Civil Society and Democratization in the Arab World. Annual Report. 2004
Published July 2005

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Saudi Arabia 

Capital : Riyadh

Date of Independence : 23/9/1932

Area : 1,960,582 Km

Population (in millions) : 26,4 (est. 2005)

Rate of Population Increase : 3.27% (est. 2005)

Ethnic Groups : 90% Arabs, 10% Africans – Asians (in 2000)

Religious Groups : 100% Muslims

Illiteracy : 21.2%

No. of Provinces : 13

Polity : Traditional monarchy

Head of State : Fahd Ben Abdelaziz al–Saud

No. of Political Parties : Political parties are disallowed

GDP (in millions)ppp : $310,200 (2004)

GDP per Capitappp : $12,000 (2004)

Overview
 

The State of Saudi Arabia came into existence in 1932 when Abdelaziz al-Saud through a combination of conquest and diplomatic alliances managed to expand his domain from the Central Arab region of Najd, where he ruled since 1902, to encompass the entire Arabian peninsula including the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Since the death of Abdelaziz the kings of Saudi Arabia were chosen from among his 44 sons on the basis of seniority and consensus among members of the Saud family. The present King Fahd ascended the throne in 1982 but because he suffered a stroke in 1996, his brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, is in effect the ruling authority. Since the establishment of the Kingdom in 1932 the Family has ruled with no institutional checks to its absolute authority.

Saudi Arabia has 25% of the world’s known oil reserves. Its large income from oil has made possible a social contract between the Royal Family and Saudi citizens, whereby the latter would forego political rights and civil liberties in exchange for material prosperity and an extensive welfare system. Dictatorial control of the country has been facilitated by the enforcement of the stringent Wahhabi interpretation of Islamic law (Shari’a). The entire educational system and the whole regime centers around religious indoctrination, while the vast revenues from oil provided a material prosperity which helped cultivate an indolence in the citizens and a laxness in the rulers which prevented the development of an indigenous skilled labor force. Over the last two decades, however, declining oil prices and gross mismanagement of the country’s wealth resulted in a steep decline in living standards: per capita income dropped from $23,000 in the early 1980s to $12,000 at present, unemployment is estimated at 35% and rising, and a growing opposition by enlightened religious elements and liberal dissidents are challenging the regime, and calling for radical reforms. While other Gulf monarchs have introduced some limited measure of political reform in the interest of stability and staving off possible unrest, the Saudi ruling family has consistently opposed establishment of even symbolic representative institutions, while maintaining an archaic educational system that remains firmly in place, as princes allied with the Wahhabi religious establishment continue to block any attempts at reform. The deleterious hold of the ossified and stringent Saudi religious establishment over all aspects of social life is deep and pervasive. In March 2002 eleven Saudi girls died in a fire when the religious police (mutawwa’in) blocked the escape of the girls because they did not have on the proper head veil. Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2003, which claimed the lives of Westerners and Saudi police, have shaken the Saudi rulers out of their complacency, and will perhaps prod them to reconsider their archaic policies and realize that they cannot continue to live indefinitely as an anachronism in the twenty first century.

I. Political Rights and Civil Liberties

1. The Executive, Political Parties and Elections. There are no political parties, nor is it permitted to establish any. Nor is it allowed to form any kind of political opposition group. No elections of any sort were ever held until the first municipal elections were held on 13/10/2003 to establish local councils in which half of the members will be appointed by the government. There is absolutely no separation of powers. In fact there is no legislative body to date, and the King holds both executive and legislative power, and is the ultimate source of judicial authority as well. There is nothing to check the absolute power of the King except that he is subject to Islamic law and to the consensus of the ruling family. A Consultative Council of 120 members appointed by the King has no power to legislate but has recently been accorded the duty of reviewing legislation drafted by the government before it is sent to the king for final approval. A council of religious elders and tribal chiefs is sometimes convened by the King for consultation. This Council of Senior Islamic Scholars is an important source of religious legitimacy for the ruling family.

The Basic Law of the country states that the government is established on the principle of “Shura” (Consultation). There are no formal democratic institutions. Communication between the citizens and government are conducted through patron-client relations and by affinity groups such as tribes and families. Theoretically, any citizen may bring his petition to the Majlis, an open meeting held regularly by the King, or in his stead a prince or an important official.

2. The Judiciary, Trials, and Detention. The Basic Saudi law (in lieu of a constitution) makes the King the primary judicial authority. Hence, the Judiciary is subject to the will of the King and the Royal Family. Judges are chosen on the basis of their strict adherence to the Sunni Wahhabi interpretation of Shari’a, hence Shi’a Muslims are tried by judges who consider them heretics. Judges are appointed and dismissed as the King sees fit. Trials are usually held behind closed doors and the evidence of conviction is more often than not a signed confession extracted under pressure or torture. The Penal Code, based on Shari’a, cuts the hand of thieves, inflicts corporal punishment on a slew of offenses, and mandates the stoning of an adulterous woman. Capital punishment is often executed in a public square using a sword to behead the convicted. About 100 people are executed annually. The Minister of the Interior can detain suspects for an indefinite period of time.

