(12) Opposition Movements in Saudi Arabia Take Root

     The Arab world was facing great amounts of social unrest during the anti-Western movements of the 1950s. These opposition movements were mainly fueled by “anti-colonialism, nationalism, and pan Arabism.” The movement for reform in Saudi Arabia was mainly caused by the large gap between “the wealth and power of the ruling elite” and the poor, underprivileged people of lower social classes. In Saudi Arabia, opposition groups are illegal, but the social tensions amongst the people quickly led many to appear, the first being the Front of National Reforms (FNR). The FNR’s ideals for Saudi Arabian society included “an end to foreign and oil company domination, a constitution, free press, elections, the right of assembly, abolition of slavery, and improved education.”

Saudi Arabian Opposition Groups

            The ideas of anti-colonialism, nationalism, and pan Arabism were specific to the Arab countries, and drove people to ask for change. The ideals of anti-colonialism were seen in the Baghdad Pact of 1955, which was an effort by the United States to prevent the “domino theory”, which stated that once one country falls to communism in Asia, the rest follow its path. The United States had therefore decided to create an alliance with the Arab world. However, the Baghdad Pact was a failure because “it was seen by Arab leaders as an attempt by the West to continue its colonial domination over Muslim states”, and the Arab world’s rejection of Western imperialism sparked new ideas for opposition movements. The Baghdad Pact was also seen as a contradiction towards the ideas of pan Arabism in the Middle East, the Baghdad Pact seen as an attack against the promotion of Arab nationalism; which had been used as a tool to ward off Western dominance and imperialism.

            In Saudi Arabia, the government was seen to be fighting off these opposition movements and calls for reform by trying to promote the traditional values of the nation and cut off the ideas of modernization from Saudi Arabian society. In 1954, King Saud had offered a 2,000 riyal prize to any citizen that could memorize the Koran, a holy book that is an example of Saudi Arabian traditional values. This reward was created as a response to the youth’s disregard towards the studies of the Koran. The next year, any Saudi Arabian student who was studying abroad was called back to Saudi Arabia, which is another example of how the Saudi Arabian government fought against the Western ideas and teachings to be implemented in their youth’s head.

The Flag of the Arab League symbolizes the ideologies of
pan Arabism.

            The population of Dhahran is made up of many “oppressed Shia”, a different believer in Islam when compared to the Sunnis, “who made up the bulk of unskilled oil workers, was a natural bleeding ground for reform groups and protest.” When King Saud came to visit Dhahran in the year of 1956, he was resisted by groups of people that were protesting for the closing of the air base located in Dhahran and demanded for increased rights of the workers. Within a couple of days, the King had banned the protests and strikers and had threatened the resisters with three years in prison if they had violated his demands. The names of the other protestors were provided by Aramco, and they were arrested and beaten. Obviously, the citizens of Saudi Arabia were not granted the freedoms, such as the freedom to protest/assemble, as those that are living in modernized nations.

            Again in 1956, students in Najd had established Saudi Arabia’s “first student organization.” The students had asked for the undoing of the League for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and butted heads with the authorities.  However, the government was not allowed to punish their calls for reform because the state needed the students to manage Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure.

            Overall, Saudi Arabia’s suppression of many people’s calls for reform may go against the traditional and cultural values of the nation, and may cause the fall of the monarchial regime and other components of the nation that could use updating. The people’s cries for change and modernization can always help Saudi Arabia to succeed as a more influential figure in the modern globe, that is, only if Saudi Arabia is ready to listen. 

(11) The Pilgrimage, or Hajj, to the Holy City of Mecca

           The hajj, which is the Arabic name for the pilgrimage to Mecca, is one of the 5 Pillars of Islam that serves as a manual for the basic yet necessary acts that must be undertaken by a believer in Islam. The hajj, however, is only required of those Muslims who are healthy and those who can afford the trip, but Muslims are at least expected to try and attempt the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetimes.

The Hajj

            Pilgrims have often experienced “a spirit of exaltation and excitement”, as the “meeting of so many Muslims of all races, cultures, and stations in life in harmony and equality moves many people deeply”, a great example how people with all sorts of differences can still unite under a single belief, which showcases the simple beauty of religion.

