Introduction
Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country in the Middle East lying in between Europe, Asia and Africa. Its size is approximated at 2,149,690 square kilometers (865,000) square miles, which is about one third the size of the United States. The country is located between the Persian Gulf and the Red sea, bordering Jordan on the north and Iraq on the northern east, Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates on the east and Yemen on the south and the Sultanate of Oman on the and southeast.
Early history
Historically, Saudi Arabia is not considered as the cradle home of the Arabs but the first Arabs are thought to have originally come from the Arabian Peninsula. As far back as 15,000 to 20,000 years ago there is evidence of the existence of human presence in the Arabian Peninsula citing the existence of roaming hunters and gatherers who lived off wild animals and plants.
At the time of the last ice age about 15,000 years back, the Europe ice caps thawed, resulting to great climatic variation in the peninsula. The once immense plains covered with grassland suddenly turned scrublands and arid regions. The river streams evaporated creating dried river beds (commonly known as wadis), which are a common features in peninsula presently.
This harsh climate forced the existing human beings to develop other means of survival as they no longer had animals to hunt because they had vanished. These people then moved to the mountain valleys and oasis and that’s where agriculture is said to have developed and begun in Mesopotamia before it spread to the Nile River Valley and across the Middle East.
The development of agriculture brought about growth of other sectors farmers who started raring animals that included goats, camels, cattle, sheep and horses. These advances led to permanent settlements, which led to the beginning of the modern civilization. Arabian Peninsula became the homeland of Islam, which is the second most practiced faith worldly.
Islam was pioneered by Prophet Muhammad. Around the year, 610, this Muhammad is said to have received messages from God (Allah) through the angle Gabriel to proclaim oneness of God globally and as these revelations continued, so did his followers increase.
In the year 622, Prophet Muhammad learnt of the plan of his assassination than he decided to lead his followers to Yathrib which was later changed to Madint Al-Nabi (City of the Prophet) and now simply it’s referred as Madinah, and this emigration (Hijrah) marked the beginning of the Islamic calendar, the year of the hegira. It marks the time Muhammad fled from Mecca. Muslims use a lunar calendar, meaning their twelve-month year is much shorter than the solar one which the Christians use.
In the subsequent years, numerous clashes took place between the “followers of the Prophet Muhammad and the pagans of Makkah”. By 628, the Prophet was able to unify the ethnic groups that he and his followers made an entrance into Makkah without shedding blood, which by this time Madinah was entirely in the hands of the Muslims. However, there was an attempt by the aggressors to take over the peninsula, but finally the peninsula was alienated into various counties.
In 1745, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhabi was urging for the cleansing and reforms in the Islam religion. Concurrently, the Wahhabi faction had dominated the Arabia. By 1811, Wahhabi elders were waging a jihad against the reforms in the Islamic faith in the peninsula, which they succeeded in uniting much of it. By 1818, the Wahhabi people had been subjugated again by the Ottoman Empire and their Egyptians collaborators.
Saudi Arabia kingdom is an almost entire creation of King Ibn Saud (1882-1953) who is a descendant of the Wahhabis leaders and is said to have seized Riyadh in 1901. He then made himself a leader of the Arab nationalist movement whereby he established Wahhabi dominance in Nejd by 1906 and he later conquered Hejaz in 1924-1925. These two kingdoms (Hejaz and Nejd) were merged to form the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. (Mohammed & Hasan 2009)
On September 23, 1932, the united warring tribes that were united into one nation were named the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an Islamic state with Arabic as its national language whiles the Holy Qur’an as its constitution.
This is what is called the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the transformation of this country over the years has been enormous with only few decades having been counted; this kingdom has turned itself from a desert nation to a modern sophisticated state and a major player in the international world especially since the discovery of oil I commercial quantities in 1938, that has seen the economy of Saudi Arabia develop rising its prominence in the world affairs.
Economy
Saudi Arabia owes much of its wealth to the enormous petroleum resources that exists in the country. Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia by United States geologists in the 1930s but its large production did not start until after the World War II. Since the 1950s and 1960s, there has been full activity of petroleum exploration with a spectacular acceleration in the 1970s. Oil wealth has made it possible for this country to rapidly develop its economy.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading oil producer and exporter, with the largest oil reserves are the in the world, estimated at 263 billion barrels, which is approximately a quarter of the world’s oil reserves. It is also a prominent member of the OPEC. In Saudi Arabia, oil counts for almost 90% of the country exports and this translates to about 75% of the government’s revenues.
These revenues have changed the country’s economic status from debt-trap to a wealthy nation. The country’s petroleum sector accounts for 45 percent of its gross domestic profit (GDP) where the economy depends on approximately six million employees abroad mostly working in the oil sector and services sector. The daily production of oil is about 1.3 million tonnes per day.
