I | INTRODUCTION |
Saudi
Arabia, monarchy in southwestern Asia, occupying most of the Arabian
Peninsula. Saudi Arabia is a land of vast deserts and little rainfall. Huge
deposits of oil and natural gas lie beneath the country’s surface. Saudi Arabia
was a relatively poor nation before the discovery and exploitation of oil, but
since the 1950s income from oil has made the country wealthy. The religion of
Islam developed in the 7th century in what is now Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, and it has been ruled
by his descendants ever since.
Saudi Arabia is bounded on the north by
Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait; on the east by the Persian Gulf and Qatar; on the
southeast by the United Arab Emirates and Oman; on the south by Yemen; and on
the west by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The country’s border with the
United Arab Emirates is not precisely defined. Saudi Arabia has an area of about
2,240,000 sq km (about 864,900 sq mi). The capital and largest city is
Riyadh.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
The Arabian Peninsula is essentially a huge,
tilted block of rock, highest in the west and sloping gradually down to the
east. Most of this slab of rock is covered with the sand of several large
deserts. Saudi Arabia’s landscape also contains mountain ranges, flat coastal
plains, and the rocky remains of hardened lava flows. The country’s climate is
hot and dry, and there are no permanent rivers or lakes.
A | Natural Regions |
Saudi Arabia can be divided into four
natural regions. These are the mountainous western highlands; the rocky central
plateau; the more fertile, eastern low-lying coastal plain; and the sandy desert
areas of the north, east, and south.
A1 | Highlands of Al Ḩijāz and ‘Asīr |
A string of mountain ranges stretches
along the western edge of Saudi Arabia. The northern segment of these highlands,
known as Al Ḩijāz (Hejaz), has a general elevation of 600 to 900 m (2,000 to
3,000 ft), with some mountains exceeding 2,000 m (6,500 ft). Rainfall here is
infrequent, but streams flowing down the west side of the highlands allow
limited agriculture in valleys and on the narrow coastal plain. On the eastern
slopes of the highlands, prehistoric lava flows solidified to form vast, barren
fields of dark-colored, broken basaltic stone known as harras.
South of Al Ḩijāz the highlands continue into the region known as ‘Asīr.
Here, the highlands are rugged and reach considerably higher elevations than in
Al Ḩijāz: Much of ‘Asīr lies between 1,500 and 2,000 m (5,000 and 7,000 ft). The
highest point in Saudi Arabia, Jabal Sawdā’ (3,207 m/10,522 ft), is located in
this region, near the border with Yemen. ‘Asīr receives more rainfall than Al
Ḩijāz, allowing more widespread farming.
A2 | Najd |
An arid, rocky plateau known as Najd
occupies the interior of Saudi Arabia. The western half of the plateau is a
desolate tableland of broken volcanic rock crossed by wadis (watercourses that
flow only after rains). In the eastern half numerous rocky ridges run north to
south. Bordered on its north, east, and south by desert areas, Najd itself also
contains several deserts, including Nafūd ad Daḩy, a series of sandhills and
ridges that divide western Najd from eastern Najd.
A3 | Al Aḩsā’ |
In the east, along the Persian Gulf, is
the low-lying region of Al Aḩsā’, known for its vast petroleum deposits, farms,
and gulf ports. Here, natural springs made agriculture and large-scale
settlement possible long before the discovery of the region’s rich oil reserves.
The agricultural oasis of Al Qaţīf is noted for its large plantations of date
palms. The coast consists of salt flats (called sabkhas), marshes,
lagoons, and sandy or rocky beaches. Offshore coral reefs, mud islands, and sand
bars made navigation difficult before channels to ports were dredged in the 20th
century.
A4 | Deserts |
Considerably more than half the area of
Saudi Arabia is desert. Some desert areas are covered with shifting sand dunes,
while others are more stable flat or rippled expanses of sand. Shaped and moved
by winds, sand dunes take the form of long ridges or tall hills. Sand, gravel,
or bare rock basins lie between the dunes. Few plants grow in these arid
deserts, except in scattered oases supported by springs or wells. Three large
deserts lie on three sides of the country’s central plateau: An Nafūd to the
north, the Rub‘ al Khali to the south, and the narrow Ad Dahnā’ connecting these
two on the east. The Rub‘ al Khali, one of the largest deserts in the world, has
an area of about 650,000 sq km (about 250,000 sq mi), nearly as large as the
U.S. state of Texas.
An Nafūd is characterized by parallel
sand ridges, most 6 to 15 m (20 to 50 ft) high, but some sand hills rise as high
as 30 m (100 ft). In some areas, wind has stripped the bedrock surface clean of
loose material. North of An Nafūd are the southern fringes of the Syrian Desert.
A belt of sand hills and ridges known
as Ad Dahnā’ extends in an arc south from An Nafūd, separating Najd and Al
Aḩsā’. Ad Dahnā’, varying in width from 24 to 80 km (15 to 50 mi), connects the
northern desert regions with the Rub‘ al Khali in the south. A similar but
discontinuous band of sand ridges lies on the western edge of Najd, also
connecting An Nafūd and the Rub‘ al Khali.
Rub‘ al Khali means “Empty
Quarter” in Arabic, reflecting the barren and forbidding nature of the southern
Arabian desert. It is much larger and drier than the other Saudi deserts,
contains no oases, and can only be inhabited temporarily, in the cooler winter
months, by camel-herding nomads called Bedouins. The Rub‘ al Khali extends over
much of southeastern Saudi Arabia and beyond the southern frontier into Yemen
and Oman. Like An Nafūd, the Rub‘ al Khali is a sea of sand ridges and hills,
some of which are as high as 150 m (500 ft). One of the world’s best-preserved
meteor impact sites is located in the middle of the Rub‘ al Khali, at a site
called Wabar.
B | Climate |
Extreme heat and aridity are characteristic
of most of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the few places in the world where summer
temperatures above 50°C (120°F) are common, while in winter frost or snow can
occur in the interior and the higher mountains. The average temperature range in
January is 8° to 20°C (47° to 68°F) in Riyadh and 19° to 29°C (66° to 83°F) in
Jiddah. The average range in July is 27° to 43°C (81° to 109°F) in Riyadh and
27° to 38°C (80° to 100°F) in Jiddah. Precipitation is usually sparse, although
sudden downpours can lead to violent flash floods in wadis. Annual rainfall in
Riyadh averages 100 mm (4 in) and falls almost exclusively between January and
May; the average in Jiddah is 54 mm (2.1 in) and occurs between November and
January.
C | Natural Resources |
Some of the world’s largest oil and natural
gas fields lie beneath Saudi Arabia and its offshore waters, representing the
country’s most economically important natural resource. In 2007 Saudi Arabia’s
oil reserves were estimated at 264 billion barrels. Before the discovery and
exploitation of these reserves in the mid-20th century, Saudi Arabia was one of
the poorest countries in the world. Its relatively small population subsisted in
a harsh environment with little agricultural land and limited water resources.
Saudi Arabia lacks permanent lakes and rivers, but considerable reserves of
underground water have been discovered across the country. These have been used
to increase agricultural production and provide water for the growing
population. Desalination plants on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea coasts provide
important, if expensive, sources of water. In addition, a number of dams built
across wadis capture seasonal rainwater temporarily.
