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“A succinct and successful summary of the past, present and future of this surprisingly busy desert.”
- Michael Palin
Saudi Arabia:
A Portrait of Life Behind the Sand Curtain.
Outline
Foundations: Sand or Stone?
Life Behind the Sand Curtain
The Kingdom’s Future
Foundations: Sand or Stone?
Population - 27 million (inc. 7 million non-Saudis)
Capital - Riyadh (pop. 6.8 million)
Size - 2,149,690 sq km (830,000 sq mi)
GDP (2010 est) - $438 billion - $16,765 per person
Hashemite Prince Faisal, later King of Iraq
Alec Guinness as Faisal
Faisal’s father, Sharif Sayyid HusseinEmir of Mecca, Sultan of the Hijaz
- started the anti-Ottoman Arab Revolt (1916-1918)
- which was supported by Britain
Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, or Ibn Saudfounder of Saudi Arabia
1744 - alliance between Muhammad ibn Saud andMuhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
1890 - Saudis exiled by al-Rashids
1925 - Sauds take Mecca, forcing Sharif Hussein out of Hijaz
ends 700 years of Hashemite rule in region
1932 - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia founded
اململكة العربية السعودية
literally, the Saudi Arab Kingdom
King Abdul Aziz (1876-1953)
Life Behind the Sand Curtain
The mysterious Orient?
Islam
Terrorism
Women
Oil
Islam
"ال إله إال اهللا , محمد رسول اهللا "
“There is no God but God, Muhammad is the Prophet of God.”
- the Shahada
The Wahhabi or Salafist form of Islam
- named after Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
- eighteenth century religious reformer
- sought to return to “pure” Islam of 7th century
1979 - Siege of Mecca
1990s - Rise of al-Qaeda
Terrorism
Women
Just 6% of the country’s workforce
Oil
Blessing or Curse?
1938 - discovery of oil
1973 - oil embargo
- world’s largest oil exporter
- accounts for more than 90% of exports
- 75% of government revenues
The Kingdom’s Future
t or t?
50% of Saudi Arabians are under 16 years of age
Tourism
Trade
“The King is dead. Long Live the King”
Abdul Aziz, known as Ibn Sa’ud 1876-1953 (r. from 1902) - 51 years
Ibn Sa’ud, 1902 - 1969 (r. 1953 - 1964) - 9 years
Faisal b. 1906 (r. 1964 - 1975) - 11 years
Khalid b. 1912 (r. 1975 - 1982) - 7 years
Fahd, b. 1921 (r. 1982 - 2005) - 23 years
Abdullah b. 1923 (r. 2005 - to date)
Heads of the House of Saud(since 1932, Kings of Saudi Arabia)
Absolute Islamic Monarchy
- King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, 88 years old
- Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, 87 years old
- next four in line all in their 80s
King Fahd’s grave
Saud family numbers between 7,000 - 25,000
Friends and neighbours
Abdul Aziz and President Roosevelt, 14 February 1945 - Great Bitter Lake
Popular unrest - the response
- $10.7 billion in handouts
- 15% pay raise for public sector workers
- release of economic fraud prisoners
- no scheduled political reform
Thank you,
or as we say in Arabic,
شكرا(shukran!)
“A well-written book that armchair and desert travellers will appreciate. Explorers should certainly have a copy in their libraries.”
- Colonel John Blashford-Snell, OBE