

The Saudi Royal Family is profiled in this 2008 production from the American television channel “Biography.”

This is part 5. Video Run Time: 00:03:09

To view part 1 CLICK HERE.

To view part 2 CLICK HERE.

To view part 3 CLICK HERE.

To view part 4 CLICK HERE.