            The hajj occurs yearly “between the eighth and thirteenth [day] of the last month of the Muslim year, Dhu al Hijjah.” Many other pilgrimages can still be undertaken by a Muslim throughout the course of a year, but it counts instead as a lesser pilgrimage than the hajj, known as the umbra. The accommodations that the Saudis have provided for the pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Mecca have increase the number of pilgrims who perform the hajj—as “in 1965, almost 300,000 Muslims came from abroad to perform the rites of pilgrimage.” And 18 years later, in 1983, “that number has climbed to more than 1 million.”

Most Muslims make the journey to Mecca

            At the start of the journey, it is traditional that the pilgrims arrive at Jidda, and then proceed onto the holy cities. The pilgrims wear a “simple, white garment” that is used just for the pilgrimage. They are also required to “vow not to cut their hair or their fingernails or to engage in sexual activity during the course of the pilgrimage.” At the entrance, the pilgrims need to prove that they are Muslims because non Muslims are not permitted to enter the holy cities.

            The first act that is performed by many of the pilgrims is “running back and forth seven times between two hills, then drinking water from the well of Zamzam.” This symbolizes that humans depend on the gifts of God in order to survive. This was seen in Hagar, Abraham’s wife, and her son, Ishmael’s plight. It is believed that Hagar was abandoned (at the spot that the pilgrims are now running in at this stage of the hajj) by her husband, Abraham, in the desert. She had started to run towards what she saw as an oasis in the hills. She had then paced back to her son, Ishmael, finding out that while he was playing, he had discovered a well.

            The pilgrims then stand at the Mount of Mercy and the Plain of Arafat, at what is considered to be “the most important ritual of the pilgrimage.” Here, the pilgrims beg and appeal to God for the forgiveness of their sins.

            Finally, on the tenth day of the hajj, the pilgrims throw stones at the three pillars. Also, if the pilgrims can afford to, they sacrifice a goat, camel, or sheep, and distribute the excess meat to the poor. The stoning was seen when Ishmael had thrown stones at the devil as a way of showing his faithfulness to his God, and God’s decision of sacrificing Ishmael. And as a response to Ishmael’s faith and devotion, God had instead chosen to sacrifice a goat.

            The pilgrims can then leave the pilgrimage by having three of their hairs cut at Mina. The pilgrims are also welcome to revisit Mecca and re-circle the Kaaba. Some even take a smart advantage of their opportunities of already being the holy country of Saudi Arabia, and visit the sacred city of Medina, where the prophet Muhammad was buried.              

            To many, the hajj is “a powerful, visual demonstration of the universality of Islam and the sisterhood and brotherhood of all human beings.” To celebrate this beautiful leadership of the Muslim community , and their ownership of many of Islam’s holy sites, the Saudi Arabian kings address the pilgrimage every year. They even provide financial assistance to groups of foreign Muslims who can’t afford to go themselves, and by doing so, allows all Muslims, free of the things that can hold some back and distinguish one from another, to come together and unite under the holy teachings of Islam, and complete the journey which follows the ideals and the principles of Islam, of the pilgrimage, or hajj, to the holy city of Mecca. 

Revealed - The Hajj (Discovery Channel)

(4) Major Struggles and Wars in Saudi Arabian History

     Although the Arab-Israeli conflict is mentioned throughout the reign of the Saudi Arabian rulers, the Arab-Israeli conflict is nothing that should be looked over. Everything that came of the Arab-Israeli conflict started in the Palestine question. This means that the Arab world, the Western world, and the Israeli world were all trying to find solutions to who is the rightful owner in Palestine. For example, the Arab people believed that they had inhabited Palestine before the Zionist people that inherited Israel were ever there. This lead to major disputes between the countries. This conflict has gotten to the point that the Palestine people are considering building a wall between the Arab inhabited part of Palestine and the Israeli part. This will block off the Jewish inhabitants from crossing over and "annoying" the Palestinians. This is why Jewish people gained the land of Israel, to be separated from the Palestinians, even though Israel is about 77 percent of what had been Palestine in the past.

