Foundation Islamic Union
Saudi Arabia
Official Name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ((SA)
Capital : Riyadh
Important Cities: Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Taif, Demmam, Dahran, Buraydah.
Area: 2,150,000 km2
Population : 34,813,000 (2021) 77.5% of the population lives in cities.
Ethnicity: 94 per cent of the population is Arab. The remaining population consists of South Asians, Turkestan Turks and Huis.
Language : The official and spoken language is Arabic.
Religion: The official religion is Islam and 99% of the population is Muslim. Most Muslims are Sunni and the vast majority are Hanbali. There are also a small number of Shiites.
Geographical Status: Covering a large part of the Arabian peninsula, Saudi Arabia is surrounded by Jordan and Iraq from the north, Kuwait from the north-east, the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from the east, Oman from the south-east, Yemen from the south, and the Red Sea from the west. 1% of its territory is agricultural land, 39% is grassland, and the rest is desert and sandy beaches. Saudi Arabia is dominated by a hot and arid climate. The temperature is higher in the plains and lower in mountainous areas.
Form of Government: Saudi Arabia is ruled by a royal regime. The king has wide powers. Legislative power is also in the hands of the king. According to the constitution, the laws to be implemented in the country must be based on Sharia. However, the king can also enact laws contrary to Sharia when he deems necessary. The constitution was drafted entirely by the king and he is authorised to amend it. In 1993, the king established a 60-member Consultative Assembly. The king himself appointed all members of this council. However, the powers of this assembly are very limited and it convenes only when the king wishes. While the Shari'a should normally apply to all, in Saudi Arabia the so-called 'siyadah', the class consisting of the king and his entourage, enjoys judicial immunity. The majority of the administrative staff belong to the Saud family. All of the administrative district administrators, who are called 'emirs', belong to the Saud family. All top managers are appointed by the king. They, in turn, appoint the people who will work under them. All authorised persons, down to the directors of associations, are appointed by appointment, and no elections are held. Only the state has the authority to establish and authorise the establishment of charities and associations. Meetings and ceremonies for whatever purpose require special authorisation.[1]
International Organisations: It is a member of international organisations such as the UN, the OIC[2], the League of Arab States, the Gulf Cooperation, OPEC, the IMF, and the Islamic Development Bank.
Political Parties: There are no political parties.
History: The Islamic history of the Saudi lands began with the appearance of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.s.) as a prophet and continued with the Rashid caliphs, Umayyads and Abbasids. Shortly after the Mongols put an end to the existence of the Abbasids in Baghdad in 1258, the Mamluks, who ruled in Egypt, called the Abbasid caliphs to their side and ensured that the caliphate continued under their protection. Thus, after this date, the administration of the Arabian peninsula, which today is dominated by Saudi Arabia, passed into the hands of the Mamluks. When the caliphate passed to the Ottomans after Yavuz Sultan Selim II ended the Mamluk reign in 1517, the administration of the Arabian peninsula, which included the holy lands, also passed to the Ottomans. During the Ottoman rule of Arabia, a religious movement known as the Wahhabi movement emerged in this region in the 1740s. The rebels wanted to establish a state independent from the Ottomans, shaped according to their own beliefs and ideas. Upon the death of Muhammad Ibn Saud in 1765, his son Abdul-Aziz assumed the military and political leadership of the Wahhabi rebellions. The revolt soon spread to Arabia and the rebels captured Mecca in 1803. The Ottoman state appointed Mehmed Ali Pasha, the governor of Egypt, to suppress these rebellions. An army under the command of Mehmed Ali Pasha's son Tosun took back Medina, Mecca and Taif from the Wahhabis in 1812-13. Then Mehmed Ali Pasha himself marched against Abdul-Aziz. Abdul-Aziz, who initially resisted, died suddenly in 1814 and his forces dispersed. Ibrahim Pasha of Kavala, sent by Mehmed Ali Pasha, entered Der'iyya in 1818 and defeated the rebels. Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's other son, Ali, was captured and killed during the hajj. Ibrahim Pasha captured Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud's son Abdullah and his children and sent them to Istanbul, where they were executed on 17 December 1819. However, the Wahhabi movement did not stop. Turki bin Abdullah, who fled from the Ottoman armies, regrouped the Wahhabi forces and declared a Wahhabi state with Riyadh as its capital in 1821. This government survived until 1891, initially through military actions and after 1843 by accepting subordination to the Ottoman Empire. In 1902, Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud II reassembled this administration, which disintegrated in 1891, and declared the establishment of the Riyadh-based Wahhabi administration. Abdul-Aziz II collaborated with the British to increase his power in the Arabian peninsula. In the following years, he expanded his territories by capturing other parts of Arabia. Abdul-Aziz signed a special agreement with Britain on 26 December 1915. According to the agreement, the definitive management of the lands captured by Abdul-Aziz would belong to him, after which the management would pass to his children. However, the rulers of these lands were not to be against Britain in any way. After World War I ended to the detriment of the Ottoman Empire, the Ibn Saud administration captured Khail, Taif, Mecca, Medina and Jeddah after 1921. Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud was proclaimed as the king of Najd and Hejaz on 5 December 1924. On 27 May 1927, the 'Kingdom of Najd and Hejaz' gained the status of an independent state by an agreement with the British. In 1932, the name of the state was changed to 'Kingdom of Saudi Arabia'. The kingdom of Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud lasted until 9 November 1953. After him, his son Saud ibn Abdul-Aziz became king. After his death on 2 November 1964, he was succeeded by his brother Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz. After his assassination by his nephew on 25 March 1975, he was succeeded by his brother Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz. After his death on 13 June 1982, he was succeeded by his brother Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz. Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz received support from the United States in his rivalry with his brothers for the sultanate, and after his accession to the kingdom, he brought the country completely under US control. On 17 January 1991, Saudi Arabia provided the largest logistical support to the US-led allied forces in the Gulf War.[3]
Internal Problems: In recent years, reactions against the repressive royal regime and human rights violations in the country have begun to surface. Therefore, intellectuals from various universities and ministries issued a declaration in May 1993, calling on the government to return to the principles of Sharia and to guarantee the rights provided by Sharia to the people. Soon, however, all the signatories of this declaration were dismissed from their posts and many were arrested. Nevertheless, the discontent in university circles continued and in August of the same year, 60 lecturers asked the king to release those arrested. Soon after, some imams and religious scholars also expressed their discontent with the oppressive and un-Islamic practices of the administration. In response to these developments, many imams were suspended and many of them were arrested. For the time being, the administration is trying to silence criticism and reactions against it by force. However, it is seen that this method will not be a long-term solution, and it is possible that the widespread discontent may lead to a serious explosion in the future.
External Problems: His behaviour in the Gulf crisis led to a rift with Yemen and Sudan as well as Iraq. Saudi Arabia expelled 1 million Yemenis working in Yemen because of Yemen's taking Iraq's side in the crisis. Saudi Arabia also has a border issue with Yemen. The deterioration of Saudi Arabia's relations with Sudan was influenced by Sudan's siding with Iraq in the Gulf crisis as well as the adoption of an Islamic line by the government of this country. As a reaction to Sudan's behaviour, the Saud administration de facto supported the separatists in South Sudan.
The Saud government has become a target of various international human rights organisations because of its domestic human rights violations and repressive practices. In 1993, it was constantly in trouble with such organisations. Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have published voluminous reports on human rights violations in this country.
Islam in the Country: The strict repressive policy of the Saudi Arabian government and the prohibitions against organisation do not allow an organised and free Islamic activity in this country. All of the organisations that carry out activities are affiliated to the state and have to defend the official policy of the state. Saudi Arabia has an army of 100 thousand people and an intelligence organisation employing 300 thousand people, which makes it very difficult to carry out community activities. Organisations aiming to make Islam dominant in the state in their own countries, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, are banned from operating in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of the official invitation activities based on the views of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab is to create a legitimacy for the policy pursued by the Saudi government and to prevent the spread of ideas that have not passed the official censorship, especially among young people.
Saudi Arabia in Spiritual Climates
For the Islamic world, which is approaching two billion today, the holy places in Saudi Arabia have a great meaning. Hajj, one of the five pilgrimages of Islam, requires a visit to the cities of Mecca and Medina. For this reason, travelling to Saudi Arabia and performing Hajj is a great desire of every Muslim's heart. I wonder how many Muslims are able to fulfil this desire even though they have the material means? There is a quota of one thousandth for the number of pilgrim visas to be sent by countries. Due to this quota, millions of Muslims who want to go to Hajj cannot perform this worship because they do not get their turn (they do not appear in the lottery) even though they have applied for Hajj. Who is responsible for this?