D | Plants and Animals |
Various fruit trees, notably the date palm,
and a wide variety of grains and vegetables thrive in desert oases and in
irrigated areas. Outside these areas, only sparse desert shrubs and trees
survive. Large animals such as ostriches, oryxes, mountain goats, gazelles, and
leopards were once numerous. However, hunters equipped with modern weapons and
transportation have wiped out most or all of these prized game animals. Among
other local wild mammals are foxes, hyenas, ibexes, panthers, wildcats,
hedgehogs, sand rats, jerboas, hares, and wolves. Flamingos and pelicans are
common on Saudi shores, and bustards, pigeons, and quails are found across most
of the country. Lizards and snakes thrive in the arid desert and tableland, and
the coastal waters are home to a wide variety of marine life. In particular, the
coral reefs of the Red Sea are home to a dazzling array of brightly colored fish
and other marine animals.
E | Environmental Issues |
The Persian Gulf oil industry has polluted
the gulf for decades through unintentional oil spillage—from tanker accidents
and pipeline leaks—and through dumping of oil-processing waste. Spilled oil and
dumped waste have ruined bird habitats on the Saudi Arabian coast and killed
countless fish and marine mammals. The situation worsened dramatically during
the 1991 Persian Gulf War, when the Iraqi assault on Kuwait resulted in the
release of 910 million liters (240 million gallons) of oil into the gulf.
Kuwaiti oil wells set ablaze in the war also caused severe air pollution in
Saudi Arabia. Beyond pollution caused by the oil industry, Saudi Arabia’s
rapidly growing population has outpaced the provision of sewage services,
resulting in the contamination of underground water near urban areas. The
country has made some efforts to protect native species and preserve habitats.
There is an extensive system of protected areas, including a national park and a
number of nature reserves. Some protection has also been extended to sensitive
marine habitats off the coasts.
Saudi Arabia participates in international
environmental agreements pertaining to climate change, hazardous wastes, and
ozone layer protection. Regionally, the country has committed itself to the
cooperative protection of shared marine environments in the Persian Gulf, Red
Sea, and Gulf of Aden.
III | POPULATION |
In 2008 Saudi Arabia had an estimated
population of 28.2 million and a population density of 13.1 persons per sq km
(33.9 persons per sq mi). About 23 percent of the population (amounting to about
5.4 million people) is made up of foreign nationals living in Saudi Arabia. The
country’s population growth rate is one of the fastest in the world, at 1.95
percent (2008). The rapid rate of population growth and the large percentage of
foreign workers and their dependents have significant political, social, and
economic implications on Saudi Arabia. Foreign workers play an important role in
the country, making up a large portion of the labor force and the consumer base.
However, due mainly to a series of economic downturns, the government has
pursued a policy of Saudi-ization to reduce its reliance on expatriates in the
workforce. For more information, see the Labor section of this article.
Riyadh, in the central Najd region, is
Saudi Arabia’s capital and largest city, followed by Jiddah, in Al Ḩijāz. Also
located in Al Ḩijāz are the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina.
Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca and first gained a large
following in Medina in the early 7th century. Once a year, close to 2 million
Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca, a religious duty known as the hajj.
Other major cities include the ports of Ad Dammām and Al Jubayl on the Persian
Gulf; Al Hufūf, in the oasis of Al Hasa in eastern Saudi Arabia; and Aţ Ţā’if,
close to Mecca.
A | Ethnic Groups and Languages |
The Arabian Peninsula is the heartland of
the Arab people and the Arabic language. The vast majority of Saudi residents
are Arabs, and many claim descent from ancient Bedouin tribes native to the
peninsula. However, there is some regional diversity. For centuries, the hajj
has attracted Muslims from around the world to western Arabia. Those who settled
permanently and intermarried with the local population have given rise to a
diverse Muslim population in Al Ḩijāz. Some Saudi communities have African
roots, a legacy of the days when slave trading was permitted in the region. The
large foreign-born population of the kingdom consists mainly of Arabs from
countries such as Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. In
addition, many people from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines live
and work in Saudi Arabia.
Arabic is the official language of Saudi
Arabia and is used by most of the native population. English is an important
second language, used in government, commerce, the media, and among the non-Arab
expatriate community.
B | Religion |
Islam is the country’s official religion.
An estimated 89 percent of Saudis are Sunni Muslims (see Sunni Islam),
and about 5 percent are Shia Muslims (see Shia Islam). The government
employs the Sharia (Islamic law) as a guiding principle of rule. Consequently,
Islamic tenets not only govern spirituality and religious practice, but also
guide practices of law, business, taxation, and government.
The form of Islam supported by the
government is socially and theologically conservative. While Saudis and
foreigners may behave as they wish behind closed doors, they must observe many
strict religious requirements while in public. These include conservative dress
for men and women, segregation of the sexes, mandatory daily prayers for Muslim
men, and the closing of offices and businesses during the five daily prayer
times. A government agency called the Committee to Prevent Vice and Promote
Virtue sends out official enforcers called mutawwa’in to ensure
observance of these rules. Punishments for transgressions can be summary and
harsh, including public flogging.
Saudi Arabia’s conservative form of
Islam is strongly influenced by a puritanical Islamic movement formed in the
18th century. This movement is often referred to by Westerners and other
non-Saudis as Wahhabism, after its founder, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (see
Wahhabis). However, the movement’s adherents have never referred to
themselves as Wahhabis, and within Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi is often used by
non-Saudis or reform-minded Saudis in reproach to refer to conservative Muslims.
In modern-day Saudi Arabia, strong adherents of the movement may call themselves
muwahhidun (unitarians, from al-muwahhid, Arabic for “those who
proclaim the unity of God”) or ahl al-tawhid (people of unity). Less
strident followers—a significant portion of the population, including some
members of the royal family—may simply say they are part of the harakat
al-salafiyya, roughly translated as “the movement following the ways of the
Prophet.”
The country’s Shia Muslims are
concentrated around the oases of Al Hasa and Al Qaţīf in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Strict muwahhidun do not recognize the Shias as true Muslims. Therefore,
historically, Saudi authorities have subjected them to discrimination and
oppression, arousing resentment and opposition to the regime among the Shias.
Other religions are represented among the expatriate population. However, the
government does not allow public practice of non-Islamic religions and prohibits
missionary activity.
C | Education |
The Saudi government has built an education
system that provides free schooling at all levels to a large portion of the
population. School is not compulsory, but 67 percent of primary school-age
children are enrolled in school (2002–2003), as well as 67 percent of secondary
school-age children. A dramatic increase in literacy over the last decades of
the 20th century is one indicator of the success of the government’s efforts.
According to a 1970 estimate, Saudis had one of the lowest literacy rates in the
Middle East: 15 percent for men and 2 percent for women. In 2005, 86 percent of
all men and 73 percent of all women were literate. The government operates most
primary and secondary schools, but also permits privately owned schools. The
Saudi curriculum heavily emphasizes the study of Islam.
Saudi Arabia has several universities and
teacher training colleges, and a large number of other higher education
institutions. Major universities include King Saud University (1957) and the
Islamic University of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud (1953), in Riyadh; the Islamic
University at Medina (1961); King Faisal University (1975), with colleges in
both Ad Dammām and Al Hufūf King Abdul Aziz University (1967), in Jiddah; King
Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (1963), in Ad Dammām; and Umm Al-Qura
University (1979), in Mecca. The government funds university and graduate
education abroad, and many Saudi students attend educational institutions in the
United States and United Kingdom. This has helped create an English-speaking
technocratic elite, some of whom are advocates of political reform and social
liberalization.