Arab-Israeli Conflict Broken Down

     Overall, this dispute has majorly influenced Saudi Arabia as the United States shares some different opinions in regards to the Palestine question. Although it may seem as if the United States government is sometimes siding with Israel, the United States is trying to bring peace to the situation. Saudi Arabia sides with Palestine but is also trying to keep more peace in dealing with this situation. The problem is that because the Arab leader in this controversy will not state that he is against terrorism, the United States cannot move forward in solving the problem between these two nations. This is due to safety issues regarding terrorist attacks on the United States. To conclude, the United States and Saudi Arabia have some similarities in dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict (like bringing peace to Palestine and Israel), but there are also differences. This can lead to issues in the oil trade as prices rise from Saudi Arabia when the United States does not support their political moves. The Arab-Israeli conflict can either bring intense peace or a high rise in economic and social tension.


Arab Spring:

This Map shows the countries involved in the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring is the monnicker given to a revolutionary wave of protests throughout the Arab world in the middle East and North Africa that have occurred since December 18, 2010.  Protests have lead to an overthrow of the ruling regimes in Tunisia (President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali), Yemen (President Ali Abdullah Saleh), Egypt (Mubarak), and Libya (Gaddafi).  Civil uprisings have also occurred in Syria and Bahrain, as well as major protests that have broken out in Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Moracco and minor protests in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara.


These protests have been provoked by numerous reasons ranging from dissatisfaction with government corruption, absolute monarchies and human rights violations  as well as economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, and a number of demographic structural factors, such as the large percentage of educated, yet dissatisfied youth.  Some believe they are the result of the activities of dissident activists, as well as members of a variety of social and union organizations that have been active for years in Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and other countries in the area.


The protestors use civil resistance techniques such as marches, rallies, and strikes and have taken advantage of social media.  They have often been met with violence by the ruling government which has been decried by the international community.  The protesters thus gain the support of Western countries.

(2) The Saudi Arabian Economy: The Oil Industry, Economic Diversification, and the Money and Banking System

This image represents how the "Saudi Arabian world" changed
 throughout the use of oil for economic use

            Prior to the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia, the economy was not as wealthy, or a key component of the global economy, as it is today. The traditional ways of living basically compromised the pre-Saudi Arabian economy. Saudi Arabia had therefore depended on agriculture, trade, and the Islamic pilgrimage, or the hajj, to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

            After the discovery of oil however, Saudi Arabia owes much of its affluence to its advantageous location that supplies its oil industry. Since oil and natural gas are the key drivers of Saudi economy, their “petroleum sector accounts for approximately 90% of export earnings, 75% of budget revenues, and 45% of GDP.” Its massive oil assets have also brought on the attention of the Western and European nations that were also hungry for the power and wealth that oil could bring to a nation. The flow of oil from Saudi Arabia is not only necessary for its own economic stability and prosperity, but also for the global economy, as “Saudi oil production and investment policies have assumed paramount importance to the industrialized world.”

Due to an increase in oil, more money was circulating
throughout the Saudi Arabian economy 

            After the Persian Gulf War, which had greatly showed the world the importance of oil, Saudi Arabia had increased its standing in the world oil market because it “was the only major oil producing country that had significant excess capacity of crude oil production and thereby a strong influence on international oil supplies and production.” So far, maintaining this powerful position in the oil markets in the number one goal on Saudi Arabia’s list of economic musts. However, there had been some push to also “diversify the economy”, but it ended up being more difficult than originally thought. Since economic growth lies in the hands of government spending, which depends on oil income, it would be rather absurd to neglect its successful oil industry for economic diversity, but small movements of it are being put into effect.

            Even though Saudi Arabia’s oil industry is by far the most prominent and valuable of all of its economic activities, Saudi Arabia has created other ways to grow their economy, possibly as  a way to lessen their dangerous dependence on the unpredictable oil industry.