Another sad event in Saudi Arabia is that the holy cities have become a 'Universal Market Place' for non-Muslim countries. Every pilgrim who fulfils the Hajj obligation buys gifts for his relatives and friends on his way back to his country. The gifts they buy are labelled with the brands of non-Muslim countries such as 'Made in USA', 'Made in Japan', 'Made in Germany'. Can't the limitation on the number of pilgrim candidates be lifted by making new arrangements in the holy cities? Can pilgrims not buy goods manufactured by another Muslim country? If all pilgrims do not buy the goods of non-Muslim countries during the Hajj season, the supply of goods will stop the following year. Can't the holy lands be saved from being a fairground for non-Muslim countries by following such a way?
At the basis of all these, there must be the excitement of building a conscious Islamic Union. And the issue is to give that excitement to the Islamic world country by country.[4]
Economy: The economy of Saudi Arabia is primarily based on oil. The share of income from oil and natural gas in gross domestic product is 35%. Saudi Arabia also generates a significant amount of revenue from pilgrimage. Saud administration collects various taxes from pilgrims such as footstep fee and special service fee. Agriculture has been relatively developed in recent years with the revenues obtained from oil. The most produced agricultural products are cereals and various vegetables. Greenhouse cultivation is tried to be popularised. Some fruits, especially dates and grapes, are also grown. Animal husbandry is also common in some regions. The share of income from agriculture and animal husbandry in national income is 6%.
Currency: Saudi Arabian Riyal
National Income per Capita: 23,762 USD (2021)[5]
Foreign Trade: The main products it exports are oil, petroleum products, natural gas, dates, various foodstuffs and some industrial products. The leading imported goods are military equipment and equipment, aircraft, transport vehicles and spare parts, machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. The USA ranks first in imports and Japan ranks first in exports. It is followed by France, Italy, Singapore, England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Pakistan and Australia.
Industry: Petroleum refining and petrochemical plants are the leading industrial organisations of Saudi Arabia. Production-based industry has not developed much. However, in recent years, progress has been made towards the establishment of some industrial branches. The industrial organisations established so far are generally related to the production of food, soft drinks, cigarettes, textiles, leather, garments, furniture, woodwork, paper and stationery, plastics, cement and other construction materials, mining, metal and earthenware, office equipment and various mechanical and electrical equipment. The share of manufacturing industry in gross domestic product is 9 per cent. Approximately 11.5% of the working population is employed in the industrial sector.
Energy: All electricity is obtained from oil-based thermal power plants. Annual electricity consumption per capita is 3100 kw/hour on average.
Transportation: There is one international airport in Riyadh and one in Jeddah, the commercial centre of the country. There are 23 airports used for domestic transport. However, there is no airport in the holy city of Mecca. Air connection with this city is provided via Jeddah. The cities of Dahran and Demmam on the coast of the Persian Gulf and Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea have one major port opening to the outside world. Oil exports are also carried out from these ports. It has 893 km of railway and 144.700 km of road network, almost half of which is asphalted. In this country, there is one motorised transport vehicle for 3 people on average.
Health: Saudi Arabia has nearly 300 hospitals, 23.540 doctors, 1550 dentists, 40.000 nurses. There is one doctor for 740 people.
Education: Education is free. Primary school starts at the age of 6 and lasts 6 years. Secondary and high school also last 6 years. There are 9,000 primary schools, 4200 general secondary schools and 40 vocational secondary schools. 65 per cent of primary school children can benefit from this education. This rate is 35 per cent for secondary school children. There are 85 higher education institutions, 9 of which are universities. Among university-age youth, the rate of those enrolled in higher education institutions is 13 per cent. The rate of those who can read and write is 63 per cent.
Administrative Division: Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 administrative regions.
[1] www.enfal.de(November-2021 Access)
[2] www.oic-oci.org
[3] www.enfal.de(November-2021 Access)
[4] Islamic World, Ramazan Özey
[5] www.ticaet.gov.tr(Accessed November-2021)
