Middle East in Focus SAUDI ARABIA Sherifa Zuhur Copyright 2011 by ABC-CLIO, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zuhur, Sherifa. Saudi Arabia / Sherifa Zuhur. p. cm. — (Middle East in focus) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59884-571-6 (hardcopy : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-59884-572-3 (ebook) 1. Saudi Arabia. I. Title. DS204.Z84 2011 953.8—dc23 2011019833 ISBN: 978-1-59884-571-6 EISBN: 978-1-59884-572-3 15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook. Visit www.abc-clio.com for details. ABC-CLIO, LLC 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America Contents About the Author, xi Preface, xiii Acknowledgments, xvii 1 GEOGRAPHY, 1 The Geology of Petroleum, 5 The Deserts, 7 Water, 9 Climate, 10 Fauna, 10 Flora, 11 Environment and Pollution, 12 Historic and Modern Divisions, 12 2 HISTORY, 17 Timeline, 17 The Rise of Islam, 32 Muslim Dynasties, 35 Later Muslim Dynasties and the Arabian Region, 37 Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab and the First Sa‘udi State, 39 The Second Sa‘udi Realm (1824–1891), 41 v vi | Contents ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Sa‘ud (Ibn Sa‘ud) and the Forging of Saudi Arabia, 42 King Sa‘ud ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, 49 The Reign of Faysal ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, 53 The Reign of Khalid ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, 58 Saudi Arabia under King Fahd, 62 The Gulf War, 65 Reactions to the Gulf War, 66 The War on Terrorism and the Global War on Terror, 68 The Reign of King ‘Abdullah, 69 3 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS, 79 The King, 81 The Crown Prince, 88 The Royal Diwan, 89 The Council of Ministers, 90 The Majlis al-Shura, 91 Judiciary and Legal System, 93 Civil Service Board and Independent Agencies, 94 Regional and Municipal Government, 95 The ‘Ulama, 9 5 Family and Tribal Infl uences, 97 National (Meeting for Intellectual) Dialogue, 100 Domestic Political Issues, 101 Foreign Policy, 103 Broader Saudi Arabian Foreign Policy, 125 4 ECONOMY, 137 Overview, 137 Economic Planning, 140 Industry, 144 The Private Sector and the State, 158 Labor, 160 Trade and Finance, 164 Taxation, 166 Investment, 167 Banking and Financial Systems, 168 Economic Outreach and Aid, 169 5 SOCIETY, 175 Religion and Law, 175 Islamic Law, 180 Islamic Duties, 181 Contents | vii Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, 186 The ‘Ulama, 1 8 9 Governmental Religious Departments, 190 Shi‘a Muslims in Saudi Arabia, 193 Other Competing Ideologies, 194 Social Classes and Ethnicity, 199 Overview, 199 Bias in Social Information, 200 Modern Societal Studies, 201 Ethnicity versus Nationality, 201 Tribalism, 202 Endogamy, 202 Tribal Values, 203 Religious Elite, 203 Merchants, 203 Religious Minorities, 204 Slavery, 204 Racial Relations, 205 Traditional Social Values, 206 Age, 207 Gender and Social Status, 208 Modernization and Society, 209 Foreign Workers, 209 Poverty, 212 The Royal Family, 212 Women and Marriage, 218 Women and Education, 221 Restrictions, 222 Expansion, 223 Employment, 223 Rules and Expectations, 224 Guardianship, 225 Guardianship and Marriage, 225 Social Equivalence and Polygyny, 227 Divorce, 228 Abuse, 229 Rape, 229 Dress, 229 Servants, 230 Education, 232 Overview, 233 Universities, 236 Separate Gender Education, 238 viii | Contents International Schools, 239 Education and Aramco, 239 Shi‘a Higher Education and Activism, 240 Islamic Education, 240 Critiques of Islamic Education, 241 Learning by Other Means, 242 6 CULTURE, 245 Language, 245 Language Features, 248 Numbers, 250 Features of Arabic, 251 Etiquette, 256 Coff ee, 261 Gestures, 262 Gifts, 262 Clothing, 262 Deportment and Segregation of the Sexes, 264 Business, 265 Bargaining, 266 Photographs, 267 Weddings and Funerals, 267 Literature, 268 The Impact of the Qur’an, 270 Ghazal Poetry, 270 Folk or Vernacular Poetry and Lyrics, 271 Early-Modern Arab Literature, 272 Modern Poetry, Novels, and Short Stories, 272 Theater and Drama, 277 Later Novels, 278 Theater in Private Spaces, 279 Visual Art and Film, 281 Photography, 283 Young Artists, 283 Film, 284 Music and Dance, 288 Music: General Features, 290 Popular Music Industry, 292 Traditional Musical Forms, 292 Large-Ensemble Music, 296 Styles of Hijaz and Asir, 297 Dance, 298 Contents | ix Religious Music, 299 Songs of Pilgrimage, 301 Food, 305 Sports and Leisure, 317 Sports, 317 Leisure and Entertainment, 325 Popular Culture, 328 Amthal, 3 2 9 Jokes, Nawadir , and Short Tales, 330 Superstitions, 330 Games, 330 Tribal Law and Mediation, 331 Tribal and Traditional Medicine, 332 Popular Occasions, 334 Clothing and Historic Costume, 334 Architecture, 342 The Mosque, 343 Markets, 345 General Features of the Hijaz, 346 Asir and Abha, 349 Najd, 349 Eastern Province, 