The government extended public education
to girls in 1960, despite opposition from some conservative religious leaders.
Female education, now widely popular, is helping to transform the traditional
role of women in Saudi society. Nonetheless, the education system is segregated
by gender. In the past, women who wished to attend college were largely limited
to the study of education or nursing (as these were the principal types of work
deemed acceptable for women). However, economic and social pressures have forced
universities to broaden the range of educational opportunities for women.
D | Way of Life |
As in other Middle Eastern societies, the
family is the focal point of identity, loyalty, social status, and economic
prospects in Saudi Arabia. Households tend to be large; Saudi women bear 3.9
children on average, according to 2008 statistics. The roles of men and women
are sharply divided in many respects, a reflection of conservative Islamic
practice and local custom. Men are expected to lead the household and provide
for its financial well-being. Women are expected to marry, have children, and
raise them according to Islamic principles. Therefore, few Saudi women work
outside the home. In 2006 women made up only 14 percent of the labor force, and
most of these were expatriate workers. Saudi women are not permitted to drive or
to travel abroad without a male relative’s approval. Some women and men have
expressed opposition to these restrictions, and the government has on occasion
expressed a willingness to gradually provide more rights for women. However,
opposition from religious authorities, a lack of strong support from the ruling
family, and the basic conservatism of broad sectors of the Saudi population have
made change very slow.
Influenced by the dictates of Islamic
custom and the need for protection from a hot, dusty climate, traditional Saudi
clothing is designed to cover and conceal the body. Although there are regional
variations in the styles, colors, and materials used in traditional clothing,
the customary garb of the Najd region has come to predominate throughout Saudi
Arabia as a result of government and social pressure. Younger generations of
Saudis, favoring blue jeans and baseball caps, are moving away from wearing
traditional garb.
Women traditionally use veils to cover
their hair in public and a mask (called a burka or batula) to
cover their faces. At home, women usually wear a caftan (full-length, loose robe
with long sleeves), which may be ornamented with embroidery. When going outside
the house, women add an outer garment called an abaya, which is often made of
dark, gauzy material that also can help cover the head. For men, the most common
garment is the thob, similar to the caftan in that it reaches the ground
and has long sleeves. It is typically made of white cotton, but men may wear
thobs of dark wool in the cooler months. Over the thob men may wear an
aba or bisht, a coarser robe usually of brown wool. Men also tend
to cover their heads, first with a small skullcap, then with a large square
kerchief called a ghoutra. The ghoutra is often white but is also found
in red or black checked patterns. It is held in place with an igal, two
intertwined black cords formed into rings.
A typical meal in Saudi Arabia could
include mutton, chicken, or fish, with rice, bread, and vegetables. Dates are a
local delicacy. Coffee, tea, and fruit juices are the most popular beverages
among all segments of the population. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Food,
especially sweets, takes on special significance during the holy month of
Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast (go without food or drink) until the sun
sets.
IV | CULTURE |
Bedouin society and Islam have shaped Saudi
cultural expression. As in many parts of the Middle East, Saudis view the
nomadic Bedouin as the embodiment of core social and cultural values, including
honor, valor, chivalry, and hospitality. In pre-Islamic times called jahiliyya
(Arabic for “time of ignorance”), Bedouin poetry was one of the most developed
and influential forms of cultural expression on the Arabian Peninsula. Among
these nomadic people, poetry was an oral tradition: Poets recited or sang their
works, and listeners memorized the poems and retold them to others. The Bedouin
poetical tradition influenced subsequent Arabian literature, and survives to the
present day.
Islam developed in Arabia in the 7th
century and soon came to influence nearly all aspects of Arabian cultural life,
including the arts, architecture, the Arabic language, and literature. Today,
the kingdom’s conservative religious authorities attempt to control cultural
expression strictly, forbidding movie theaters, and singing or dancing at
religious observances.
A | Literature |
Poetry was the first form of Arabic
literature to attain a high degree of refinement, and the poetry of pre-Islamic
Arabia is still admired and influential. The most notable type of poem was the
qasida, an ode that could have a number of often-complex rhyming
patterns. These odes dealt with themes such as love, beauty, courage in battle,
and praise for noble leaders. The most influential poet of the pre-Islamic
period was Imru al-Qays. The Qur’an, revealed to Muhammad and recorded in
Arabic, has had a profound influence on Arabian literature and society. Not only
a guide for living life according to God’s will, the Qur’an is also considered
by many to exemplify the perfect use of the Arabic language and provide an
ultimate literary model.
B | Art and Architecture |
A relatively poor region until the
exploitation of oil began in the mid-20th century, Arabia’s artistic and
architectural heritage is small, particularly in comparison to centers of
Islamic culture elsewhere in the Middle East (see Islamic Art and
Architecture). Because of Islamic prohibitions against idolatry (idol worship),
religious art has focused more on nonhuman subjects. Islamic artists in Arabia
have explored the artistic possibilities of geometric shapes and calligraphy
(artistic writing) in pottery decoration, mosaics, weavings, and illustrated
manuscripts. Since the 19th century puritanical Muslims have been responsible
for the destruction of many historic structures, such as funerary monuments,
associated with figures from early Islam. They have viewed these structures as
examples of idolatry or as encouraging worship of saints, deviations from Islam
considered unacceptable.
Few architectural artifacts survive from
pre-oil times. Most buildings were made using local materials: mud brick, stone,
wood, trunks and fronds of palm trees, and plaster. Simple mud-brick structures
of one or two stories were the most common dwellings throughout the country.
Nomads lived in tents woven from sheep’s wool and goat hair. Since the mid-20th
century, Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth has enabled the construction of a number of
significant buildings that have artistically married local styles, materials,
and influences with modern concepts of design. For example, the Hajj Terminal of
King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jiddah consists of numerous conical fabric structures
reminiscent of the tents of hajj pilgrims.
C | Music and Dance |
Traditional Bedouin song styles and
melodies are enjoyed throughout Saudi Arabia. Saudi singers are among the most
popular in the Arab world, and their works fuel a vibrant recording industry.
The recordings of popular Saudi singers such as Mohammad Abdo and Abdul Majid
Abdullah are commonly played in many Arab countries. The Jenadriyyah, an annual
two-week cultural festival held near Riyadh, features performances of
traditional music and dance from around the country, as well as crafts such as
weaving and woodworking.
D | Museums, Libraries, and Cultural Organizations |
Oil revenues have funded the development of
Saudi cultural institutions. The King Abdul-Aziz Historical Center, which opened
in Riyadh in 1999, contains facilities for research as well as the National
Museum, which houses exhibits depicting the history of Saudi Arabia, the rise of
Islam, and the hajj. Local museums are found in towns and cities across the
country.
The King Fahd Library in Riyadh, one of the
Middle East’s premier research facilities, has one of the largest collections of
rare manuscripts on Arabic and Islamic literature and arts. The King Abdul-Aziz
Public Library is another major library in Riyadh. Bookstores and libraries can
be found in all major Saudi cities. However, religious and political
sensitivities govern what texts can be sold or read.
The Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and
Arts, founded in 1972, sponsors Saudi artists and provides sites to present
their works. The society has also established a library, information center, and
cultural center in Riyadh. The King Faisal Foundation, founded in 1976, promotes
Arab and Islamic culture within the country and abroad. The Riyadh-based
organization awards the annual King Faisal International Prizes in the
categories of service to Islam, Islamic studies, Arabic literature, medicine,
and science. These prizes are among the most prestigious in the Arab world.
V | ECONOMY |
When the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was
established in 1932 its economy was fragmented and small. People in the Al Ḩijāz
cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jiddah derived most of their income from the annual
influx of thousands of hajj pilgrims. Coastal settlements on the Red Sea relied
on trade and fishing, while those on the Persian Gulf grew dates and other
produce. In the central Najd region, economic activity revolved around trade
between nomads—who raised camels, sheep, goats, and horses—and settled groups,
who grew crops and produced handicrafts. Principal Saudi exports were dates and
livestock, and imports included textiles, grains, other foodstuffs, and various
manufactured products.
Oil revenue transformed the Saudi economy in
the mid-20th century. In addition to bringing tremendous personal wealth to the
royal family and their merchant friends, oil money was eventually channeled by
government development programs into areas such as transportation, housing,
health, education, and defense.
A | Labor |
The Saudi government has used oil revenues
to expand social services and build roads, schools, telecommunications, and
other infrastructural facilities. To carry out these improvements the government
hired large numbers of workers and professionals from abroad. Saudis occupy all
middle- and upper-level government-service positions, while nearly all clerical
workers, laborers, and lower-level service industry workers come from other
countries. Professional and technical jobs are split roughly evenly between
Saudi citizens and expatriates. According to a 2006 World Bank estimate, the
Saudi labor force consisted of 8.4 million workers. In 2002 agriculture employed
about 5 percent of the labor force, industry about 21 percent, and services, 74
percent. Women made up only 14 percent of the labor force in 2006, with Saudi
women representing a tiny, but growing, portion of this percentage.
As the boom years of oil revenues came to
an end in the 1980s, it became clear that the growing foreign labor force was
economically unsustainable. The Saudi government began making efforts to reduce
the country’s reliance on non-Saudi labor and to increase the number of Saudis
in private sector jobs, a policy referred to as Saudi-ization. During this
period of Saudi-ization the government cracked down on illegal immigrant labor,
threatening to fine employers of illegal immigrants and forcing about 100,000
illegal workers to leave the country. It also began encouraging the private
sector to reserve categories of occupations for Saudis and to hire Saudis for
existing positions, establishing quotas for employment of Saudis. Despite these
efforts, by 2002 the expatriate labor force had reached 5.4 million. Unions and
collective bargaining are not permitted in Saudi Arabia.
B | Oil, Natural Gas, and Mining |
The oil industry is the most important
sector of the Saudi economy. Saudi Arabia’s proven petroleum reserves amount to
one-fourth of the world total. The major oil fields are in the eastern part of
the country and offshore in the Persian Gulf. Because the country has relatively
small internal demand for oil, it exports most of its production. It is the
largest exporter of petroleum in the world—in 2002 Saudi Arabia exported about 6
million barrels per day—and has the power to influence world oil prices.
Commercial quantities of oil were
discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938, but World War II (1939-1945) delayed
large-scale exports until the 1950s. Initial exploration and drilling were
carried out by the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco), the operating company
of Standard Oil of California (Socal). Several other U.S. oil companies acquired
shares in Aramco in 1948. The Saudi government bought a 25 percent share of the
company in 1973, then took complete control in 1980, after which the company was
called Saudi Aramco. Production rose steadily from about 1.3 million barrels per
day in 1960 to 3.8 million barrels per day in 1970. The increased production
coupled with rising oil prices, especially in 1973 and 1974, brought huge
revenues to the Saudi government. Another rapid increase in revenues followed
the Islamic Revolution of Iran (1978-1979), when Saudi Arabia increased
production to compensate for the drop in Iranian production, and prices rose due
to the uncertain market. Oil prices declined along with world demand for oil
during the worldwide economic recession of the early 1980s. In 2004 Saudi Arabia
produced 8.8 million barrels of oil per day.
Saudi Arabia began producing natural gas
liquids in 1962. In 1982 the first phase of the so-called Master Gas System was
put in place. This system was built to capture the natural gas that was released
as a by-product of oil production and distribute it to power petrochemical
plants, steel factories, and other manufacturing enterprises. By the late 1990s
plans were put forward to exploit the kingdom’s other gas fields. In June 2001
Saudi Arabia awarded concessions for the projects to several foreign companies,
marking the return of foreign companies for the first time since 1975. In 2003
Saudi Arabia produced 60 billion cu m (2.1 trillion cu ft) of natural gas.
The state-owned Saudi Arabian Mining
Company controls Saudi Arabia’s significant nonpetrochemical mineral resources.
These other mineral products include limestone, gypsum, marble, clay, and salt.
In addition, smaller mining operations extract gold, silver, bauxite, copper,
zinc, and iron ore.
C | Services |
About 74 percent of the Saudi labor force
works in service industries such as education, health care, transportation,
communications, and commercial and financial services. The government employs
most of these workers. In addition to providing services for residents, the
Saudi service sector is also geared toward dealing with large numbers of
travelers from abroad. These include the annual influx of hajj pilgrims from
around the world, as well as the guests and dependents of foreign workers. As a
result, there is a well-developed hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia, offering
accommodations, food, and transportation services. The Mecca-Medina region has
accommodated some 2 million pilgrims (including pilgrims from within the
country) in recent hajj seasons. In 1996 Saudi Arabia constructed several large
coastal resorts and recreation facilities in an effort to promote internal
tourism. Services accounted for 32 percent of the country’s gross domestic
product (GDP) in 2006.
D | Manufacturing |
Saudi Arabia’s initial manufacturing
industries involved the refining and processing of crude oil and natural gas. In
recent decades, the Saudi government has sought to diversify its industrial
sector, recognizing that the country’s economy would be more stable and secure
in the long term if its reliance on oil were balanced by other forms of
production. Consequently, the nation has developed its nonoil manufacturing
sector, producing goods for domestic and export markets. The state-owned Saudi
Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), founded in 1976, has focused on building a
petrochemical industry and on steel production. In 1997 Sabic companies marketed
9.2 million tons of petrochemicals, 2.85 million tons of steel, 2.8 million tons
of plastics, 1.1 million tons of industrial gases, and 140,000 tons of polyester
products.
The government established the Saudi
Industrial Development Fund in 1974 to provide loans to private investors. To
encourage private sector involvement further, in 1984 the government sold 30
percent of Sabic’s holdings to private investors. As a result, Saudi Arabia now
has a flourishing private industrial sector, producing products such as cement,
electrical equipment, synthetic rubber, plastics, processed food, and soft
drinks.
E | Agriculture |
Before the influx of oil money in the
mid-20th century, agriculture was carried out in very few locations in Saudi
Arabia. The largest cultivated areas were in the eastern oases of Al Hasa and Al
Qaţīf, and these farms grew dates (in sufficient quantities for export), other
fruits, vegetables, and grains. With increased oil revenues, the Saudi
government attempted to make Saudi Arabia more self-sufficient in food
production. At great expense, irrigation rapidly increased the amount of
farmland available for cultivating a wider variety of crops. While agricultural
production temporarily rose, economic realities eventually forced the government
to cut back many farm subsidies.
