Saudi Arabia Today
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The Saudi government’s discriminatory, divisive, and exploitive policies and practices touch almost every aspect of the daily lives of millions of people inside Saudi Arabia. Women are unable to drive, vote, or receive medical care without permission from their male guardian. Religious minorities are forbidden from openly practicing their religious rituals. No expression of dissent is tolerated and critics of the state are regularly arrested and held without charge or basic due process guarantees. Contrary to announcements of reform made by the Saudi government and its beneficiaries, Saudi Arabia is becoming increasingly unstable. The only alternative to violence, extremism and strife within Saudi Arabia is a comprehensive political, social, and economic institutional transformation.
As the birthplace of Islam and host to its two holiest shrines, in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia plays a significant role in the lives of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims. In addition, Saudi Arabia sits atop approximately one-fourth of the world’s known oil reserves and is the world’s largest net oil exporter. Under a democratic, non-sectarian, and enlightened leadership, Saudi Arabia could constructively lead the way to stability, prosperity and security of the Saudi, Arab and Muslim peoples worldwide.
Saudi Arabia can take steps to reform its political, social and economic structures. Oil revenues can be used prudently and transparently to build modern institutions, provide nonsectarian education and diversify the economy. This is possible, plausible through empowering the Saudi people to have ownership of their wealth their country’s future. A moderate interpretation of Islam can be used to eradicate extremism and divisions within Saudi society, and to embrace other peoples, regardless of their religious beliefs and national origin. Without these reforms, internal discontent will continue to grow, and lead to more violence, domestically, regionally and internationally, and consequently to foreign intervention to secure energy sources and ensure economic stability.
Women in Saudi Arabia
Women are subjected to a stringent code of conduct by the men governing the country. Women are excluded from all decision-making processes, forbidden from driving, and are strictly segregated from men in restaurants, hospital waiting rooms, buses—where women ride in the back—and, in some cases, within their own homes. Women cannot receive medical attention or deliver their babies in hospitals without the permission of their male guardian. Women may attend segregated and relatively underfunded higher education institutions, but may choose only from a limited selection of majors. These discriminatory policies prevent women from fully participating in Saudi society and deprive the country of the skills and contributions of one-half of its population.
Read more about what CDHR is doing about Women’s Rights
Political, Cultural and Religious Oppression
No representative institutions or political parties exist and there is no freedom of assembly or speech. Independent organizations, political parties and labor unions are all prohibited.
All media outlets are directly and indirectly controlled by the Saudi government. Magazines, books and newspapers that suggest criticism of the Saudi rulers or Wahhabism are strictly banned from the country. Saudi exposure to the outside world is among the lowest in the world.
All forms of entertainment are forbidden under the Saudi-Wahhabi social codes. There are no movie houses, theaters or stages for performances in Saudi Arabia. Saudi artists must travel abroad to record their music because no recording studios are allowed in the country. Birthdays, weddings and anniversaries cannot be celebrated publicly, as they are considered “inventions” of the infidels, and therefore, are not tolerated. Those who violate these government sanctioned social norms face imprisonment, public flogging, job termination and general social ostracism. Only traditional rituals founded in Wahhabi-Islam are accepted, reinforced and praised. This is done in the name of God and Islam when in truth such measures are designed to prevent a public exchange of ideas.
The Saudi government does not allow the practice of any religion other than the state-sanctioned interpretation of Islam. All children receive compulsory religious education that depicts other peoples and their faiths as nothing more than deviant and corrupt, bent on destroying Muslims and their faith, and turning Muslims against God and their entrusted rulers. Saudi religious and educational institutions teach distrust and hatred of the “infidels” in their midst, namely Christians and Jews, but religious minorities as well.
Read more about what CDHR is doing about Political Reform, Religious Freedom, and Minority Rights
Economic Mismanagement
The Saudi economy is fueled by the world’s energy needs. Revenues from oil and oil by-products have been the country’s main source of income and have kept the autocratic ruling dynasty afloat from the start. Income from oil sales flow directly to the King’s treasury, and he, in consultation with his chosen senior brothers, decides how the money will be spent, after his extended family takes the revenues they want. A sizable portion of the oil revenues is spent on palaces, luxurious yachts and customized planes. Hundreds of billions of dollars are invested in the name of the ruling family overseas. Oil and its revenues have also been used to buy foreign support and protection for the ruling princes. Government spending lacks accountability and transparency. National budgets and funding for national programs are delayed and in some cases never disclosed.
Despite the enormous wealth generated by its natural resources, mismanagement has left the Saudi economy stagnant and underdeveloped. The government is the largest employer in Saudi Arabia. It controls all public utilities, the oil industry, religious and educational institutions, ground and air transportation, and the health care system, with the exception of a few small clinics. Most people depend entirely on the government for food, clothing, protection, and education, preventing Saudi Arabians from developing their skills, becoming self-reliant and productive members of global society.
The 2004 statistical report from the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning acknowledged that non-Saudis account for 67% of the Kingdom’s labor force. Other estimates set this figure as high as 85 to 90%. Without these workers, many of which are non-Muslims, the Saudi economy would collapse. This hiring practice permeates the government and private employment sectors. Saudis are bypassed in favor of cheap labor, mostly from poorer Asian or African countries, who accept any terms without complaint due to their constant fear of arrest or deportation.