Economic city of Rabigh

            One of these ways to promote economic growth in Saudi Arabia was by establishing “economic cities”, such as Rabigh, Jizan, Hail, and Medina, which are designed to promote foreign investment and create jobs for the people, which could help the 13% unemployment rate among males in 2004. These “economic cities” are expected “to draw $80 billion in investment and employ more than 1 million Saudis in coming years.”

            Other factors that are deemed essential to accomplish economic growth and success include economic reform and privatization, or the transfer of governmentally owned property to private enterprises. The theme of privatization goes back to the economic philosophies of laissez faire, or a hand’s of approach to the government’s interaction with the economy. Privatization was seen when Saudi Arabia’s government declared its plans of privatizing state controlled assets, which included hotels, telecommunications, and municipal services, along with Saudi Arabia’s airline and mining companies. This liberal, but slow and restricted, step that Saudi Arabia is taking in order for economic reform allows the world to see that the conservative and traditional country is trying to reach a modernized and sophisticated economy, a necessary step to Saudi Arabia’s reign on worldwide power.

            In addition, the government had been pursuing to carry out its “Saudization” plan, in which it required Saudi Arabian to make up 30% of the workers of companies by 2003. This plan was brought to life when Saudi Arabia realized that many foreigner, unlike the Saudis; reluctant to work in manual labor, were more than happy to work for small sums of cash. So the governments’ “Saudization” was purposed to increase the number of Saudi Arabians working in society. However, this plan has received little success due to the low number of Saudi Arabian actually employed, so it did not significantly contribute to the economic growth as was slightly anticipated.

            For their future stability, Saudi Arabia is planning expansion plans for its affluent oil industry. Its plans include pushing "sustainable domestic crude oil production capacity by 1995 to between 20.5 million and 11 million barrels per day (bpd) from 8.4 million bpd in 1992.” In addition, the Saudi Arabian Marketing and Refining Company (Samarec) “planned to upgrade its refineries to meet the new environmental standards in the West and growing domestic demands”, which will attract many to buy oil from Saudi Arabia versus the other countries in the Arabian Peninsula that also supply oil.

Arabian Peninsula

            During the years of the 1970s and the 1980s, the increase in oil prices might have been unpleasant for the consumers, but it “relieved the chronic financial constraints that had plagued the Saudi state since its inception”, adding financial surpluses both in the individual and government sections of the economy.

            However, in 1982, Saudi Arabia’s “government authorities were obliged to change their emphasis from managing surpluses to coping with growing budgetary and balance-of-payments shortfalls.” The decrease in oil prices also reduced the money input from their oil industry. This forced the Saudi Arabian government to “finance large budget and current account deficits of the external balance of payments through foreign asset drawdowns.” Later, Saudi Arabia, being a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was required to reduce the amount of oil being exported from the country. Now, things looked back for Saudi Arabia, both with the reduced oil prices and reduced oil exports. In 1985, as a way for Saudi Arabia to regain its market share, it increased its oil exports. Unfortunately, this led to the 1986 oil price crash.

            After replacing its Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the King, Fahd Ibn Abd al Aziz Al Saud, decided to involve himself a little more in Saudi Arabia’s oil affairs, and led to a commercialized way to exporting oil in order to maintain its world market share. An increase in both the world’s demand for oil, and OPEC discipline, the world's oil markets were beginning to help themselves stay afloat after 1986. However, the oil revenues were still low, remaining at 25% to 30%, proving not to be enough to cover government spending, which caused budget deficits. Saudi Arabia’s dependency on oil and natural gas to fuel its economy may cause trouble for it in the future, and it may provide initative to find different ways to stimulate the economy.

            Ever since the year 1993, Saudi Arabia was negotiating for a membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its wishes were fulfilled in the year of 2005 when Saudi Arabia joined the WTO. This membership though, asked Saudi Arabia to change its trade policies in coordination with the rules of WTO. These changes brought “commercial tribunals into conformity with international stands, eliminating export subsidies on agricultural products, and revising the fees charged for authentication of trade documents.” Overall, the reforms that Saudi Arabia made to raise its chances of obtaining membership with the WTO have had a wholesome effect on its “economic activity, foreign investments, and the kingdom’s competiveness.” Saudi Arabia had ranked 16^th in its global competiveness in 2008 and 13^th in 2009, putting it ahead of all Middle Eastern countries and a few European ones too. If Saudi Arabia keeps up its global competiveness and takes even more action to reform its economy, the image of seeing Saudi Arabia as a world power may not be that far away.