Livestock products—mainly sheep, goats,
and camels—have been important in the local economy for centuries. Large poultry
and beef and dairy cattle farm industries were established in the 20th century
to supply mainly domestic requirements. Nonetheless, domestic meat production
has not kept pace with demand, and the country imports a significant amount of
meat.
F | Fishing |
Fishing was an important source of food
along Saudi Arabia’s coasts before the oil era. However, other food sources have
supplanted fish due to the rapid rise of population and the contamination of
Persian Gulf fisheries (especially during the 1991 Persian Gulf War). Saudi
fishers caught 74,778 metric tons of fish in 2005.
G | Energy |
Saudi Arabia’s abundant supplies of oil and
natural gas amply meet its energy requirements. In 2003 the country’s oil- or
gas-burning power plants produced 145.1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.
The government heavily subsidized utilities such as electricity until the 1990s,
when tighter budgets led to rate increases. In 2000 the country’s ten regional
electric companies merged to form the Saudi Electricity Company. The state-owned
General Electricity Corporation funds the provision of electricity to remote
rural areas.
H | Transportation and Communications |
Historically, road networks have been
centered in Al Ḩijāz, connecting the pilgrimage sites of Mecca and Medina with
the port of Jiddah. Since the dawn of the oil era, the rest of Saudi Arabia has
benefited from transportation developments. As of 2000 there were 152,044 km
(94,476 mi) of roads in the kingdom, and 30 percent were paved. Motor vehicle
use is widespread, and buses and taxis travel the country’s intercity highways.
The region’s only railway line connects Riyadh with the Persian Gulf port of Ad
Dammām, by way of Al Hufūf. Major port facilities are located in Jiddah, Ad
Dammām, and Al Jubayl. Commercial airports are found across the country, and
those in Jiddah, Dhahran, and Riyadh are the busiest. The national airline,
Saudi Arabian Airlines, schedules regular domestic and international
flights.
Saudis have a variety of media options,
including several television and radio stations, and numerous newspapers and
magazines. However, media outlets must conform to the vision of Islam held by
the religious authorities, and to the range of political views deemed acceptable
by the government.
I | Foreign Trade |
Saudi Arabia’s exports—dominated by
petroleum products—easily outweigh its imports of items such as foods,
machinery, vehicles, textiles, and raw materials including plastics, chemicals,
and rubber. In 2002 Saudi Arabia exported commodities amounting to $63.7
billion, while imports amounted to only $37 billion. The United States is the
country’s largest trading partner, followed by Japan, the United Kingdom, and
Germany.
J | Currency and Banking |
Saudi Arabia probably has the most
developed banking sector in the Middle East. The unit of currency is the
Saudi riyal (SR), consisting of 100 halalah (3.70 Saudi riyals
equal U.S.$1; 2006 average). The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency issues currency,
stabilizes the exchange rate, administers monetary reserves, and regulates the
banking system. There are a number of private Saudi-owned banks and banks with
joint Saudi-foreign ownership.
VI | GOVERNMENT |
Saudi Arabia is a monarchy. Governmental and
legal systems are based on the Sharia, the sacred law of Islam, which is
interpreted according to the strict Hanbali rite by the learned religious
elders, or ulama. Beginning in March 1992, the king issued several
decrees that established new political structures and promulgated procedures for
government. Known as the Basic Law of Government, the decrees defined Saudi
Arabia as a sovereign Arab, Islamic state whose constitution is the Qur’an and
the Sunna (traditions) of the prophet Muhammad. The law also stipulated
that the country would be ruled by the male descendants of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud,
the founder of the kingdom. The principles of government were stated to be
justice, equality, and consultation, in accordance with the Sharia. The law also
states that the duties of the state are to protect Islam, protect human rights,
and provide public services and security for all citizens according to the
Sharia. It also called for an independent judiciary and provided for the
establishment of the Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura), to be chosen every
four years by the king.
A | Executive and Legislature |
The chief government and religious
official of Saudi Arabia is the king. Various rules of succession have been
developed since the founding of the kingdom in 1932. In 1992 King Fahd decreed
that the king could designate or remove the crown prince. Furthermore, the crown
prince would not automatically rise to the throne upon the death of the king,
but would serve only as provisional ruler until fully confirmed by religious and
government leaders. The king is advised by a cabinet of ministers and usually
also serves as prime minister. The royal family and a few other prominent
families provide most higher government officials. The king’s power is absolute
in theory. In practice, however, it has been modified by factors such as the
king’s personal political skills (or lack thereof) and the actions of members of
the royal family, influential ulama, and others with close links to the royal
family, including major merchant families and tribal leaders.
Saudi Arabia has no separate legislature
and no political parties. Laws are issued by the king and his ministers. In 1992
Fahd called for the creation of a Consultative Council, whose members would be
selected by him. The council was officially inaugurated in 1993 with a
membership of 60. The council’s membership was increased to 90 in 1997, and to
120 in 2001. The council has no legislative powers, but it has the right to
summon and question ministers, and to offer recommendations to the king.
B | Judiciary |
The laws of Saudi Arabia are based on the
Sharia, which is derived from the Qur’an and the Sunna (see Sunni Islam).
The Ministry of Justice is charged with operating the country’s Sharia courts,
and the minister of justice is the country’s chief judge. In October 2007 a
royal decree completely overhauled Saudi Arabia’s court system, creating two new
supreme courts to replace the functions of the Supreme Council of Justice. One
supreme court was to be created to oversee general courts and a second supreme
court to oversee administrative courts. The effect of the decree was to
strengthen the system of appeals by having higher courts review the rulings of
lower courts.
Human rights groups welcomed the reforms,
saying they would make Saudi Arabia’s judicial system less arbitrary. The head
of each supreme court was to be appointed by the king. The Supreme Council of
Justice remained in existence but its powers were greatly reduced so that it
only reviews administrative issues, such as salaries of judges and their
appointments. The decree also set up specialized court circuits dealing with
commercial and labor law.
C | Local Government |
Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 provinces,
or emirates. Each is headed by a governor, or emir, who is appointed by the
king. In 1993 a royal decree defined the provincial system of government,
setting out the rights and responsibilities of governors. It provided for the
establishment of provincial councils (composed of citizens and officials) that
would meet quarterly and provide supervision and advice. Governors have
historically tended to be members of the royal family. In keeping with
traditional norms, their form of rule included holding a regular majlis
(council or petitioning session) where citizens would come in person and present
their problems to the governor. Large cities elect their own municipal
governments. Towns and villages are governed by councils of elders.
D | Defense |
Since the mid-1960s Saudi Arabia’s defense
expenditures have increased dramatically. The country maintains two separate
armies. The first is the national guard, or the white guard, which is a
conglomeration of traditional tribal armies and has about 77,000 active members.
In 2004 the regular armed forces included an army of 75,000 soldiers, an air
force of 18,000, a navy of 15,500, and an air defense force. These forces,
trained in part with U.S. assistance, are equipped with modern weapons and
advanced aircraft.