At the same time, official unemployment estimates for Saudi Arabia range from 10 to 30% (Ministry of Labor statistics, May 5, 2004). Unofficial estimates are even higher. Unemployment is particularly endemic amongst the younger generation, and unemployment rates for women are as high as 90% (August 31, 2004 article in the Washington Post). Unemployed Saudi youth are frustrated and an easy target for religious extremists and terrorists organizations wanting to increase their membership. Many suicide bombers are young Saudi men who feel excluded from society and are seeking outlets for their frustration and hopelessness.. Terrorists groups provide young Saudis with sense of power, structure and goals, even though those goals involve killing themselves and other innocent people.
The Saudi monarchy has also enacted rigid measures to keep the native population isolated from foreigners and expatriates. Non-Saudis are forbidden from entering any part of the country without specific working, diplomatic or sponsorship visas. Visiting foreigners are required to stay within the confines of their assigned residential quarters, avoiding any exchange of knowledge, experiences, or ideas between the expatriates and natives. The recent “Saudization” initiative has failed in its aim to have Saudi citizens to hold 45% of private sector jobs of the workforce by 2004.
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Mistreatment of Foreign Laborers
Despite Saudi Arabia’s dependence on their labor and expertise, foreign workers in the country are treated very poorly. Upon entry to the country, the passports of non-diplomats are confiscated by their employers or sponsors and the foreigner becomes a virtual hostage of their sponsor until departing the country. Foreign workers often face abusive conditions in the workplace, being denied breaks and meals while working unreasonably long hours and sometimes not being paid for a year. There are numerous reports of serious verbal and physical abuse, especially for foreign women working as domestic servants in Saudi households. There is no agency that hears grievances of foreign laborers and they may not access the justice system.
Read more about what CDHR is doing about Minority Rights
The US-Saudi Nexus & the Price of Stability
Access to oil and the huge profits it generates have always been at the heart of US-Saudi relations. Since 1945, US administrations have pledged American protection of the Saudi ruling family from external and internal threats in order to secure unfettered American access to Saudi oil. In return for this protection, successive Saudi kings have given US companies a virtual monopoly over Saudi oil exploration, production and marketing. In addition to lucrative contracts for US oil consortiums, major military and other contractors have been the recipients of most Saudi construction, consulting and training contracts. While the oil enterprise thrived, modernization of Saudi political, economic and social institutions was ignored by the ruling family and the international community.
The message sent by the Western world to the Saudi ruling princes has been unequivocal: the international community will remain indifferent to, and tacitly complicit in, the most egregious of Saudi domestic policies, as long as its economic interests continue to be sufficiently protected. Short-term economic gains spurred an international policy of maintaining the status-quo, rhetorically justified by the need for “stability” in Saudi Arabia. For too long, western democracies have looked the other way in the face of severe violations of human rights, the exploitation of millions, and the incubation of religious extremism in Saudi Arabia.
After September 11, 2001
The events of September 11, 2001 tragically demonstrated that the international community’s indifference to Saudi policies can no longer be tolerated. The Saudi ruling family’s oppressive policies, religious intolerance and educational curriculum are at the root of international religious terrorism and the subsequent loss of innocent lives. Terrorist attacks have underscored this point and shown that the international community faces a deadly and unremitting enemy, one that owes its creation and continued existence to extremist Saudi policies and practices.
The international focus on internal Saudi policies, some has encouraged some Saudi citizens have begun to demand democratic reforms. Hundreds of Saudis have signed petitions requesting a constitutional government, equality for women, and religious freedom. Over the course of the past three years, such petitions have been submitted to then-Crown Prince Abdullah who has promised reform in response to international pressure. So far these promises have gone largely unmet. Without reform, the conditions faced by Saudi citizens will continue to deteriorate, and instability in the country and the region will continue to increase. The time for a peaceful democratic transition, the empowerment of all citizens, including women and minorities, religious freedom, and responsible economic management in Saudi Arabia is not only long overdue, but has become an urgent necessity.
Origins of the Current Regime
In the middle of the eighteenth century in the poverty-stricken and secluded Nejd region, the Saud family and Wahhabi religious extremists agreed to support one another. The two groups have distinct agendas, but share a desire to rule and control.
The people of Nejd were poor, restless and isolated. Wahhabism provided them with a perceived purpose, a sense of empowerment, social codes, and hope for a better life. Saudi-Wahhabi religious leaders cleverly used religious terminology and decrees to mobilize a mercenary movement to overcome the fierce nomadic opposition to their aggression. Much as Al-Qaeda does today, they recruited the desperate and poor to die for them in the name of God and Islam. Those who resisted “Hul Altawhid”, the Wahhabi-Saudi religious soldiers, were tortured and killed.
The Saudi-Wahhabi soldiers moved throughout the Arabian Peninsula, invading and conquering villages and tribes wherever they went. While their declared objective was to purify and unite Muslims, their actions made it clear that their real goal was total hegemony over most of the Arabian Peninsula.
Once the different tribes and groups were coerced into a precarious and unnatural statehood in 1932, the original pact between the followers of Ibn Abdul Wahhab and Ibn Saud dynasties was cemented and a division of power was finalized. The House of Saud would oversee the economy, politics and security. The Wahhabis assumed religious, social, educational and judicial duties.
The newly formed country was named Saudi Arabia, after the Saud family. Apart from imposing Wahhabism on all inhabitants of the conquered territories, the new rulers moved quickly to confiscate prime real estate for their private use, impose heavy taxes, destroy some of the country’s most beautiful religious shrines, and introduce a strict social and dress code, especially for women. This 263-year-old Saudi-Wahhabi arrangement remains the cornerstone of their total control over every aspect of Saudi citizens’ lives, movements, wealth and future.
The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, located in Washington, D.C., was established to promote a sustainable participatory, non-sectarian and inclusive political structure where all citizens are empowered to steer their country to a better, safer, peaceful, democratic and tolerant path.