            The development of a Saudi Arabian currency and banking system was not done until the mid twentieth century, due to the prohibition of baking by the Koran in the kingdom.

            By the 1950s, as Saudi Arabia’s economy was starting to take shape in the global economy, along with its government spending, foreign oil company spending, and the development of baking institutions led to the need for more control in Saudi Arabia’s economic policies. So, with the help from the United States, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) was created in 1952, its purpose to “serve as the central bank within the confines of Islamic law.”

            The base of Saudi Arabia’s financial system was SAMA, which determined Saudi Arabia’s monetary policies. SAMA was also purposed to stabilize the value of the country’s currency, the Saudi Riyal, paying close attention to “exchange transactions and capital flows.” The central bank also determined the “interest rates for commercial banks”, the “managements of foreign assets, and the introduction of short and medium term government paper for budgetary and balance of payments purposes and to smooth fluctuations in domestic liquidity.”

            However, there were many things that SAMA was prohibited from doing because it still follows Islamic laws and principles. Therefore, SAMA is a non-profit institution that does pay or receive interest. At one point, SAMA was also prohibited from “extending credit to the government”, but this was policy was later abandoned in 1955 because the government needed the funds that SAMA provided when it was in a debt crisis in the late 1950s.

            As Saudi Arabia’s leaders hoped to see more economic growth for the nation, many thought it would be best to “strengthen SAMA’s role in regulating the banking system.” This include the “applications for bank licenses [to be] submitted to SAMA”, who, in turn reviewed the applications prior to sending it off to the Ministry of Finance and National Economy. Even though Saudi Arabia was trying to reach new economical and political heights through SAMA, its strict adherence to Islam still held SAMA back from modernizing itself to achieve more success as a result of its monetary policies.

            The growing number of commercial banks in Saudi Arabia caused their preferences for “short term lending to established firms and individuals” to quickly prompt the government to create institutions that had the power to provide financial services in order to increase the flow of money into different aspects of the Saudi Arabian economy.

            In 1963, the Saudi Arabian Agricultural Bank was created with the purpose of developed finances and subsidies, or assisted pay, to the agricultural sector of the economy. Later, in 1971, the Saudi Credit Bank was created “to provide interest free loans to low income Saudis who could not obtain credit from commercial banks.” The Public Investment Fund was established in 1973 to aid the financing of business enterprises, along with many others designed to increase the flow of income to specific sectors of Saudi Arabia’s economy.

Oil Pipes within the Saudi Arabian territory

            As Saudi Arabia gains more wealth and influence in the global economy through its further development of its already vital oil industry, along with the value of its oil reserves supplying Saudi Arabia with great financial security in the future, mainly economic success is expected for Saudi Arabia in the coming years. However, Saudi Arabia’s economic society is not perfect, and still yearns for many other reforms that will improve the nation.

This image shows the amount of oil within Saudi Arabia
 compared to other countries

First off, Saudi Arabia needs to realize that constant government spending is not going to solve the high unemployment rates among the high populations of Saudi Arabia’s youth. And more importantly, they need to provide those youth with a better education that includes the teaching of skills that can help them to success when they are off competing in the complex global economy. Going back to Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, they also need to strive more towards reforms that not only develop their oil industry, but also their reforms to find other economic sources to rake in more sums of cash into the nation. However, Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil may prove to be deadly for the country through its limited natural resources, and the day that Saudi Arabia runs out of its precious oil, it may also run out of all of its money and power that it collected through all the years, leading to the collapse of the nation.  