E | Political Expression |
Despite the absence of political parties
and other representative groups, Saudi officials contend that a wide range of
opinions and interests are heard because the government operates by consulting
with a broad segment of the population. However, not all segments of the
population have access to these consultations, and some of those who are
consulted feel that the government ignores or downplays their legitimate
demands. As a result, several forms of political dissent have appeared.
First is the religious, or Islamist,
opposition. The Saudi state arose in part as a result of an agreement between
the ruling family and the ulama, but the interests of the two groups frequently
have been at odds. Historically, the ruling Saudi family has found ways to keep
high-ranking religious officials compliant. During some periods, however, Saudi
rulers have felt compelled to succumb to the demands of the ulama. In addition,
conservative Muslim critics outside the religious establishment have used the
rhetoric of Islam to voice their opposition to the government. Another group at
odds with the Saudi government has been the Shia population in the eastern part
of the country. Pushed to the margins of Saudi society, Shia groups in Saudi
Arabia point to a long history of oppression and neglect as part of their
grievances. Both radical Islamists and Shia groups have at times expressed their
opposition through the use of violence. Western-educated technocrats and women
have attempted to pressure the government for change in nonviolent ways. Many of
them feel constrained by the restrictions and limitations imposed by the
country’s adherence to conservative Islamic practices, and they chafe at the
slow pace of political, economic, and social reforms.
VII | HISTORY |
Fossil remains of elephants,
hippopotamuses, crocodiles, and other large animals found in parts of the
Arabian Peninsula indicate that the climate could support much more vegetation
between 11 million and 4 million years ago than it can today. The region’s arid
climate, however, seems to date back at least 5,000 years. Prehistoric flint
tools and rock drawings in various parts of the peninsula provide evidence of
scattered habitation by Stone Age peoples.
A | Ancient Arabia |
Arabia served as a crossroads between
the major ancient civilizations that rose and fell nearby: Babylonia, in what is
now Iraq; the Nile Valley kingdoms of Ancient Egypt and Kush; and the early
states of Yemen. By 4000 bc an
advanced trading culture known as Dilmun developed on the Persian Gulf islands
of Bahrain and the nearby Arabian coast. Dilmun provided an important stop on
trade routes linking Mesopotamia to Oman and the Indus Valley civilizations of
South Asia. Dilmun reached the height of its power in about 2000 bc. It was occupied by the Kassites of
Mesopotamia in about 1600 bc, and
declined in importance over the next 1,000 years.
The next major Arabian power to develop
was the Minaean kingdom, which was well established by 1000 bc in ‘Asīr and southern Al Ḩijāz along
the Red Sea coast. Its capital was at Karna, also spelled Qarnah (present-day
Şa‘dah, Yemen). The Minaeans were nomads and herders who came to dominate the Al
Ḩijāz trade in incense—substances that were burned to honor gods in many of the
region’s pre-Islamic religions. The Minaeans withdrew from their trading post at
Dedān (now Al ‘Ulá, in northern Al Ḩijāz) in the 1st century bc; afterward the Nabataeans founded a
commercial center nearby at Madā’in Şāliḩ. The buildings of Madā’in Şāliḩ are
carved from rock in the same manner as those of the Nabataean capital of Petra,
in present-day Jordan. In the 6th century ad the Lakhmid dynasty of Hira, centered
in southern Iraq, began to replace the Minaeans as the regional power of central
Arabia.
By the 6th century Mecca was already an
important city. It was a major stop on the main trade route between Yemen and
the civilizations of the Mediterranean, and was also a pilgrimage destination
for many Arab peoples who practiced polytheism (worship of multiple gods).
B | Coming of Islam |
Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born
in Mecca in about 570 to a family belonging to a branch of the Quraysh, the
dominant tribe of Mecca. His first attempts to preach the oneness of God met
with only partial success, gaining him both followers and opponents in his home
city. Muhammad had more success with tribes in nearby Medina, and he moved there
in 622. Muhammad’s emigration, known as the Hegira (hijrah in Arabic)
marks the first year of the Islamic calendar. In 630 he returned with his
followers and conquered Mecca.
After Muhammad’s death in 632, the
Islamic community (ummah) was guided by caliphs (khalifah, Arabic
for “successor”), who succeeded Muhammad in his role as Islam’s political
leader. The first four caliphs ruled from Mecca and Medina, overseeing the rapid
expansion of an Islamic empire through conversion and military conquest (see
Spread of Islam). By 650 an organized Islamic state ruled a newly unified
Arabian Peninsula as well as the entire Fertile Crescent (what is now Iraq,
Syria, Lebanon, and Israel) and Egypt. The Umayyad dynasty of caliphs moved the
seat of the caliphate to Damascus in 661. The political center of the great
Islamic empire would remain outside the peninsula from this point onward,
pushing Arabia to the fringes of Islamic culture and power until modern times.
After 1269 most of Al Ḩijāz was ruled by
the Egyptian Mamluks. The Ottoman Empire gained control of Al Ḩijāz when it
conquered Egypt in 1517. Neither the Mamluks nor the Ottomans extended their
authority into the central Arabian Najd region, which remained the domain of
Bedouin tribal chiefs.
C | Abd al-Wahhab and the Rise of the Saudis |
In the mid-18th century the Muslim leader
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab attempted to gain religious influence in Najd. Abd
al-Wahhab aggressively propagated an Islamic doctrine that he felt was as pure
and true as the one preached originally by Muhammad. His view of Islam
emphasized the oneness of God and forbade practices such as the worship of
saints and holy men. In 1744 Abd al-Wahhab found an ally in Muhammad ibn Saud,
the leader of the tiny settlement of Ad Dir‘īyah in the central Najd region.
Thanks to Abd al-Wahhab’s strident religious convictions and Muhammad ibn Saud’s
political and military prowess, a powerful movement was born. Adherents, who
called themselves muwahhidun (referred to as Wahhabis by outsiders),
quickly spread far and wide. Villagers and nomads joined the movement out of
either conviction or fear—the muwahhidun spread their message using soldiers as
well as preachers.
In the first years of the 19th century,
muwahhidun forces conquered the main cities and towns of Al Ḩijāz, including
Mecca and Medina. In these cities, Abd al-Wahhab’s representatives attempted to
destroy the tombs of Muhammad and the caliphs, believing such edifices
encouraged idolatrous worship. The forces then advanced northward, plundering
the Shia holy city of Karbalā’ and disrupting the major Ottoman trade routes in
what is now Iraq and Syria. Faced with this growing threat, the Ottomans sent a
force from Egypt to invade Arabia. Warfare raged across the peninsula from 1811
to 1818, when Egyptian forces defeated the muwahhidun and razed Ad Dir‘īyah.
After the Egyptian armies withdrew in
1824, the remaining forces of the Saudi family regrouped in the town of Riyadh,
near Ad Dir‘īyah, and began reclaiming the Najd lands they had lost. Throughout
most of the 19th century the Saudis and their followers faced opposition from
several quarters: rival emirates ruled by the Rashidis of Ḩā’il, to the north;
the sharifs (descendants of the Prophet), who ruled parts of Al Ḩijāz; and an
Ottoman presence in Al Hasa, in the east. The Rashidis grew more powerful than
the Saudis over the course of the second half of the 19th century. In 1891 the
Rashidis seized Riyadh, took control of Najd, and drove the Saudi family into
exile in Kuwait.
