Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, named for founder Ibn Saud and its ruling House of Saud, is also known as “the Land of Haramayn” (the Two Holy Places), as it contains the two holiest sites in Islam: Mecca and Medina. This places Saudi Arabia firmly at the center of the Arab and Islamic world.
The nation is the world’s largest producer and exporter of crude oil, the focus of Saudi Arabia’s economy and the source of its wealth, and that of its royal family. In spite of its economic prosperity, Saudi Arabia is an authoritarian regime with an absolute monarchy and the enforcement of Sharia law, which affects even the king, according to royal decree. Political parties are banned, and most political influence comes from local tribal sheikhs and a traditional tribal process of petitioning the king for an audience. In spite of ongoing pressures for modernization, Saudi society and government has been resistant and slow to change.
Religious authorities have a strong role in the enforcement of law and order. Its judges and legal adovates are Islamic religious scholars, and the nation has religious police, Mutaween, who travel in small groups to enforce laws ranging from dietary and sexual restrictions to proper dress codes. Physical and capital punishment are common, and Mutaween can administer public beatings for infractions instead of (or before) hauling the accused before a judge. Executions of criminals are common.

IRAM OF THE PILLARS

Chapter 89 of the Qur’an asks: “Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with Iram, who had lofty pillars, the likes of whom had never been created in the lands...?” For centuries the legendary “Iram of the Pillars” has become known as the “Atlantis of the Sands,” rumored buried somewhere in the Rub’ al-Khali, the “Empty Quarter” of the Saudi desert. Many archeologists on Earth-Prime believe Iram exists. The site is also of interest to those seeking ancient and forbidden occult secrets. SHADOW, in particular, has mounted expeditions and followed leads to find and unearth Iram in order to loot any lore or treasures it might contain.
If Iram truly exists, more recent failures to locate it suggest the ancient city is not merely buried beneath the sands, but also cloaked or hidden in some way by magic or advanced technology. It may be contained within a pocket dimension connected to the tunnels of Sub-Terra, or on a dimensional fold or fault line like other hidden places on Earth-Prime, including Utopia Isle and Shambala Vale.