King Abdullah Economic City - Saudi Arabia and Diversification - 27th IAC meeting

(1) Introduction to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian Rule

     Saudi Arabia is one of the most affluent countries in the Middle East due to its friendly relations with the United States, their successful government, and their main role within the oil industry. Saudi Arabia also has high rates of education and well-balanced leaders who believe that education is the key to success. Although Saudi Arabia is sometimes stereotyped against for Al Qaeda, Saudi Arabia is spreading Anti-Terrorism movements all throughout their country. Also, the treatment of men and women has increased, but especially in women's new rights to work and support her family that way. In most ways, the country is growing into a more peaceful nation than ever before, but the life of a Saudi Arabian is not always easy as laws are clearly not the same as in the United States. Overall, Saudi Arabia is modernizing its ways by bring forth new ideals that create a stronger bond between Saudi Arabia and other foreign countries.

Overview of Saudi Arabia

(14) Bibliography

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Saudi Arabian Slide Show

http://s1160.photobucket.com/albums/q495/julysoccerstar/?albumview=slideshow

(13) Saudi Arabian Cultural Homogeneity and Values

Saudi Arabia, a right winged country through its monarchical regime, means that it values tradition and conservatism, both of which are expressed in Saudi Arabian society. Saudi Arabia contains different aspects of its culture and society that can be characterized as being culturally homologous. Cultural homogeneity, or unity, is reflected in Saudi Arabian society through its common Arabic language spoken by a majority of its people, the common political culture derived from Saudi monarchical rule, and the common devotion to Sunni Wahhabi Islam—whose purposes lied to restore Islam to what they believed “its true state”, which consisted of regarding the Koran and the Hadith, or the texts including the teachings of Muhammad, as fundamental texts, interpreting them in severely moral and religious manners.

The form of cultural homogeneity that is most prominent in Saudi Arabia is its traditional values and attitudes that is reflected onto Saudi Arabian society, particularly the values and attitudes that pertain to the family, and the fit of those family values into society.

Overall, the ability for many key points in Saudi Arabian history, culture, and society to be able to commonly appeal to a majority of its population allows strong bonds to form between the people, and greatly reduces the tension that can occur in response to difference in lifestyles, ideologies, or anything else that can be disputed over in society. This strong unification that is seen amongst the people lead many to believe that Saudi Arabia has a strong sense of nationalism, and that very thing can be the reason why Saudi Arabia is emerging as a global power through its vast wealth, its religiously significant leadership of the Islamic world, and its prominent role in the global energy market. These factors, along with strong nationalism, make it hard for Saudi Arabia to crumble down like other Middle Eastern nations.  

Saudi Arabia’s ideals of tradition and conservatism are expressed in its attitudes pertaining to the family. For Saudi Arabians, “the family was the primary basis of identity and status for the individual”. Many families in Saudi Arabia were patrilineal, meaning that inheritance was determined through the male line of descent. This is seen as traditional because this attitude of family inheritance being represented by the father was also seen in Saudi Arabia’s tribal lineage, as a majority of family structure in Saudi Arabia was based off its tribal lineage, hence, many values and attitudes towards family structure in Saudi Arabia were traditional.

Unfortunately, this respect for traditionalism in even modern Saudi Arabian society brings to light the attitudes towards females in Saudi Arabian culture and society compromising mainly of women being regarded as objects, constantly being “owned” by the families and males partners or relatives. This constant action of pushing women off to the side as being inferior to men reminds us of the times in history where women were often treated like this in many global empires, but humanity’s ability to modernize civilization by adjusting society’s values and attitudes toward women to fit a more equal society also reminds us that change is always possible, but that Saudi Arabia’s ideal of tradition has prevented it from taking a giant step forward in a more advanced society, culture, and people.