3. Civil Society and the Freedom of Association. The Saudi Basic Law does not address freedom of assembly and association. There is no civil society to speak of in Saudi Arabia. On 3/1/2003 the government permitted the first ever recognized civil associations―an organization for Saudi journalists and a human rights organization. The government licensed a large number of humanitarian organizations, and tribal and professional societies (eg. The Saudi Pharmacist Society). Professional “groups” cannot be formed without prior permission. Trade unions are totally prohibited; however, labor committees have been allowed but are empowered only to issue recommendations. Public meetings require prior permission, and must be segregated by sex. Those who hold unsegregated meetings risk arrest and deportation. On 4/8/2003, following a series of bombings in various cities, and under pressure from the United States, the government established a center for debate and the combating of extremism, and warned the educational authorities to "combat all extremist ideologies that threaten the security and stability of the country."

4. Freedom of Speech and the Media. Freedom of speech is extremely restricted. Criticism of the government or the Royal Family is strictly prohibited, so is anything that might be interpreted as a deviation from orthodox Wahhabi doctrine. Newspapers an magazine can be established only by a decree from the King who also appoints the editors-in-chief. The government owns all domestic broadcast media and closely monitors the press and all publications. Foreign papers are severely censored and heavy restrictions are placed on the entry of foreign journalists into the Kingdom. Editors of domestic publications are appointed by the government which can also remove them at will. Satellite dishes are prohibited and internet access is filtered to block web sites that may be considered offensive to Islam or the Royal Family. Public demonstrations are completely prohibited, and the few attempts at such public gatherings were ruthlessly suppressed at their initial stage. On 16/3/2004 the Saudi government arrested five academicians for advocating political reform that would change the regime into a constitutional monarchy. The prisoners were brought to trial in August 2, 2004. On November 11, during the course of that trial the defense spokesman was also arrested(!). This was followed in 4/10/2004 by a government decree criminalizing any act, explicit or implicit, verbal or in writing that may be construed as opposition to government policies.

5. Freedom of Religion. Freedom of religion is non-existent for all who do not follow the Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam. In fact all that is not Wahhabi Islam is subject to severe repression. Thus Saudi prisons are full of Christians, Shi’as and Sufis (mystic Muslims). Non-Muslims are completely prohibited from any public expression of worship, and Shi’a Muslims face severe restrictions on public religious practice. Non-Muslim and Shi’a religious literature is banned in the Kingdom. Foreigners are allowed to have Bibles in their own language, but owing one in Arabic is tantamount to proselytizing a crime that is punishable with a jail sentence.

6. Women and the Marginalized. Women play no formal role in politics; they are neither permitted to run for office nor even vote. In several governorates, though, women’s councils were formed to advise governors on issues related to women. The Wahhabi doctrine severely restricts the rights and freedom of women; in effect it reduces them to the status of minors and second class citizens. In most legal, as well as social, affairs the unmarried woman is the ward of her father, if married the ward of her husband, and if divorced the ward of her adult sons or her adult brothers. A woman cannot obtain an identity card or drive a car, or be admitted to a hospitable, without the consent of her guardian. And lately in 2004 two prominent clerics issued an edict (fatwa) that women should not be allowed to access the internet in the absence of a male custodian, in view of their “inherent slyness and licentious deceitful natures” (!) In public, women are segregated from men, barred from most workplaces, prohibited from certain professions such as engineering, law or journalism, taught in separate schools, restricted to “family sections” in restaurants, prevented from traveling anywhere without a male relative, and outside the home required to wear a black garment (abaya) that covers the body from head to toe, including the face. The Shari’a law also discriminates against women, in regard to divorce and inheritance, and treats their testimony in court as inferior to that of men.

The Shi’a Muslims, who constitute about 10% of the population, face severe restrictions on the public practice of their religion and encounter discrimination in employment and other aspects of social life. In court, their testimony is often discounted and their seminaries are banned. There has been also frequent arrests and mistreatment of Shi’a clerics. A Shi’a tribal leader who was once quoted in the Wall Street Journal saying “The government is making a mistake against us” was sentenced to a term of seven years in prison. There are only two Shi’a in the 120-member Shura Council.

II. Prospects for Democratic Change

The Saudi regime utilizes the modern artifacts of the twenty first century but remains mired in a system more properly belonging to the dark ages. After 9/11 external pressures from the West as well as the bombings that are becoming more frequent in the Capital, Riyadh, and elsewhere, are forcing the Saudi regimen to take some reform measures both in the educational and the political spheres. These, however are no more than infinitesimal steps. To establish the modicum of institutions necessary for a democratic transition would probably require many decades, in which the entire culture would have to undergo also a radical change. It is difficult to imagine that even a beginning can take place under the present regime and its leadership. Saudi Arabia's strategic alliance with the United States, however, carries some hope that under U.S. prodding the rgime will take at least some steps, however small, to improve the lot of womenwho live as minors under the guardianship of their male kinand permit a modicum of free speech and other basic human rights.