The country is also involved in the production of natural gas that is about 100 million m3 each day. The amount of oil that is produced on behalf of the government is approximately slightly higher than 95 percent and this is done by the Saudi ARAMCO, a government parastatal, which acquired SAMAREC, a parastatal specializing in marketing and refining oil, to become the leading wholly integrated oil firm.
Following the Arab-Israeli war in the 1970s, there was a sharp increase in petroleum revenues which resulted to the economy of Saudi growing fast as it enjoyed a surplus market while trading with other countries, exports of oil products increased and the government had enough revenues for the development, defense and aid to other Arabic and Islamic countries (NadeyaSayed 2003).
The kind of economic model being used in Saudi Arabia is one which puts a limitation upon private enterprises because of state control and the central planning.
There are very strong government controls on most economic activities as there are certain fields of the economy that belong to the state exclusively and these fields do not allow foreign investors to invest nor own them. Foreigners are allowed in other fields such as power generation, telecommunication services and insurance among other lucrative sectors that attract overseas investors, they have to create joint-ventures with the Saudi people or the Saudi state itself.
At the time of the oil value boom of 2004-2008, Saudi created a sufficient financial reserve to counterbalance any global economic slump. Nevertheless, the dropping oil prices in 2009 adversely affected the Saudi economy causing the rescheduling of several governmental economic and developmental plans. The state took counteractive actions, like direct capital allocations into financial bodies, and slashed interest rates.
Oil and natural gas are the traditional major contributors of the growth of Saudi’s economy, the other contributors of the economy are agriculture and fishing but clearly they are not on the same level as oil and natural gas. This sector provides an employment to the public to an estimated 10% of the population this is due to the fact that most of the land in Saudi Arabia is infertile, only 1% of the total surface is fertile.
Although this is the case, there are several plans, which have been initiated to see the agricultural sector improve its productivity, which is currently very low quoting “approximately 3.6 million tonnes output of wheat, barley 1.1 million tonnes, tomatoes 490,000 tonnes, dates account for 500,00 tonnes, watermelons 450,000 tonnes including other smaller outputs of sorghum, dairy products, onions, grapes, and citrus fruits.
The output also got from fish is likewise low, about 50,000 tonnes been produced per year and shrimps which make the biggest share of the catch” (Scawen & Riad 2002). Saudi Arabia imports most of their food products from across the world, a trend that has been there from the early 1970s.
Besides these elements, another contributor of the Saudi economy is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Madina which is usually a demonstration of the unity of the Muslims and their acquiescence to God. Mecca is a holy city where every Muslim is required to visit at least once in their lifetime if the individual has the capability means to do so.
Millions of people from all across the world make their journey to this holy place. Every year the number of people who come to Saudi Arabia for this pilgrimage known as Haj stands somewhere between two to three million generating more than US$ 2 billion to the Saudi economy. This is the only substantial tourism attraction to Saudi Arabia and as figures show it is great contributor to Saudi’s economy.
The national economy of Saudi Arabia was budgeted to have revenues doubling the expenditure by 2008 the surplus was at a staggering $147 billion but was mostly used to pay various foreign debts.
Society
The Saudi Arabia society is dominated by Islamic values and it’s a country that is considered to have a very rich culture. The practices and convictions of the Saudis were mainly adopted from Wahhabism faction of Muslim followers. The most evident basis of distinction of the Saudi society is based on the native and migrant population, although these people appreciate people from other countries, the immigration still affects their socialization trends and other marital matters.
Ethnic relations
Al-Rasheed & Robert (2004) notes “Saudis live as a community (also known as ummah) where issues like race and ethnicity are of no significant value hence these issues are not used to form any socialization, political affiliations or even economic organizations.”
Nevertheless, in Saudi Arabia the consideration of ones origin is important as it sometimes influences social interaction among the people and also influences on marriage issues for example, some people mainly in Hijaz are considered as descendants of Muhammad and are known as Ashraf while many others in the kingdom are said to be descent from eponymous ancestors from the ancient Arab tribes. Although this is the case, this influence does not affect the economic and power differences in the national society.
Classes and castes
The social classes are mainly divided between the foreign workers and locals. Temporary immigrants form the largest portion of working class and are also dominate the middle class status and some ranks in the upper-class status. Variation in terms of income and wealth is majorly categorized among the super-rich, the rich middle income earners and the limited income earners.
Many Saudi Arabians still practice egalitarianism and believe more on impartiality and brotherhood, unlike class differentiation. But it is important to note that different people have different lifestyles depending on the amount of wealth one has; the wealthy ones interact less with the middle class people (Al-Rasheed & Robert 2004).