First of all, Saudi women’s’ inferior role in Saudi culture and society was seen in marriages, which seemed to be more like business contracts, full of its signatures from witnesses and specific sums of money (mehr) being paid by the husband to the wife. In addition, legally, “women were considered to belong to the family of their birth”, meaning that a Saudi woman never fully achieve independence in her life. Also, at its most basic, a Saudi Arabian family can be “defined as compromising a man, his children, and his children’s children through patrilineal descent”, again, pushing women off to the side. Finally, according to sharia, or religious laws, men in Saudi Arabia were able to marry up to four wives, which definitely expressed the way in which men can “own” multiple wives at a time, demoralizing enough, as a woman, to be just another one of the husband’s wives, and to also have their children be in the legal custody of the husband. However, polygyny was not practiced with Western inspired and educated members of Saudi society, but more with groups such as “the religiously conservative” and generations of royal families. Overall, the ideals of tradition and conservatism were displayed in Saudi Arabia’s attitudes pertaining to the family through the inferior role of women in society, the family structure of patrilineality being drawn from ancient tribal lineage, and the practice of polygyny being common among members of religiously conservative groups in Saudi Arabian society.

Saudi Arabian Family in the Desert

Lastly, the cultural and religious values that brought Saudi Arabian society together were behaviors that displayed “generosity, selflessness, and hospitality; deference to those above in the hierarchy of the family; freedom from dependence of others and mastery over one’s emotions; and a willingness to support other family members and assume responsibility for their errors as well.” Since family was the primary basis of status and identity for an individual, it was important to socially live up the ideals of honor, and by doing so, represent your family proudly in Saudi Arabian society.

The other highly valued behaviors in Saudi society that pertained to and depended upon women were chastity and sexual modesty. The reason that chastity and sexual modesty was predominately applied to women is because of the ancient Middle Eastern view that women were responsible for sexual temptation, or fitna. Therefore, veiling and separating women in Saudi Arabian society were the only ways to “ensure sexual modesty and avoid fitna.” This constant control that society acted out onto women was supposed to ensure that the families females were maintain this traditional and conservative ideal of chastity. This in turn helped ensure that a woman’s family received honor in society through the woman’s ability to live up to the ideals of honor. Although women in society were socially constrained in order to fit their society’s values, and also ensure that their family was respected in society, their self sacrifice to serve their families has maintained the structure of Saudi Arabian society, something that Saudi Arabian women deserve credit for doing all these years.  

(5) Suez Canal Crisis

Colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser

      To begin, in 1952 Egypt was abruptly taken under control by Colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser. Nasser believed that Egypt should be its own republic government, and King Farouk was forced either to abdicate or undergo lengthily and time-consuming battles for the throne. The future did not look bright for Nasser as Saudi Arabia was closely allied with King Farouk, but Saudi Arabia wanted to keep their ties strong with this major influencing country. In order not to arouse a bigger battle, Saudi Arabia decided to stay quiet until the nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956. WIth the intention of Suez Canal nationalism, the removal of France and Britain from this popular Canal was a giant struggle; however, Saudi Arabia still chose to stick out the problems with Nasser. In order to keep good ties, Saudi Arabia sent military reinforcements into Egypt. Revengeful, Britain, France, and Israel all decided that an attack should be carried out in response to the sudden seizure of their territory. Nasser was mostly unaffected, as they had Saudi Arabia on their side, and Saudi Arabia could stop the necessary flow of oil into Britain and France. Also, at the time, the United Nations believed nationalizing the Suez Canal was an amazing idea, which increased the confidence of Nasser. Even though Saudi Arabia could do nothing to affect Israel, this gesture against two major European powers made Israel have no support in times of crisis.
     In 1956, in return for Saudi Arabia's help in defeating Britain, France, and Israel, as well as helping with the seizure of the Suez Canal for nationalism (and profit), Nasser decided to stop by Saudi Arabia and say "hello" to the Saud family. During this meeting, Nasser proposed pan-Arab ideas that incorporated socialism with Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. This did not blow over well with a family that controlled Saudi Arabia by means of a monarchy and also had to deal with constant slander by the Egyptians, even though the two countries were considered allies.
     In order to deal with Nasser's big ideas for the future involving a giant Arab state, Saudi Arabia formed an alliance with Jordan and Iraq in 1956. Although these countries all had issues in the past, they came together in order to go against the construction of a powerful nation lead by Colonel, and now President, Nasser. As for Nasser, his power began to decline, and he died before any real big plans had been carried through. As for Saudi Arabia, this entire Suez Canal Crisis lead to more allies like Jordan and Iraq, which could help the country out in the future.
     The fact that Saudi Arabia did not decline during such a big crisis shows Saudi Arabia has strength and confidence within it's government. Saudi Arabia took a stand in what the President believed was morally correct at the time. This shows that in the future, Saudi Arabia can grow into a bigger power than it is right now; as it has proven it's strength to overcome wars and battles and still come out on top. Other large nations should look out as Saudi Arabia is strengthening.  Along with their growing power, oil prices may start to soar if Saudi Arabia disagrees with any enforced laws or revolutions.

