How a King of Saudi Arabia ended up in history textbooks with Yoda
Sometimes, the people who deserve the most scorn really do it to themselves – and in a way that Martin Scorsese himself might exclaim, “Absolute cinema!”
You can’t depend on that phenomenon, mind you. As I’m sure we all learned from a depressingly young age, if you turn the other cheek towards someone striking you, they’ll just strike again. People really do need all the tomatoes that several dozen crops can give you thrown at them, yet sometimes, these people provide all the ammunition you could possibly need right from the off. From that point onward, all you need to do is sit back, watch people connect the dots and laugh alongside them.
One of the best examples of this came from a deeply unlikely source. A history textbook published by the education department of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Not only was this book published, but thousands of copies were distributed to hundreds of schools across the country before one glaring error was discovered. Now, to be clear, a state-sanctioned history textbook of Saudi Arabia would be even less funny than usual, given its subject. Look up Jamal Khashoggi for more proof of that.
However, whether intentionally or not, one picture researcher working for the Saudi board of education unwittingly made the whole regime look like a total joke. Not only the regime, but one of the country’s most famous monarchs, too. This was probably a mistake, someone working overtime who picked the first picture of King Faisal they could find and didn’t look too closely.
What’s wrong with this picture of King Faisal?
You could quite easily miss it at first. It’s a black and white photo, ostensibly from 1945, of Faisal signing the UN Charter. He sits, backed by regal flags and a fleet of similarly robbed diplomats. All seems to be according to plan. An immensely powerful man, doing a thing that changed the world, backed by his many advisors with his trusted Jedi master by his side, it’s an entirely standard historical photo that needs no further- wait, what?!
That’s right. Sat next to King Faisal, looking pensive and serene, is Master Yoda, presumably on a diplomatic mission from Coruscant to oversee the peaceful union of Saudi Arabia with the United Nations. While there are a few other beings that would be more valuable to have by your side at a time like that than the venerated Jedi Master, known for his wisdom and peaceful nature, there is just one problem. The fact that Master Yoda is (unfortunately) a fictional character from the Star Wars universe.
The photo was a creation of Saudi artist Shaweesh, known to his mum as Abdullah Al Jahdhami, as part of his most famous series of artworks. Made using Photoshop, Shaweesh contrasted icons of American pop culture like Captain America and fellow Star Wars legend Darth Vader with the history of Saudi Arabia. Shaweesh swore blind the artwork was meant as a compliment to Faisal, as both men were, in his words, “wise, strong and calm”.
One doesn’t have to spend too long wondering whether the Saudi Royal Family agreed with his assessment.