351 7 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES, 355 Defense, 355 Islamist Opposition and Terrorism, 361 Health, 368 Women and Social Transformation, 372 Media, Freedom of Speech, and Censorship, 374 Human Rights, 376 Capital Punishment, 377 Glossary, 385 Facts and Figures, 399 Major Saudi Arabian Holidays, 415 Country-Related Organizations, 419 Annotated Bibliography, 445 Thematic Index, 495 Index, 519 About the Author Sherifa Zuhur is a professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, history, and national security aff airs, formerly of the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. She directs the Institute of Middle Eastern, Islamic and Strategic Stud- ies and has written 17 books and monographs, including Saudi Arabia: Islamism, Political Reform and the Global War on Terror , and Ideological and Motivational Factors in the Defusing of Radical Islamist Violence . She was a member of a NATO research team focusing on antiterrorism and wrote white papers and book chapters such as “Decreasing Violence in Saudi Arabia and Beyond” (in Pick, Speckhard, and Jacuch, eds., 2010) about Saudi Arabia. She is a former president of the Association of Middle East Women’s Studies and an editor of the Review of Middle East Stud- ies , and she holds a BA in political science and Arabic and Arabic literature, an MA in Islamic studies, and a PhD in history, all from the University of California, Los Angeles. xi Preface All books are written at particular historical moments. Especially in nonfi ction writing, special concerns that color media, governmental, or scholarly publications are refl ected, if not in the author’s intent, in the questions formulated by editors and readers. This is true of both contemporary and historical writings. I want to note that both immediate and uncertain political currents are now impacting Saudi Ara- bia’s neighbors in the Middle East; the Tunisians have ousted their long-time presi- dent, the Egyptians have overthrown Hosni Mubarak and are trying to implement a democratic and pluralist political system, Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has left Yemen for Saudi Arabia after months of protests when he was wounded in an attack, the Libyan people are battling the loyalists of Col. Mu‘ammar Qadhdhafi , and Syrians, Bahrainis, Omanis, Moroccans, Algerians, and Jordanians are calling for reform or changes in government. Saudi Arabian eff orts to organize protests were anticipated and repressed, but it seems unlikely that the country will remain untouched by the regional fever for political change. My second prefatory note is a general one; one fi nds far too schizophrenic a treat- ment of Saudi Arabia at this historical juncture. Portraits are painted with great love or sharp distaste, so strong as to cover over a truer panorama. Saudi Arabia is far too often essentialized as an unchanging archaic and exotic desert monarchy whose primary importance to the Western world is oil and/or Islamic extremism. Over many years, I have found it fascinating that so many outspoken American critics of Saudi Arabia were consulted at expert meetings in Washington, DC, primarily on the basis of their profound dislike of the country, which some had never visited. On the other xiii xiv | Preface hand, diplomats to the country have often served as experts, as they had acquired information inaccessible to others. Just as great antipathy for Saudi Arabia and all things Saudi is expressed in some circles, others are at turns defensive or nostalgic, or off er apologia without much use- ful analysis or comparative perspectives. Nothing is ever so black or white as Saudi Arabia has been painted! The polemical manner in which Saudi Arabia is covered makes it diffi cult for a reader to acquire basic familiarity with the country’s features. Contemporary scholarship in the Arab and Muslim worlds is also divided on the question of Saudi Arabia, and the country’s own scholars are often unfortunately bound by prudence, discipline, bonds of employment or kinship, or justifi able suspi- cions about the motives of outsiders. This has complicated my task. As a responsible scholar, I have to write about subjects such as political succession in Saudi Arabia and the potential for struggle over that issue. However, Saudi Arabian scholars and writers are not free to share their insights on that issue, at least not at this time. About a month before I wrote this preface, Mohammed al-Abdulkarim, a Saudi Arabian professor of law, was arrested for publishing an article on royal succession and the potential for struggles over power within the royal family. Hatoon al-Fassi, a Saudi Arabian historian, was warned off at fi rst by her editor at a Saudi Arabian newspaper for her depiction of Arab governments’ response to the Tunisian revolution ( KQED News , January 26, 2011).