(8) Education Spreading Throughout All of Saudi Arabia

    Over the years, the literacy rate throughout Saudi Arabia has increased rapidly due to the influence of important leaders that promote the expansion of education throughout the Ministry of Education.  Women specifically are growing in literacy rates, as schools are opening up to teach young women the basic necessities in life. Even though the schools for young women are not as widely popular or extravagant as the education system for young men, the fact that the women have the right to education promotes the idea of sexual equality, which can help in the future as less women will tend to revolt about their lack of education. As elementary school students, children were taught within the Kattab, or schools that had their main focus as studying and interpreting the meaning of the Quran. Now, teachers (male and female teachers) are teaching more common topics such as mathematics and learning Arabic as a foreign language. The use of teaching students foreign languages promoted the idea of nationalism between countries, although not everyone can communicate. As was stated earlier, these policies were completely enforced as peace and local security were the main goals of these powerful Saudi Arabian leaders. Considering that in 1970, the literacy rate for men was 15 percent and for women, 2 percent, Saudi Arabia has come a long way in organizing formal education, as the literacy rates soared as high as 73 percent of literate males and 48 percent literate females. This shows that higher standards are being used within the daily social society as being illiterate is no longer a useful solution to the education question. Some Saudi Arabian women have even taken to homeschooling their daughters in order to ensure that the highest education standards can be met before the young women are sent to marriage.

    Some Saudi Arabian children decide to continue their education throughout more educational guidance called the halaqat lectures. These lectures can range between a lot of different subjects, not just learning about the Quran; although, some students do seek a higher education in religious practices at the At Taif School of Theology (Dar al Tawhid). This school was established in 1945 and opened new doors as higher education about the Quran. This was offered to any willing individual graduated out of elementary school. All of these types of schools are usually publicly funded in a way that keeps the schools running with more than enough money to provide for themselves, offering an easy education process. Even young women are gaining more enrollment as 1.2 out of the 4.6 million students are women. Again, this helps the Saudi Arabian economy as more students, both male and female, learn how to communicate financially in any economy. Even more than this, in 1989, there were over 14,000 schooling houses built. This means that education began to soar around the 1990s as more students applied for schooling and more schools were being built.

    On top of these exciting new changes, the Saudi Arabian government has lent a huge hand in helping the schools continue their growth as books and other classroom necessities are being bought for the children. The Ministry of Higher Education has become involved in making sure the education system provides a well-balanced environment for its many students. Even for women, the Directorate General of Girls' Education, gets involved to make sure young women are never again put into a lower social class as far as education compared to men.

     Even though all of these reforms sound fantastic when it comes to the growth and equality within the Middle Eastern country of Saudi Arabia, there are still education laws that are not even close to the American Standards. Even though elementary school is offered, not all little children can attend. The fact that the town supplies funds in order to keep the schools running puts a strain on all of the families within the town. Even the fact that women get education obviously does not mean that young women are not sometimes brutally assaulted or in an extremely different social class than educated men are. All that the United States has been able to conclude over the most recent 67 years is that Saudi Arabia is growing. This, however, does not mean Saudi Arabia is perfect, but it does come pretty close compared to places like Yemen within the Middle East. The fact that Saudi Arabia is trying to promote education, nation peace, international trade, and Arabian/Israeli relations does however mean that Saudi Arabia is one of the most Western-like countries within the Middle East, despite the nasty stereotypes that have risen in result to the terrorist attacks. These attacks lead some people to believe that Saudi Arabia is highly illiterate and barbaric, which is quite contrary to the truth.

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A Closer Look At Saudi Arabia