Saudi Arabia

TODAY'S SAUDI ARABIA is the third kingdom created by the al-Saud and al-Wahhab families. In the mid-18th century, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Muhammad ibn Saud created the first Saudi kingdom. These two joined the sword of ibn Saud to the revival movement taught by al-Wahhab. The first kingdom was destroyed in 1818 by an Egyptian led Ottoman army.

In the mid-19th century, the second Saudi kingdom arose, based as before in central Arabia. It was suppressed by Muhammad ibn Rashid, amir of a Shammar tribe. In 1891, Abd al-Rahman, the head of the al-Saud dynasty, fled Riyadh in the night with his family. In 1902 his son, Abd al-Aziz ibn abd al-Rahman al-Saud, recaptured the city of Riyadh in a daring dawn raid. The young ibn Saud, dedicated to Wahhabi teachings, then began a series of conquests across Arabia with the aid of the Ikhwan (Wahhabi Brotherhood). In 1926, ibn Saud took the Hijaz region from the sherif of Mecca, Hussain ibn Ali, whose sons had led the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Ibn Saud proclaimed himself king of Saudi Arabia. Not long afterward, oil was discovered in eastern Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is rather unique among Arab and Muslim countries. It was never a Western colony. It never developed an Arab nationalist movement of liberation. The oil industry is located in the Hasa province and the eastern part of the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) and so is removed from the bulk of the population. Most of the people who work in the oil industry are foreigners or Shiites. The latter are willing to work with their hands unlike the dominant Sunni Saudis. Any dissent is repressed.

The outlook of the bulk of the people has, until recently, remained traditional and tribal as most Saudis are connected to the royal family directly or indirectly. Consequently the al-Saud dynasty has ruled through personal audiences in the traditional manner. Blood relationships that are tribal are very important and have added to the slow development of institutions associated with modern states. Saudi Arabia has no elective representatives. Political parties are illegal. Labor unions are also illegal. Human rights in the Western understanding are rejected for rule by Sharia (religious law).

The kingdom is a closed society, so information on secular political dissent is often scarce. But there has been opposition, both internally and externally.

King ibn Saud died in 1953, and was succeeded by his son, Prince Talal ibn ‘Abd al-'Aziz al-Saud, leader of the reforming “free princes” against the “traditional princes.” Eventually King Talal Saud was ousted by his brothers. The dispute reflects the political tensions within the extended royal family. In 1953, labor disputes in the oil fields led to the jailing of many people. One of those jailed was Ali Ghannam, an advocate of Ba'athist nationalism. In 1962, a dozen or more labor leaders disappeared. Nasser al-Said, who published a book critical of the kingdom, was kidnapped and returned to Saudi Arabia. In the 1970s, Saudi Arabia fought a border war with Yemen. Egyptians supporting the pan-Arabism of Gamal Nasser and the Saudi Communist Party were involved.

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