Marriage and family
Anderson (2001) notes “among the Muslims, marriage is considered a necessary part of life, and all adults are required to marry. Marriage is usually perceived as a very costly affair while divorce on the other hand is relatively easy for men and very difficult for women.” As for birthright rights, males inherited twice over that of the females from their father while a widow inherits a small portion, but the sons have an obligation to support their mothers especially the widowed.
Islamic values are very much upheld among the Saudi Arabians that is why religion and the society combine to form a kind of social control. Behaviors that bring shame to ones family is considered sinful while crimes related to alcohol and drugs and other sexual misconducts are considered to be as a result of modernization.
Social relations are noticeable by vibrant gender separation and the reverence of age variation. Al-rasheed (2002) notes “Interactions that take place between men and women is minimal especially outside the domestic space of families the rules of do’s and don’ts aim at regulating interactions beyond the comforts of ones home thus interactions taking place in a commercial setting with females should be strictly formal.”
Most social interactions take place in groups that are specific in terms of age and gender. When a guest arrives, it is mandatory for that person to individually greet the host and the rest of the guests by shaking hands or kissing on the chick more than three times if the person is well known to you and are age mates, also expected are long exchange of greetings between host and guest and between guests and other people present.
Socially, mothers would give birth with the help of midwives and after their birth, they were to be cared for by their mothers hence this meant caring for them fulltime. Other female relatives in the household were to help in raring of the children and teach them the Arabian culture.
While fathers and uncles were not expected to take part in child care, they took part in matters such as playing with them and teaching them generosity and hospitality. Anderson (2001) notes “as modernization trickles in, all these is changing and births are taking place in hospitals and the infants are being circumcised before going home.”
Government and political conditions Saudi Arabia is governed by a monarch type of government whereby there is a king whose sons inherit the thrown later on in life as stipulated by their constitution. As a result, the country lacks political parties or movements but has held municipal elections.
Religion
Anderson (2001) notes “Saudi Arabia occupies a special place in the Islamic world as it is the heartland of Islam. The followers of Islam, one of the world’s greatest monotheistic religions are known as Muslims.” All Saudi Arabia citizens are Muslims except for small minority of Shia, even the immigrants themselves are mostly Muslims and the non-Muslims are not allowed to practice their faith in Saudi Arabia. They believe in one God (Allah) and that their prophet is Muhammad.
A Muslim has five obligations which are referred to as Five Pillars of Islam where one has to profess his faith that there is no other god but God and that his prophet is Muhammad, secondly one has to pray five times a day and as they make their prayers, they face toward Makkah the holy city, thirdly one has to give a fixed amount of payment (zakat) for the welfare of the entire community particularly the needy members of the society fourthly is the fasting during Ramadan which is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar that expects a Muslim to refrain from eating food and drinking from sundown to sunset and lastly is performing the hajj that involves the gathering of millions of Muslims around the world to Makkah which should be done at least once in a lifetime. Al-Rasheed & Robert (2004) notes “these people include judges, preachers, teachers’ leaders other people who have learned Islam.”
They also believe that the dead could either go to heaven or hell depending on how one has lived his/her life. “The major religious destinations of Saudi Arabia include The Kaba and Black Stone in Mecca, Quba Mosque in Medina, Mount Arafat, Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Floating Mosque of Jeddah, The Prophet’s Mosque in Medina and Nabatean Tombs of MadainSahreha.” (Federal Research Division 2004).
Weather and climate
“Saudi Arabia has a harsh dry desert kind of climate that is characterized by extreme temperatures during the day and an abrupt drop in temperatures at night with slight erratic rainfall which is influenced by subtropical high pressure systems” (Dean 2006).These two intense climates are mostly experienced from the coast towards the countryside.
These conditions make the days to be hot and humid while fog is experienced at night which is due to winds from the south are accompanied by an increase in temperature and humidity level that causes a storm in the gulf areas. The rest of the country experiences law rainfalls whereby the country receives two seasons of sporadic rainfall.
References
Al-rasheed, M. (2002). a History of Saudi Arabia. New York: Cambridge University press.
Al-Rasheed, M. & Robert, V. (2004) Counter-narratives: history, contemporary society, and politics in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Anderson, H. (2001). Saudi Arabia Ticket. New York: Carolrhoda Books,
Dean, D. (2006). The Wahhabi mission and Saudi ArabiaVolume 50 of Library of Modern Middle East Studies. Tabriz: I.B.Tauris.
Federal Research Division. (2004). Saudi Arabia A Country Study. New York: Kessinger Publishing.
Mohammed, A. & Hasan, M. (2009). Religion and politics in Saudi Arabia: Wahhabism and the state. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers,
NadeyaSayed, A. (2003). Population and development of the Arab Gulf states: the case of Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Scawen, B. & Riad, N. (2002). The future of Islam. New Jersey, NY: Routledge.