At the dawn of the 20th century, young
Abdul Aziz ibn Saud began a campaign of reconquest, starting in 1902 with the
recapture of Riyadh. From there, his forces captured the region of Al Aḩsā’ in
1913, the Jebel Shammar in 1921, Mecca in 1924, Medina in 1925, and ‘Asīr in
1926. The core of Ibn Saud’s military forces was made up of townsmen from Najd
as well as a zealous force called the Ikhwan (brotherhood). The Ikhwan, former
Bedouins who had taken up Abd al-Wahhab’s cause, had a keen thirst for plunder
and fought with a blazing ferocity. Ibn Saud proclaimed himself king of Al Ḩijāz
in 1926, and in 1932, after unifying the conquered territories, he renamed his
vast realm Saudi Arabia.
D | Ibn Saud’s Reign |
Saudi Arabia faced daunting challenges in
the first years of Ibn Saud’s reign: chronic lack of finances, political
fragmentation, a tenuous security situation, little administrative capability,
and a primitive economic base. Ibn Saud solidified his control by taking away
the power and autonomy of Bedouin tribes, promoting members of his immediate
family to positions of power, and marrying women from several different
political constituencies to bring them into his family. Oil was discovered in
eastern Saudi Arabia in 1938, but World War II disrupted trade and limited
revenues from oil through the 1940s. Nevertheless, the gradual increase in funds
from the 1950s onward permitted the initial development of the country’s
infrastructure and basic social services (as well as lavish expenditures on
palaces and other luxuries for the royal family).
In foreign affairs, Ibn Saud strengthened
relations with other states of the Middle East and adopted a friendly policy
toward the United States and the United Kingdom. A supporter of the Allied cause
in World War II (1939-1945), he permitted construction of a U.S. air base in
Dhahran but remained officially neutral until March 1945, when he declared war
on Germany and Japan. In 1945 Saudi Arabia joined the United Nations (UN) and
the newly founded Arab League, an association with the goal of promoting the
interests of Arabic-speaking nations. Saudi Arabia opposed the creation of
Israel but took only a minor part in the league’s war against the Jewish state
in 1948 and 1949. In December 1950 a new agreement with the Arabian-American Oil
Company (Aramco) provided that 50 percent of the company’s net earnings should
be paid to Saudi Arabia. Under this new agreement, Saudi oil revenues increased
dramatically, and wealth poured into the kingdom’s coffers. In June 1951 Saudi
Arabia agreed to allow the United States to continue using the Dhahran air base
in return for U.S. technical aid and permission to purchase arms under the
Mutual Defense Assistance Act.
E | Turmoil at Home and Abroad |
The death of Ibn Saud in 1953 ushered in
a period of serious internal political strife. Saud, the designated crown
prince, took the throne, but his authority was challenged by Faisal and Talal,
two of Ibn Saud’s other sons. During his reign, Saud was criticized for fiscal
irresponsibility and for episodes of labor unrest in the oil industry.
Meanwhile, Faisal was largely responsible for the development of the
government’s bureaucracy. Also during Saud’s reign, the first generation of
Saudi technocrats who had been educated in the West returned to Saudi Arabia.
They played an important part in the country’s subsequent development.
In foreign affairs, Saud advocated Arab
neutrality in the Cold War (ideological and geopolitical struggle between
Western and Communist nations) and opposed the Middle Eastern Treaty
Organization (METO), formed in 1955 by Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and the
United Kingdom. Representatives from Saudi Arabia attended the Bandung
Conference held by nonaligned nations—those nations not allied with major world
powers—in April 1955, in Bandung, Indonesia. In October 1955 Saudi Arabia signed
a mutual defense pact with Egypt. A joint Israeli, British, and French attack on
Egypt followed Egypt’s nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956 (see
Suez Crisis). Saudi Arabia then severed diplomatic relations with the United
Kingdom and France, and cut off oil supplies to their tankers.
King Saud visited the United States in
1957. Shortly afterward it was announced that the United States would sell arms
and supply other aid to Saudi Arabia in exchange for permission to use the
Dhahran air base for another five years. Financial mismanagement brought on a
crisis in 1958 in which Saud was forced to transfer legislative and executive
powers, formerly included among his own absolute powers, to his brother Crown
Prince Faisal, the prime minister. Saud reserved for himself the right of veto.
A royal decree in 1958 established a cabinet system. Although Saud reclaimed
control of the government in 1960, a family council supported by the ulama
declared Faisal king in 1964. The Saudi government declined to renew the Dhahran
lease in 1962, and U.S. requests for reestablishing military presence there were
repeatedly turned aside until 1990.
At a conference held in September 1960 in
Baghdād, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and Kuwait founded the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to coordinate their
policies and help sustain oil prices. A steady increase in oil revenues during
Faisal’s reign permitted him to fund long-delayed projects of economic and
social development. These were implemented through five-year plans, the first of
which covered the period from 1970 to 1975. During this time, the government
poured money into the improvement of transportation, utilities, education, and
health care.
Saudi relations with Egypt deteriorated
during the 1960s. In 1962 a revolution in Yemen overthrew Yemen’s imam. Saudi
Arabia supported Yemen’s deposed leader in his efforts to regain his throne,
while Egypt gave military support to Yemen’s new republican government.
F | Arab-Israeli Conflicts |
In 1967, as the Arab-Israeli conflict
intensified prior to the Six-Day War, King Faisal expressed full support for
Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and dispatched 20,000 troops to Jordan to
face Israeli forces. In June all Saudi oil exports to Britain and the United
States were suspended, but diplomatic ties were not broken; oil trade was
resumed after the Arab defeat. An Arab summit conference later in the year
resulted in Egyptian withdrawal from Yemen, and the Saudis extended large-scale
aid to Egypt to compensate for the loss of revenue caused by the closing of the
Suez Canal during the war. King Faisal continued to call for pan-Islamic action
against Israel and, under internal pressures, criticized alleged United States
involvement on Israel’s side. He remained unwilling, however, to articulate a
militant anti-Western position, and in 1971 Saudi Arabia and five other Persian
Gulf states concluded a five-year pact with 23 Western oil companies, including
17 U.S. firms. In July 1970 Saudi Arabia formally recognized the republican
government of Yemen after seven years of intermittent border fighting.
Saudi Arabia sent a small number of
troops and weapons (notably aircraft) to aid the Arab states in the Arab-Israeli
War of 1973. In the aftermath of this conflict, the government played a leading
role in organizing a short-term oil embargo against countries that had supported
Israel and in quadrupling the international price of petroleum. The latter
development, along with Saudi Arabia’s 1974 takeover of controlling interest in
the huge oil company Aramco, greatly increased government revenue, thus
providing funds for another massive economic development plan.
G | Financial Strength and Military Preparedness |
In March 1975 King Faisal was
assassinated by a nephew and was succeeded by his half brother Prince Khalid ibn
Abdul Aziz. Khalid, however, was in poor health and his half brother, Crown
Prince Fahd, became the power behind the throne. The country remained
conservative, and its influence kept OPEC from raising its prices to the extent
most member countries wanted. In 1980 it was announced that the Saudi government
had taken full control of Aramco’s assets retroactively from January 1976. Much
of the petroleum money that poured into the country was reinvested in the West
or spent on arms, but domestic inflation and a barely manageable pace of
development presented ongoing problems.
