Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

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coax the traditional society into modernization. Saleh A1 Hathloul (1981) addresses the
government role in sponsoring large-scale development which borrowed heavily from
western urban design and architecture. Such wholesale adoption of paradigms inspired the
new shift to alien ones. Yousef Fadan (1983) highlights the additional impact of the
government's broadcasting, press and publication campaign on the population's clamorous
substitution of traditional building practices with imported ones. Fadan, commenting on
the unique role of government propaganda in facilitating its developmental goals, states
It was served not only to foster a favorable mode regarding the government
and to build for its political support, but also to create a climate conducive to
national development....More important to realize, however, is that the
information heard on the radio, or read and seen on the pages of newspapers
and publications all complement one another in focusing the public attention
always on national development. 16
According to Fadan, the government-controlled media has provided the "psychosocial
stimuli" to advance its development goals and cajole the population into the
modernization path the state chose to follow in a cautious balance with traditional Islamic
values. Fadan noted,
In fact, in almost all official statements for major projects or development
policies stress the conformity of the goals and policies to the Islamic law and
the society's cultural heritage. On the other hand, terms such as "tamadon"
(civilization), "al-tatawar" al-mi c mmari" (architectural progress), "al-iCmarah"
al-mu c aasirah" (contemporary architecture), "al-taqaddom" (modernization
and progress) are among the many terms presumably utilized to raise the
general level of aspiration and to provide a climate for national
development. 17
The municipality-sponsored projects, including street widening, lighting and garbage
collection, etc., were totally funded by the central state. For example, the municipality's
projects ("improvements") between 1965 and 1973 totaled SR992,000 ($282,857).
Between 1973 and 1976, the municipality contracted projects and services that cost
SR840,395. During 1976, the municipality was contemplating a package of projects
totaling SR20.8 million. In 1976 alone, the municipality presided over projects under
construction that totaled SR4.9 million ($2.8 million). 18 Between 1965 and 1976, the
municipality's staff spent SR40.5 million on various civic tasks, including cleaning,
garbage collection, street widening and the like. During the same decade, the number of
municipality's staff increased from 13 to 33 employees. The municipal staff was also