Saudi Arabia took a dim view of the
conciliatory overtures by Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat to Israel in 1977,
and after the signing of a peace treaty between the two countries in 1979, Saudi
Arabia cut off financial aid to Egypt and severed diplomatic relations. The
Islamic revolution in Iran that year and the subsequent seizure of the Grand
Mosque in Mecca by some 250 armed Islamists jolted the Saudi government,
heightening awareness of its vulnerability to external and internal threats. The
kingdom joined five other Arab Gulf states in 1981 to establish the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC), which focused on economic and collective security
measures. Shared concerns about regional stability helped warm relations between
Saudi Arabia and the United States. In 1981 the United States agreed to sell
several Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes to the Saudis, an
arrangement that provoked heavy opposition from Israel, which feared an upset of
the military balance in the Middle East.
King Khalid died in June 1982 and was
succeeded by Fahd. As king, Fahd sought to maintain Saudi Arabia’s traditional
Islamic values, while continuing the process of rapid modernization made
possible by the nation’s abundant oil resources. In 1986 he assumed the
religious title “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” in an effort to safeguard
the Western-friendly Saudi regime from opposition by Islamic militants.
Nevertheless, King Fahd faced difficulties within and beyond his country. In
July 1987 at least 400 people were killed in Mecca when Iranian Shia pilgrims
clashed with Saudi police. Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia became
increasingly hostile. Iran expressed its displeasure at Saudi restrictions on
Iranian pilgrims by boycotting the hajj for several years. Relations between the
countries began to thaw gradually in the 1990s.
H | Persian Gulf War and Developments in the 1990s |
Iraq’s takeover of Kuwait in August 1990
had significant military, political, and economic consequences for Saudi Arabia.
Despite opposition from some religious leaders and their followers, the Saudi
government provided for temporary deployment on its own territory of hundreds of
thousands of U.S. and allied troops. It also contributed forces to the
multinational coalition that fought Iraq in the Persian Gulf War in early 1991.
In order to allay some of the domestic opposition to non-Muslim forces stationed
in Islam’s holy land, the Saudi government emphasized that several other Islamic
countries had also sent forces to fight Iraq. Through the late 1990s Saudi
Arabia allowed some U.S. forces to remain in the country, mainly to enforce
so-called no-fly zones over southern Iraq. Religious opposition groups viewed
the continued U.S. presence as a major point of contention with the
government.
After the Persian Gulf War, Saudi Arabia
increased its oil output to compensate for the loss of petroleum supplies from
Iraq and Kuwait. Economic problems became evident, however, in 1993. The United
States had insisted that Saudi Arabia pay for the costs of U.S. military
protection during the war, costing the country $51 billion. Meanwhile, the Saudi
economy was feeling the effects of a budget operating under deficit since 1983.
War payments and declining oil prices forced the Saudi government to cut social
and defense spending and take out loans from international banks. Despite these
problems, in 1994 Saudi Arabia helped defeat a campaign by Iran and other OPEC
member countries to lower OPEC’s overall production ceiling so that limited
supply would prompt a rise in prices. As oil prices continued to fall in the
late 1990s, Saudi Arabia reversed its position and led an initiative for OPEC to
reduce production in order to raise the price of oil. In March 1999 OPEC, along
with four independent oil-producing nations, approved a yearlong production
cutback. Saudi Arabia committed to the largest cutback, reducing production by 7
percent.
Political reforms decreed by King Fahd in
1992 established a consultative council to serve in an advisory capacity,
provided for a bill of rights, and changed the rules of succession. The
Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) was convened for the first time in
December 1993. Social reforms were less evident, however. Saudi men and women
still were not permitted to attend public events together, and workplaces
remained segregated. Government officials in the United States voiced continuing
concern about human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, particularly the abuse of
prisoners by guards and police.
King Fahd remained an active sponsor of
Islamic causes worldwide in his second decade as Saudi leader. In 1992 he
conducted an extensive campaign to end the bloodshed in the former Yugoslav
republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The same year, Fahd’s government established
diplomatic links with the Muslim republics formerly included in the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In 1994
Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasir Arafat visited Riyadh to
discuss with King Fahd the prospects for peace in the Middle East. The meeting
represented a significant rapprochement between the two leaders, whose relations
had been strained since the Persian Gulf War.
In 1995 the governments of Saudi Arabia
and Yemen agreed to negotiate a settlement to a long-standing dispute over their
shared border; the agreement followed several months of small-scale fighting in
the border region. Five years later, in 2000, the two countries finally
announced an agreement settling the border dispute. Meanwhile, in 1998 Saudi
Arabia began production in an oil field lying in the disputed region of its
border with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Saudi Arabia failed to meet the
UAE’s demand for a share of the oil and gas produced from the field. In 1999 the
UAE protested by boycotting an oil ministers’ meeting in Saudi Arabia that was
to formally inaugurate the field.
Meanwhile, after suffering a stroke in
November 1995, Fahd gave control of the country to his half-brother, Crown
Prince Abdullah, in January 1996. Fahd reclaimed his authority the following
month, but actual power continued to shift to the crown prince because of the
king’s overall poor health.
I | Islamist Opposition and Reform |
Expressions of opposition to government
policies and to the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia continued through the 1990s
and beyond, creating tension in the U.S.-Saudi relationship. The Saudi
government clamped down on Islamist militants but at the same time was forced to
make some concessions to their demands. Islamist opposition stemmed from
government-appointed religious leaders and from Islamic groups or individuals
inside and outside the kingdom. In September 1994 the government arrested a
large number of people—some of whom were religious officials or academics—for
demonstrating against the arrest of two conservative clerics. In October the
government created the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs, headed by a member of
the ruling family, as part of an effort to dampen radicalism among the ulama.
Later, the government removed several university chancellors and members of the
Council of Ulama, replacing them with people deemed more moderate.
In November 1995 a car bomb killed seven
people (including five Americans) at the offices of the Saudi National Guard in
Riyadh. In June 1996 terrorists set off a bomb attached to a petroleum tanker
truck at a housing center for U.S. military personnel in Al Khubar (Al Khobar),
near Dhahran. The attack killed 19 U.S. servicemen and wounded more than 300
people (including many Saudis and Bangladeshis, as well as Americans). Severe
shortcomings in the Saudi law enforcement and criminal justice systems came to
light in the wake of these two episodes. United States officials expressed
frustration with the quality of the investigations, the lack of cooperation with
their Saudi counterparts, and the Saudis’ use of torture to extract
confessions.
One of the most visible and strident
opponents of the Saudi government was Osama bin Laden, the son of a wealthy
Saudi businessman. Exiled from Saudi Arabia in 1992 (and stripped of his Saudi
citizenship in 1994), bin Laden promoted violent opposition to the Saudi regime
and to the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia. The aftermath of the
September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 further complicated Saudi-U.S.
relations. Of the 19 hijackers who carried out the attack, 15 were Saudi
citizens, and all were connected to bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network. While Crown
Prince Abdullah quickly and firmly condemned the attacks, he refused to allow
the United States to use facilities in the kingdom in its subsequent war on
terrorism. In 2002 the United States began transferring many military facilities
from Saudi Arabia to the neighboring country of Qatar.
Anthony B. Toth contributed the
Population, Culture, and Economy sections of this article.
No comments:
Post a Comment